The LSU Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is located in the Gym/Armory building. [1] [2] [3] The building opened in 1930 and was completely renovated and reopened in 2002 to house the Academic Center for Student-Athletes. [4] [5]
The goal of the academic center is to offer a comprehensive framework tailored to improve the academic skill set of each student-athlete. [6] The 54,000 square foot Academic Center for Student-Athletes is complete with an entry/atrium, 1,000-seat Bo Campbell auditorium, computer labs, instructional technology lab, resource library with tech center, study area, tutorial center, meeting rooms, classrooms, student learning center, Shaquille O'Neal life skills labs and offices, Eric Hill communications studio, career center and Academic Hall of Fame. [7]
The Academic Center computer lab offers 45 computer workstations and the Mezzanine lab offers study carrels and computer workstations [8]
Group study area with computer access
Offers cubicles for tutoring sessions with computer access
Technology workstation area
Offers career advisement and professional resume production [9]
Offers video production equipment and teaches courses on communication skills and business etiquette [10]
Athlete academic monitoring and iPads are available for LSU student-athletes
The Shaquille O'Neal Life Skills program was developed to teach skills in career/professional development throughout a students career. [11]
In 2000, an idea was floated to create an academic center that would house an academic support program that would blend state-of-the-art technology with an appropriate study environment. [12] LSU looked to Richard Manship, longtime Tiger football booster and CEO of Capital City Press and WBRZ-TV, to head the fundraising for the massive project. [13] Manship, along with the Tiger Athletic Foundation, put together the Academic Center Development Council who was in charge of locating donors. Together with a $5.5 million donation by Cox Communications, more than $14 million was donated by private contributors and supporters of LSU Athletics. [14] [15] In November 2002, the LSU Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes idea came to fruition. [16]
After Huey P. Long became Governor of Louisiana in 1928, he worked with LSU President Thomas Wilson Atkinson to find ways to obtain funding to build new facilities on LSU's campus. A priority was placed on a facility for large student gatherings. President Atkinson proposed a combination Gym/Armory and secured $250,000 from the Louisiana legislature for its construction. [17]
Completed in 1930 and built on the edge of the bluff, the main floor was the gymnasium and the lower floor was the armory. Both floors were located on ground level. The gymnasium had a stage at one end and could be converted into an auditorium by placing four thousand folding chairs on the gymnasium floor and another fifteen hundred in the balcony. When not set up as an auditorium, it provided an open space for basketball games, dances and other events. The second floor provided space for locker rooms, a trophy room and a dance studio.
The Gym/Armory was home to the LSU Tigers basketball team after it moved from the old downtown campus. It was replaced by the John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum in 1937, though for several years both the Gym/Armory and the coliseum were used for LSU basketball games.
Over the years, the original building was renovated many times. The 20 foot ceilings were dropped to 8 and 9 foot ceilings to accommodate air conditioning and had multiple uses throughout its history. [18]
Baton Rouge is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it had a population of 227,470 as of 2020; it is the seat of Louisiana's most populous parish (county-equivalent), East Baton Rouge Parish, and the center of Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area and city, Greater Baton Rouge.
Louisiana State University is an American public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy. The current LSU main campus was dedicated in 1926, consists of more than 250 buildings constructed in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, and the main campus historic district occupies a 650-acre (260 ha) plateau on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Louisiana State University Laboratory School (U-High) is a laboratory school under Louisiana State University and is one of two laboratory schools in Baton Rouge. The other is Southern University Laboratory School, which is operated by Southern University on the north side of the city.
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The John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum or John M. Parker Agricultural Center is a 6,756-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It hosts local sporting events, horse shows, livestock shows and concerts.
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Istrouma High School is an accredited public school located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1917, and is located in East Baton Rouge Parish. Its name is a local Indian word meaning "red stick." Red stick is also the English language translation of the French words baton rouge. The area of north Baton Rouge where the school is located is also known as the Istrouma area.
The 1997 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Gerry DiNardo in his third season at LSU, the Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Christian Life Academy, and later The Church Academy, was a private, non-denominational Christian school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was founded as Christian Life Academy in 1981 and closed in 2017. The school reopened in 2018 as The Church Academy, but closed again in 2019. Thousands of students have attended this K-12 academy including people of influence in the business and sports communities.
The 2013 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Les Miles, the Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 10–3 and mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the SEC's Western Division. LSU was invited to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, where the Tigers lost to Clemson. The team played home games Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Tiger Athletic Foundation (TAF) is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting Louisiana State University (LSU) and its athletics program. It is the primary source of private funding for LSU athletics and contributions to TAF benefit every athlete and every team at LSU. TAF has become a critical element in the success of LSU Athletics by providing private funding for scholarships, academic rewards, new athletic facilities and facility upgrades. In addition to contributions to the athletic scholarship fund, TAF will continue to provide funding for academic programs and facilities that benefit all LSU students.
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The LSU Football Operations Center, built in 2006, is an all-in-one facility that includes the Tigers locker room, players' lounge, Peterson-Roberts weight room, training room, equipment room, video operations center and coaches offices. The video operations center has editing equipment to review practice and game footage along with producing videos for the team.
The LSU Indoor Practice Facility, built in 1991, is a climate-controlled 83,580 square feet facility connected to the Football Operations Center and adjacent to LSU's four outdoor 100-yard football practice fields. It holds the 100-yd Anderson-Feazel LSU indoor field. The playing surface is Momentum Field Turf by SportExe. The indoor practice facility is adjacent to both the football-only weight room and LSU's four outdoor practice fields. Besides allowing the team to practice during inclement weather, the indoor practice facility is used for LSU's summer endurance training and summer football camps.
The LSU Gym Armory building on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was completed in 1930.
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lsu cox communications.