History
The stadium, originally named Louisiana Tech Stadium, opened on September 28, 1968 when quarterback Terry Bradshaw led the Bulldogs to a 35-7 victory over the East Carolina University Pirates. It was renamed Joe Aillet Stadium on November 11, 1972 in honor of Joe Aillet, who had coached the football team at the school from 1940 to 1966. The 1997 season saw the largest crowd in school history of 28,714 for a 17-16 victory by the Bulldogs over the University of Louisiana at Monroe Warhawks. Future professional quarterback Tim Rattay was involved in the first-ever matchup of future pro quarterbacks at the stadium, facing off against UCF's Daunte Culpepper in 1998. The first nationally-televised game at the stadium came in 2002 against the Fresno State Bulldogs. In an October 2004 rematch, the team achieved an upset victory by defeating the 17th-ranked Bulldogs. In 2008, the team defeated the Mississippi State University Bulldogs 22-14 in its season opener. It was the first-ever visit by a school from a BCS conference to Joe Aillet Stadium.
Read more about this topic: Joe Aillet Stadium
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