Rivalry in Dixie is the name given to the Louisiana Tech–Southern Miss football rivalry. It is a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry game Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...

between the

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has bee ...

and

Southern Miss Golden Eagles The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles (also known as Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles) are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Miss ...

History

Louisiana Tech won the first game of the series 27–0 on November 28, 1935. La Tech and USM were conference foes in the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

from 1935 to 1941. In addition, La Tech and USM were both founding members of the

Gulf States Conference The Gulf States Conference (GSC) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic college football, football conference that existed from 1948 to 1971. The league had members in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Many of the league's members f ...

, which began play in 1948. The two football programs competed against each other every season from 1946 to 1972. The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles played 11 times from 1975 to 1992. The name of the rivalry was coined by Mississippi Southern alumnus and

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

head football coach

Maxie Lambright Maxie Thomas Lambright (June 23, 1924 – January 28, 1980) was the head coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team from 1967 to 1978 and the Louisiana Tech University athletic director from 1970 to 1978. He led Louisiana Tech to three D ...

. Following the Bulldogs' 23–22 victory over the Golden Eagles in 1976, Lambright declared, "This is the finest rivalry in

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

." Thereafter, the event became known as "Rivalry in Dixie." The word "Dixie" refers to privately issued currency from

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. These banks issued ten-dollar notes, labeled "Dix", French for "ten", on the reverse side. The notes were known as "Dixies" by English-speaking southerners, and the area around

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and the French-speaking parts of Louisiana came to be known as "Dixieland". Eventually, usage of the term broadened to refer to most of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Southern Miss is known for the "World-Famous Dixie Darlings." The USM dance team was established in 1954 as the Dixie Maids. However, after only one week of existence, the band director Dr. Raymond Mannoni decided to change their name to the Dixie Darlings after a Mobile reporter remarked "Look at those delightful darlings of Dixie" after seeing the Dixie Darlings perform. The Dixie Darlings debuted at the Mississippi Southern vs.

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

game in Montgomery on September 17, 1954. Since then, the Dixie Darlings have become a fixture at Golden Eagle football games. In addition, the

Pride of Mississippi Marching Band The Pride of Mississippi Marching Band is the marching band of the University of Southern Mississippi. History The band was founded in 1920 by director Audie F. Fugitt. Originally a 20-piece brass ensemble (with an instrumentation of 1 Clarinet, ...

plays " Are You from Dixie?" following the extra point attempt following a Golden Eagle touchdown. Dixie Theater in Ruston, LA IMG 3778

The historic Dixie Theatre is a landmark in the heart of downtown

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent ...

. The theater was built in 1928 as the Astor Theater and showed films and presented concerts. The theater was renamed in 1932 as the Rialto and become the Dixie Theatre in the 1950s after being purchased by the Dixie Theater Corporation of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The famous flashing star crowning the marquee was added in 1956. In 1996, the Dixie Center of the Arts was established to reinstate the Dixie Theatre as a center for entertainment and the arts in downtown Ruston as it hosts full seasons of events, parties, and concerts. In 2008, La Tech athletics director and head football coach Derek Dooley and USM athletics director Richard Giannini signed a four-game contract to renew the rivalry. Giannini stated, "We look forward to renewing our series with Louisiana Tech, one of our oldest rivalries in terms of games, and a quality opponent in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

." In 2010, Southern Miss won the first game of the renewed series, 13–12 on a rainy night in Ruston. The two teams opened their 2011 season in

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

in spite of heavy rain and high winds from Tropical Storm Lee on Saturday, September 3, 2011 on

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

. Southern Miss won a nail-biter 19–17 thanks to a last minute field goal by Danny Hrapmann. With Louisiana Tech's move to

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

in 2013, Rivalry in Dixie is once again a conference rivalry. Currently, Southern Miss leads the series 36–17 over Louisiana Tech. On October 26, 2021, USM announced they were leaving

for the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

. While the game will no longer be a conference rivalry, future matchups have been scheduled; at Louisiana Tech in 2025 and at Southern Miss in 2026.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivalry in Dixie College football rivalries in the United States Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football Southern Miss Golden Eagles football

History

Game results

See also

References