Ruston High School

Ruston High School
Front entrance to Ruston High School in 2010.
Location
900 Bearcat Drive Ruston , Louisiana, 71270 United States
Information
Type	4-year, Public high school
Motto	Firmly Founded
Established	1921 building built 1939
School board	Lincoln Parish School Board
Director	Athletic Director, Jerrod Baugh
Principal	Daniel Gressett
Staff	99.97 (FTE) [1]
Years taught	9-12
Enrollment	1,310 (2024–2025) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.77 [1]
Classes offered	Traditional, Project Based Learning
Hours in school day	8
Classrooms	350-450
Campus	Ruston High School
Campus size	Small
Color(s)	Red, white and grey
Fight song	On, On You Bearcats!
Athletics	Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Powerlifting, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball
Athletics conference	LHSAA District 2-5A
Mascot	Bearcats
Rivals	Neville High School West Monroe High School Ouachita Parish High School
Publication	Chatterbox Newspaper,Bearcat Nation Network, Radio
Yearbook	The Resume
Website	RustonHigh.LincolnSchools.org
Ruston High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Louisiana Show map of the United States
Location	900 Bearcat Drive, Ruston, Louisiana
Coordinates	32°32′05″N92°39′01″W / 32.5348°N 92.65022°W / 32.5348; -92.65022
Area	7 acres (2.8 ha)
Built	1939
Built by	Caldwell Brothers & Hart
Architect	J.W. Smith & Associates
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	92001335 [2]
Added to NRHP	October 8, 1992

Ruston High School Front Steps c.1970

Ruston High School Front steps 1963-64

Ruston High School 1962

Ruston High School Front view

Ruston High School is a four-year public high school located in Lincoln Parish School District of Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1921, and the current high school was built in 1939 near the campus of Louisiana Tech University.

Background

The 7 acres (2.8 ha) campus of Ruston High School consists of two buildings, which were added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 8, 1992. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

The mascot is the Bearcats, with the school colors being red, white, and gray.^{[ citation needed ]} Black students were first admitted in 1970.^{[ citation needed ]} Ruston High School also serves as a memorial to the survivors of the Gulf War. ^[5]

Ruston High School 1968

Athletics

Ruston High Athletics competes in the LHSAA. The Bearcats compete in the highest classification in Louisiana (5A) and participates in District 2-5A.

The Bearcats play in T.L. James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium, located across the street from Ruston High School.

Championships

Football championships

• (1) National Championship: 1990 ^[6]
• (9) State Championships: 1925, 1941, 1947, 1951, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2023 ^[7]
• (5) State Runner-Up: 1944, 1984, 1998, 2022, 2024

Chick Childress

LHSAA Hall of Fame Head Coach Jimmy "Chick" Childress (1932-2015) was head coach at Ruston High School for eleven seasons (1979 to 1990). ^[8] He led his alma mater to a 131–27 (.829) record and four state championships in 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1990. ^[8] His 1990 team also won a national championship. ^[8] As a player, he was on the 1947 state championship football team. ^[8] He was an assistant football coach at rival Neville High School in Monroe from 1958 to 1972 helping the school to win four state championships and was later head coach at Carroll High School in Monroe in 1973 and at the private Cedar Creek School in Ruston from 1976 to 1978. ^[8] He also coached at the college level at Northeastern Louisiana University from 1974 to 1976. ^[8] In 2001, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. ^[8]

Childress played football and received his undergraduate degree at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana State College, and obtained his graduate degree at Louisiana Tech University. ^[9]

Radio

The school owns a radio station, KBNF-LP (101.3 FM, "Bearcat Radio"), founded in 2014, which broadcasts to the Ruston area with a 80s classic hits format. The broadcast license is held by the Lincoln Parish School Board. ^[10] Ruston High School is one of two high schools in the state of Louisiana with a student radio program broadcasting to the Ruston area.

Notable alumni

• Leon Barmore -- Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball coach 1977–2002.
• Kentrell Brice (class of 2013) -- NFL player
• Wayne Cage, Former MLB player (Cleveland Indians)
• Martie Cordaro (class of 1991) -- (born April 8, 1973 in Ruston, La.) attended Louisiana Tech University. He is current President and minority owner Omaha Storm Chasers, Minor League Baseball Triple-A Kansas City Royals and Union Omaha USL League One pro soccer. Cordaro was the 2013 MiLB Baseball America executive of the year.
• Fred Dean—inductee into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame, played for Louisiana Tech, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers
• Cade Gibson (Class of 2016) -- MLB pitcher for the Miami Marlins ^[11]

• 

  Ruston High School Auditorium c.1950s

  Andy Hamilton, NFL player
• Bert Jones -- NFL Quarterback, nicknamed "the Ruston Rifle", played for LSU earning Heisman Trophy contention and All-America honors for his 1972 season and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He was the 1973 NFL 2nd overall draft pick by the Baltimore Colts and later played for the Los Angeles Rams
• Rob Shadoin (Class of 1971) -- member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 10 in Lincoln and Union parishes since 2012

• 

  Ruston High School 1965

  Michael Brooks (Class of 1982) (born October 2, 1964, in Ruston, Louisiana) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played for Ruston High School, college ball at Louisiana State University (LSU), then professionally with the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants, and the Detroit Lions.
• Kyle Williams (Class of 2002) (born June 10, 1983, in Ruston, Louisiana) is a retired American football defensive tackle of the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. He was drafted in the fifth-round of the 2006 NFL Draft and played his entire 13-year career with the Bills. He served as defensive coordinator for the Bearcats from 2020-2024. He is currently the Interior Defensive Line Coach for the LSU Tigers.
• Jack Ramsaur II (attended in the 1970s) Maj. Gen. Jack W. Ramsaur II is the mobilization assistant to the Commander, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.
• Jeff Mangum (Class of 1989) Born October 24, 1970. Musician best known for being the lyricist, vocalist and guitarist of the band Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as being one of the cofounders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company.
• Robert Schneider (Class of 1989) Born March 9, 1971. Musician and record producer best known as the leader of pop band The Apples in stereo, as well as being one of the cofounders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company.
• George Stone, Former MLB player (Atlanta Braves, New York Mets)

  

  Ruston High School Front view c.1969

• Will Cullen Hart (Class of 1990) Born May 29, 1971. Musician best known as a leader of psychedelic-pop band The Olivia Tremor Control, as well as being one of the cofounders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company.
• Rodney Young (Class of 1991), Played college football at LSU, played 4 year of NFL football (New York Giants).
• Mike Green (Class of 1996), (born December 6, 1976, in Ruston, Louisiana) is a retired American football safety and cornerback for the NFL. He played football at Ruston High School and Northwestern State. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears as the last player drafted in the 2000 NFL draft making him that year's "Mr. Irrelevant". He later played for the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins.
• Isaiah Buggs (Class of 2015) Ranked by Rivals as 2017 #1 Juco player in the nation. Starting Defensive End at the University of Alabama and a 2018 College Football Playoff National Champion. He was previously an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions in the National Football League. He was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Scotty Thurman (Class of 2013) an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at Little Rock Parkview.
• Kenny Wright played football at Ruston High School, Northwestern State University, University of Arkansas, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999. He is currently the Defensive Backs Coach for the Bearcats.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

References

1. "Ruston High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
3. "Ruston High School" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. Retrieved August 9, 2018. with four photos and two maps
4. National Register Staff (June 1992). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Ruston High School". National Park Service . Retrieved August 9, 2018. With 14 photos from 1992.
5. "Ruston High School Alumni Association". Archived from the original on January 30, 2023."History of Ruston High School." Ruston High School Alumni.
6. Boatright, T. Scott (September 16, 2021). "Undefeated 1990 Bearcats to be honored during RHS Homecoming festivities". Lincoln Parish Journal. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
7. Dietrich, Aaron; Murray, Megan; Fairbairn, Brendon (December 10, 2023). "Ruston wins first state championship since 1990". KNOE. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
8. "Former Ruston High football coach Jimmy 'Chick' Childress dies". nola.com. August 4, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
9. "Jimmy "chick" Childress". The Monroe News-Star. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
10. • Facility details for Facility ID 193182 (KBNF) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
    • KBNF-LP at FCCdata.org
    • KBNF in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
11. "Cade Gibson Stats & Scouting Report". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved April 20, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• School History from the Alumni Association