Athletics
LSU fields teams in 20 varsity sports (9 men's, 11 women's), and is a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the Southeastern Conference. The football team's official nickname, the Fighting Tigers, is derived from a rowdy Confederate brigade known as the "Louisiana Tigers" that served in the Confederate infantry during the American Civil War. Tigers football was started in 1893 by Dr. Charles E. Coates, a chemistry professor from Baltimore who served as the head football coach during the team's maiden years. The first "season" of LSU football in 1893 consisted of one game against the Tulane Green Wave on November 25, which LSU lost 34-0.
LSU Tigers football has earned three national championship wins in the 1958, 2003 and 2007 seasons. LSU won their second National Championship in 2003 with a 21–14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners and their third National Championship in 2007 with a 38–24 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The LSU Tigers baseball team has won 6 NCAA College World Series titles, most recently in 2009, winning against Texas (W 7–6 11 innings; L 1–5; W 11–4) Most Valuable Player for the 2009 CWS was Jared Mitchell, who also hit a second inning 3-run home run in the final game.
LSU Athletics is represented by its mascot, a Bengal tiger named Mike the Tiger. The tiger was named after Mike Chambers, LSU's athletic trainer in 1936, and was bought for $750 from the Little Rock Arkansas Zoo. Mike V reigned from 1990–2007 and remained housed in his on-campus habitat until his death due to kidney failure on May 18, 2007 at age 17. The latest in the line of Mike tigers is Mike VI, a three year old, 300-pound (140 kg) tiger acquired from the Indiana big-cat sanctuary. Previously known as Roscoe, "Mike VI" is a Bengal-Siberian mix and was officially named Mike on September 8, 2007. He was introduced to fans at the home game against Florida on October 6, 2007.
LSU's arenas include Tiger Stadium (also known as "Death Valley"), Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC), Carl Maddox Fieldhouse (indoor track), Bernie Moore Stadium (outdoor track), Tiger Park (softball), and Alex Box Stadium (baseball). The new Alex Box Stadium was officially opened in a home game against Villanova on Friday, February 20, 2009.
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