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2 The Tech Talk

HOMECOMING EDITION 2012

When I think back to homecoming week during my high school days and the rst ew years o college, theyare usually some o the warmest memories rom that time. That angst-lled period o our lives that high schoolcan sometimes be (or most o us anyway) is erased like a hard drive when mulling over that magical week.

Who can orget getting out o class to play games like the egg toss and perorming chants in hopes thatyour class would win the spirit stick? There was also the big dance where a DJ, who may or may not havelooked like Vanilla Ice in his earlier days, played current pop hits and songs rom our childhoodlaying on thenostalgia heavily.

All the guys stood around in their tuxes on the outskirts o the dance foor, wanting to dance but not sure itheir popularity would diminish when they did so.

The girls all swirled around in their dresses while casting glances at the other girls dresses, thinking, Imso glad that I did not buy that one.

Then you go to college and the egg toss and spirit stick goes away, replaced by spring fings and step showsand the only thing that remains the same is the parade and the homecoming court.

There is always a great deal o respect or the king and queen and their cour t, and no matter i you knowthem or not, there is always adoration.

Throwing ootball into the mix amps up the excitement o the week. Families and spectators pour intoRuston and tailgate and cheer our Bulldog ootball team on to a great victory.

We remember all o these things not just because we get out o class to participate in these activities, butbecause there is a warmness, a camaraderie among students, proessors, alumni, ootball players, the janitorialsta, those passed and those who are touring Tech this year or the rst time.

We are all connected during this time, no matter who you are or what your major is.Who doesnt want to be connected?

In putting together this special homecoming week edition, we want you, the reader, to be connected to theevents during this great time or our university as well. Our editorial sta wanted to do something special thisall, and we did not have to look any urther than homecoming week to center a special edition around.

We wanted to capture the essence o homecoming, the stor ies rom years past, what to look orward to, soyou, the reader, can keep up with everything throughout the week and stay inormed.

Our dedicated sta o reporters, editors and advisers worked hard to get this special edition out, which weare proud o and hopeully will become a Tech Talk tradition. We hope that even i you arent able to make it toany o the events, you can eel like you are here with us and getting a glimpse o all the great things going on.

Most importantly, we want you to stay connected.

Happy Homecoming!

Patrick Boyd

Dear Alumni, Students, Faculty and Staff,

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

MANAGING EDITOR

NEWS EDITORS

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

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DEPARTMENT HEAD

Patrick Boyd

Molly Bowman

Austin Vining

Rebecca Alvarez

Hannah Schilling

Natalie McElwee

Grace Moore

Reina Kempt

Derek Amaya

Chad Merritt

Jessica Van Alstyne

Sumeet Shrestha

Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay

Shradha BhandariRod Waynick

Judith Roberts

T. Scott Boatright

Dr. Reginald Owens

Michael LeBlanc

Michael LeBlanc

Dr. Reginald Owens

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ELISSA GRAJEK

taff Reporter

Every year during home-oming, the Alumni Associa-ion invites Tech graduatesack on campus orn annual awardseremony and 50ear reunion cel-bration.

This year, thelumni Awards Lun-heon celebrateshe universitys 2012lumnus o the year,he Arlis Scogin Dis-inguished Service awardecipient and distinguishedlumni o the colleges.

The luncheon will be heldriday, Nov. 2, in Techs Stu-ent Center and is open tohe public at $25 per personr $200 or a reserved table eight.

The Alumni Association

wards both the Alumnus ohe Year and Young Alumnus the Year to graduates whoave shown out-tanding achieve-ents in their years

ter Tech.This years

lumnus o the Years John Allen, a busi-ess graduate in thelass o 1973.

Ater his gradu-tion, Allen servedwo terms as presi-ent o Tech Alumnissociation and isurrently a member o Loui-iana Tech Universitys Foun-ation Board.

Today, Allen is president Pipe Line Constructors,

LLC, and a member o theUS Pipe Line ContractorsAssociation Board o Direc-tors.

Brooke Lassiter Stoehr,who graduated in 2002, is

being honored asthe Young Alumnuso the Year.

Stoehr gradu-ated rom Tech witha bacheloro sciencedegree, in

business ad-ministrationand contin-

ued to Florida StateUniversity where sheearned her mastero science degreein sports administra-tion in 2004.

Ater graduating romTech, she worked as an assis-tant coach or the womans

basketball teams at Tech,

the University o SouthernMississippi and Texas TechUniversity until accepting the

co-head coach posi-tion at Northwest-ern State Univer-sity where she nowworks.

Each collegewithin the univer-sity is responsibleor awarding gradu-ates as distinguishedalumni o the year.They are:

College of Ap-plied and Natural

Sciences: James (Mickey)Rachal, 1984 graduate.

Rachal continued his edu-

cation at Oklahoma StateUniversity, where he earned

a master o sciencedegree in orestecology and silvicul-ture.

In 2000, Rachalworked as managingdirector or MolpusTimberlands Man-agement where hemanaged 300,000acres o timber-

land or our largeclients until becom-ing vice presidento land and timberwith Roy O. MartinLumber Co. in 2004where he currentlyworks.

College ofBusiness: RandallFowler, 1978 and1989 graduate.

He began his career work-ing with Deloitte, Haskinsand Sells as a certifed pub-lic accountant beore hold-

ing fnance and accountingpositions or NorAm EnergyCorporation, ArkLa Explo-ration Company, and Butler-Johnson, Inc.

Among other positions,Fowler is a member o theAdvisory Board o the Ale-rian MLP Index and on theAdvisory Board o the Col-lege o Business at Tech.

College of Education:Debbie Primeaux William-son, 1985 and 1986 gradu-ate.

Ater earning her mastersdegree Williamson gradu-ated rom the University oHouston with a doctorate oeducation.

Beore accepting her mostrecent teaching position as

an assistant proes-sor at the Universityo West Alabama,where her husbandis the director oathletics. William-son was a proessorand coordinator ophysical educationat North CarolinaState University.

College of Engineeringand Science: Nicholas Akins,1982 and 1989 graduate.

Currently, he serves aschairman o the Board oDirectors o the ElectricPower Research Institute andis a member o the boards othe National Association oManuacturers, the Mid-OhioFood Bank, the Greater Co-lumbus Arts Council and theWexner Center or the Arts.

College of Liberal Arts:Kenneth Murchison, 1969graduate.

M u r c h i s o nearned his J.D. in1972 and mastersin history in 1975at the Universityo Virginia, andhis SJD rom Har-vard Law School in1988.

Murchison mostrecently taught asa visiting proes-sor at the MoritzCollege o Law atOhio State University, andhas been published in seven

books and countless articles.While the Alumni Asso-

ciation annually recognizespast graduates who have

showed outstanding achieve-ments ater Tech, they also

recognize whenn o n - g r a d u a t e simpact the Techcommunity, andaward the Ar-lis Scogin Distin-guished ServiceAward.

Named aterits frst recipientin 1999, Arlis D.Scogin, the Dis-tinguished Service Award isgiven to a person in the com-munity who need not be agraduate or even student oTech, but someone who is amajor part o theTech amily whois dedicated to theoverall mission othe university.

This year, Rus-ton Mayor Dan Hol-lingsworth, is beingawarded or hisunrelenting dedica-

tion withb u i l d i n gand main-taining thepartnership betweenthe university andthe city.

Ater graduatingrom Meridian JuniorCollege in 1954, Hol-lingsworth began acareer in media and

broadcast at WTOK-TV, purchased KRUS

AM/FM in 1969 and oper-ated KRUS/KXKZ/KNBBuntil 2003.

Since frst being electedmayor in 1998, he has beenan avid member o the com-

munity. He is a 35 year mem-ber o Lions International

and audit/budgetcommittee membero the Methodist Chil-drens Home.

As a member othe Tech amily, Hol-lingsworth was di-rector o InnovativeStudent Housing atTech and developedthe Louisiana TechSports Radio Net-

work in 1969.While teachers and sta

at Tech work around theclock to educate and preparestudents or lie ater gradu-

ation, The AlumniAssociation likes toreward those whohave taken advan-tage o the oppor-tunities in lie bywelcoming them

back to campus andawarding them ortheir service.

Alumni return tothe campus to onceagain be remindedo their Tech mem-

ories, to renew their riend-ships with the members otheir Tech amily and see theamazing progress the Univer-sity is making, said CorreStegall, vice president oAlumni Relations.

She said she hopes cur-rent students are able to wit-ness the lasting connectionsthe alumni eel or their uni-versity and in return betterunderstand the reality andimportance o a lielong as-sociation with Tech.

Email comments [email protected].

The Tech Talk 3


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Accomplished alumni rewarded

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4 The Tech Talk


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Organizations step into homecomingADDIE MARTIN

Staff Reporter

Homecoming may seemas though it only lasts orone week, but behind thescenes, it has been going onsince September.

Step, a type o dance inwhich participants use theirentire body to make rhythmy using spoken word, clap-ping and stomping, is dem-onstrated at the Tech StepShow each year held at 7p.m. on Oct. 31 in the ScottyRobertson Memorial Gym.

Antoria Leggett, a seniorspeech pathology major,said organizations all overcampus are practicing ev-ery day and working hardto prepare or the upcomingstep show.

As the president o Na-tional Talent and Council,

she said the step show de-serves hard work because itwas ormed in order to en-hance unity between all or-ganizations across campus.

Leggett said she thinksthe Greeks are leaders androle models on campus, sothe step show is a way orthem to come together or apositive reason.

There will be eight or-ganizations stepping to theeat o school spirit in the

2012 show.We had eight last year

also, but this year there aredierent teams, like the

Baptist Collegiate Ministry,Leggett said.

The teams ace the hardwork head on as the showquickly approaches.

Caroline Sotile, a se-nior biology major, said herteam, Alpha Chi Omega so-rority, has been practicingour times per week or thepast our weeks.

We try to have so manypractices so everyone isable to make it to at leasttwo or three every week,she said. School doescome rst though, so thegirls are not kicked o thestep team i they miss.

Caitlyn Hendricks, asophomore amily andchild studies major, said hergroup, Temple Tech/BCM,are lucky i they get timeo rom practice.

We practice in oursleep, she said. We havebeen going strong since the

end o September.Practice, practice, prac-

tice is what is heard romthe teams willing to partici-pate in a dance that is notseen very oten.

Step is not somethingthat is just thrown togetherovernight, said Hendricks.You not only have to hearthe beat and have at least alittle bit o coordination butalso have to listen to eachother.

Step is all about unityand making the beat togeth-er, she said.

However, Sotile said the

practice is not the only im-portant aspect.

So much work is putinto it, she said. We had tocut the music, train some-one to work with the musicto know when to stop it orstep and start it again ordance and talk to T-shirt

chairs to get shirts made orthe event.

She said all o the hardwork pays o in the end.

The step show is notonly an easy way to earnpoints or homecomingweek, but it is also a chanceto show spirit or homecom-ing, to show unity with othercampus organizations andto show the artistic ability toperorm a step and dance,Sotile said.

Leggett said some teamseven get creative with theperormance.

The most creative thingI have ever seen is a back-fip o o a pyramid, saidLeggett. It was very riskybut looked cool.

Hendricks said theteams this year plan to addacrobatics, tumbling, skits,strange costumes and muchmore in order to make suretheir step is the best step.

Even though the StepShow is not a competition,we want to represent ourorganization well, she said.May the best team win.

Email comments to

[email protected].

Photo by Sharma Bhandari

The BCM/Temple Tech team prepares or their frst step show.

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The Tech Talk 5


SCOTT WALKINGSTICK

Staff Reporter

Right beore she wascrowned homecomingqueen o 2011, MorganBroussard reected backon the entire process shehad been through duringthe previous week and won-dered how she made it thisar.

When the announcercalled her name, she saidshe was in absolute shock.

I remember thinking tomysel, Did this really justhappen? said Broussard,a senior marketing major. Itruly could not believe myname had just been calledout as the homecomingqueen.

Broussard said she re-members the crowd cheer-

ing and being very sup-portive. Broussard had herparents and grandparents atthe ceremony and said theywere just as shocked.

They were very proudI made the homecom-ing court, but they neverthought I would be queen,she said.

Broussard was crownedalongside Top Escort o2011, Shane Rich, a seniorfnance major.

Rich said it has been anhonor and a privilege toserve as the homecomingking over the past year.

I it werent or the manygenerations o aculty, sta

and alumni who have comebeore me, then there wouldbe little to speak o at thisinstitution, Rich said.

Broussard said she eltshe had a responsibility togive back to Tech and toshow support or the Bull-dogs in every way possibleater becoming queen.

I shared my love andsupport or Tech by being anactive member o many or-ganizations on campus andattending sporting events,Broussard said.

Broussard said over thepast year, she has tried togive her time to the univer-sity that has given her somuch and impacted her lieso greatly.

I want to tell everyoneon homecoming court to en-joy all the events during the

entire homecoming week,Broussard said. One o myavorite moments was be-ing on the ootball feld andseeing all my riends, amily,Tech ans and alumni sup-porting me. It was a once-in-a-lietime experience.

A word o wisdom romBroussard to the uturequeen is to really reectabout the wonderul oppor-tunity she has to representthe students and Tech.

Rich said he does not liketo place emphasis on histitle, but preers to recognizethe success o the institu-

tion that he is ortunate tobe a part o.

Being named home-coming king simply gaveme another reason to striveto give back to the universityin any way possible and at-tempt to embody the valuesthat our university repre-sents, he said.

Regardless Rich believesit is the duty o every stu-dent to support growth andexcellence o Techs manyacets.

Broussard said when shecrowns the 2012 queen, itwill be a bittersweet yet ex-citing moment.

Being crowned wastruly an unorgettable expe-rience or me, and I hope ithas the same impact on thisyears queen, she said. Ihave confdence in my el-low students that they willchoose a truly deserving

person to have the honor obeing named queen, and Iam excited to pass the titleto her.

Rich said the continuedsuccess o Tech is evidenttoday and is something he isproud o.

I cannot express enoughgratitude toward those whohad a role in establishing theoundation o this institu-tion and or all the people inmy lie who have helped mealong the way and helpedmold me into the individualI am today, Rich said.

Email comments to

[email protected].

TECH STUDENTS

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year in the life of homecoming royalty

Submitted photo

Morgan Broussard and Shane Rich presented as 2011 Homecoming Queen and Top Escort.

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6 The Tech Talk


KELSY KERSHAW

Staff Reporter

Mustard, chocolatesyrup and eggs were onlythree o the ood items thatdressed Lexie Kennedyshoodie and hair ater the

tower stand competitionlast year during homecom-ing week.

It takes hours o clean-ing and showering to getrid o the smell, she said.Although, I did enjoy theopportunity to compete onehal o my sorority.

Kennedy, a senior kine-siology major, said she hascompeted in the event orthe past two years and haseen victorious both times.

However, she said the eventwas anything but un.

I stayed on the wall orabout our and a hal hours,she said. It was miserable.

In the tower stand event,participants stand with theirhands on the clock towerwhile they have ood pouredon them every 15 to 30 min-utes, said Katherine Strahan,the 2012 SGA homecomingchairman.

The top our winnersreceive points or their or-ganization, she said. Firstplace receives 100 points,second place90 points,third place80 points andourth place70 points.

Kennedy said winning isso rewarding ater the physi-cal and mental workout par-

ticipants endure during theevent.

Ater standing there orso many hours, your bodybecomes numb, she said.It is so miserable and phys-ically demanding.

The name o the compe-tition can be deceiving, asthere is more involved than

just standing next to theclock tower, said AndrewBellairs, a junior nancemajor.

Being a participant isreally physically tough, hesaid. I thought it was justgoing to be a contest whichdepended on my abilityto stand there and handlegross things.

Like Kennedy, Bellairssaid he has been a partici-pant o the competition orthe past two years. However,he said he enjoyed his expe-rience as a participant.

It is a great thing to sayyou have accomplished, es-

pecially, ater you take 10 or

more showers to get rid othe smell, he said.

Taking the ood that isthrown at them is the easypart, Bellairs said. It is hold-ing the physical positionsand being in the state omind or an athletic compe-

tition that makes it tough orparticipants.I you are not in decent

shape, cannot handle fex-ibility or hold positions onone leg, then it is nearlyimpossible to succeed, Bel-lairs said.

Kennedy said the physi-cality is one thing she thinkspeople ail to realize aboutthe competition. It brings alittle bit o pain and morediscomort, but in the end,it really is un, said Bellairs.

You just have to stayin the correct mindset, hesaid. It is very easy to getinvolved in all the distrac-

tions [ood being thrown]

happening around you.He said the key is to not

ocus on only your body.Some o the positions

get painul, he said. Youhave to try and make it anout-o-body experience.

Determination is what

Kennedy said carried herthrough to victory.I hate to lose, she said.

You have to be a very com-petitive person to make it arin this competition.

This year, Kennedy saidshe has a test the day otower stand or she would

plan on winning a third time.I want to wish all the

participants good luck,she said. It will be miser-able but that makes winningeven more rewarding.

In the end, it is not justwinning that makes the ex-

perience rewarding, Bellairssaid.This is one o the ew

competitions where onlyone person represents anentire group that is compet-ing, he said. It is a greatprivilege to represent myraternity in such a way.

It is determination likeKennedys and dedicationlike Bellairss that makes thecompetition a true success,Strahan said, along with theunity showcased by partici-pating organizations.

It shows the Tech amily

coming together to supporttheir organizations par-ticipants, she said. Theystand on the sidelines andcheer their representative tonever quit.

Email comments [email protected].

Tower stand is a test of mind and body

Submitted photo

Chance Meyers participates in the 2011 competition.

CONGRATULATESOUR HOMECOMING NOMINEES

BarbaraBaldwin

John FosterChestnut

MalloryCox

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The Tech Talk 7


ALLISON EAST

Staff Reporter

Each year one lucky girl walksacross the feld at Joe Al-liet Stadium, gets kissed on

the cheek by Tech PresidentDan Reneau and stands in ront othe students as their homecomingqueen.

In 2006, the students choseCourtney Scott McGuee, a seniorearly childhood education major, toreceive this honor.

Actually making the court wasoverwhelming; I absolutely loveLouisiana Tech and I have grown somuch here, she said to Tech Talk re-porters in 2006 beore being namedqueen. I eel that my Tech experi-ences have molded and shaped meto the person I am today and I amhonored to be selected by the stu-dent body to represent Tech as parto homecoming court.

Days ater the interview, Mc-Guee and her escort, Caleb Smith,were ormally presented as queenand top escort in ront o a hugecrowd o students, alumni and ansduring the Tech vs. Idaho homecom-ing game.

I looked at Caleb and asked iI had just heard my name called,McGuee said in a Tech Talk inter-view. I knew it was true when I wasapproached by Dr. Reneau and lastyears queen, Blair Bahlinger, who were allsmiles.

Beore being named homecomingqueen, McGuee served as a 2005 Orien-tation Student Leader with her then uturefanc Klark Kent. The two were set to be

married shortly ater graduation. But thewedding never came. Courtney graduated

as planned May 19, 2007. Four days later,she headed home to see her amily, lostcontrol o her car and atally crashed.

Courtney was one o the sweetest, mostdown to earth people I have ever met, Techalumna Lauren Barron wrote in the amilyscondolence book. She was my sister in Phi

Mu, my orientation leader and my class-mate in amily and child studies. She always

had the most positive attitude and neverseemed to have a bad day. There was nota mean bone in her body and there was al-ways a smile on her ace that lit up the entireroom.

The condolence book is flled with mem-ories and stories about McGuee rom a

variety o people, including teachers shestudent taught with.

I was ortunate to have Courtneycomplete one o her student teach-ing assignments in my classroom,wrote Tammy Schales. Her brightsmiling ace and inectious laughmade my third grade room so much

more cheerul or the time she sharedwith us.The accident occurred on La. 913

only a ew miles rom her parentshome. Her uneral was held May 25,2007 at her home church, First Bap-tist Church in Harrisonburg. When inRuston, she attended Temple BaptistChurch.

Courtney and Klark were inour Sunday School class at TempleBaptist, Matt and Amanda Barhamwrote. Courtney was a beautiul ladyand I enjoyed the ew times we wereable to spend together. I remembertalking with her about fnding a job inthe all. She was a wonderul personand will be missed by many.

Together the condolences paint

a picture o the inspirational personmany ound her to be. They can stillbe accessed online through YoungsFuneral Home.

McGuee spent her time at Techgiving back to the university shesaid in interviews and it gave her somuch. Through Phi Mu, orientationand the Students o Louisiana EarlyChildhood Education Association,she touched many lives.

As seven girls take the feld Sat-urday night, they will walk over the samepatches o grass Courtney Scott McGueewalked on as queen six years ago.

The impact she made on people went arbeyond the feld, and her memory will reignar longer than her crown.

Email comments to [email protected].

ech remembers former queen

Courtney McGuffee, pictured alongside top escort Caleb Smith, was crowned homecoming queen in 2006,but died in a car accident recently after being crowned queen.

File Photo by Donny Crowe

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8 The Tech Talk


ALLISON EAST

Staff Reporter

Leah Beasley pushed asideher long curly hair and grinnedas she talked about how muchshe loves her job.

Beasley, the associate ath-letics director in charge omarketing and game manage-ment, graduated rom RustonHigh and came to Tech in 2001to play sotball. She has beeninvolved in Tech athletics eversince.

Being an athlete I knewsome o the advisers here and

the directors here, and Stacy(Gilbert) helped me get on as aGA, she said. I was a gradu-ate assistant or our athlet-ics director at that time, JimOakes. I always thank him orgiving me my rst chance.

Beasley credits Gilbert withhelping her choose her major.

It was beore a road trip,and you have to declare byour junior year, Beasley said.

She brought me in, and shesaid you cant travel unless youdeclare, and I was like I havetwo hours to decide this?

Gilbert and Beasley dis-cussed Beasleys interest in

people and decided marketingwas the way to go. Declaredand ready, Beasley headed to

elors in marketing in May 2005and completed the masters obusiness administration pro-gram in August 2006.

When I got my MBA, he(Oakes) had a ull-time positionavailable and wanted to open itup and actually have a market-ing department, so I jumpedon that, she said. Theyve

been stuck with me ever since.I love it. Id rather bebusy than bored.

Beasley doespromotions or all16 o Techs NCAAsports. She said theyocus primarily onootball, mens andwomens basketball,volleyball, soccer,sotball and base-ball.

There are twodierent sides basi-cally, Beasley said.Its your marketing and yourpromotions on one side andyour branding and your licens-

ing on another. Its makingsure that all o the publicationswe put out look good, puttingthe best oot orward or Techathletics. The other side isthe game management side,making sure the games runsmoothly.

She said much more goesinto game planning and man-aging than most ans realize.

I we have a basketballgame or a ootball game, itsthe script or the timing sheet,she said. Its setting up o-cials and making sure thevisiting teams are set up. Ourootball scriptliterally every

30 seconds is timed.Beasley works ar more thanthe usual 40-hour workweek.

ing events per weekend.Her avorite part o working

the games is getting to run thepublic address system.

I get to interact with theans and just be down there,Beasley said. I get to see whatgoes on in the behind-the-scenes aspect o it. Being aan is great too, but getting to

make the decisions behind thescene is really cool.Im very blessed toget to do that.

While managingall o Techs sportstakes up a lot o hertime, Beasley stillnds time or her-sel.

I usually amoutside, she said. Iwalk around here. Ihave a dog, so I walkhim around here atnight. I dont want

to be stuck around my house.Thats something I dont do alot is just sit around the house.

I spent most o my time here.Sometimes I eel like I shouldpay the Thomas AssemblyCenter rent.

Beasley said her coworkershelp her time at the TAC eelless like work and more like aamily.

Its a close-knit group herejust because we do work to-gether so much and it is a smallsta, she said. I like to spenda lot o time with my sta,riends or my dog.

Talking about the longhours o her job, Beasley nev-er stops smiling. She wears ablack Tech jacket and fips her

hair. Her love or Tech and herjob lls every word.

Beasley:

from

athlete to

employee

Behind the scenes with Tech Athletics:

BEASLEY

AUSTIN VININGManaging Editor

Each season ans ll Techs ootballmecca, Joe Aillet Stadium, to watchthe players on the eld, theres anotherpresence commanding the attentiono thousands. The Jumbotron, Dawg-zilla, ullls many acets o service orans. The massive screen provides ansaccess to instant replays, commercialseaturing Tech alumni and interactivecontent like the Kiss Cam.

For such an integral part o Techootball, ew people know the man be-hind the two-ton TV.

During home ootball games I di-rect the content, said Josh McDaniel,multimedia services manager, Ev-erything you see on the video board,we have a specic time that it will beplayed.

McDaniel, an 05 Tech alumnus, isin charge o letting the producer knowwhat to do to create a seamless dis-play or Bulldog ans and visitors alike.

Im also responsible or all o themusic you hear, he said.

McDaniel is responsible or editing,loading and sending o music or theootball games.

Football media is not the only ca-pacity in which McDaniel works.

I love baseball season; period, hesaid.

McDaniel not only prepares musicand runs the public address system or

Techs home baseball games, but he isalso in charge o marketing and pro-motions

on the eld, but were always trying togure out what we can do; Im workingon a marketing plan or baseball now.

When McDaniel is not perchedin the baseball press box or callingthe shots or the jumbotron, he canbe ound in his oce, located in theThomas Assembly Center.

JMac, as hes known by many, sitsbehind his desk, which is surroundedby boxes lled with T-shirts and other

promotional materials.A ocal point in the room is the 55

television, which doubles as his com-puter monitor.

Being in charge o multimedia orathletics is a pretty broad job descrip-tion, which McDaniel said consists omonitoring the website, web stream-

ing and socialmedia.

I absolutelylove what I getto do on a dailybasis, he said,Im one o theew people whodoesnt mindi their boss

catches them onFacebook. Thatsexciting to me,being in this eld.Its a growing in-dustry: social

media is booming.The eld o work is challenging in

that it is always evolving, McDanielsaid.

I you get stuck doing stu theway you always have youll get let inthis eld, he said, I love learning newthings and applying those.

McDaniel said the best part is be-ing able to work in college athleticsand sports, and that is something hehas wanted to do or a while.

I get to be enveloped in sports ev-

ery day, he said, And even better, Iget to do it at my Alma Mater.

Techs man

behind

the

jumbotron

DEREK J. AMAYA

Associate Sports Editor

Fred Biletniko, a widereceiver or the FloridaState University Seminolesrom 1961 through 1964, setschool single season recordswith 57 receptions, 987 re-ceiving yards and 11 touch-downs. These were impres-sive numbers or the time.

Forty-eight years later,redshirt senior wide receiverQuinton Patton is three-ourths into the season andhas 65 receptions, 848 re-ceiving yards and 10 touch-downs. While his stats painta picture o what he does onthe gridiron, his smile showswhy his personality couldwin over a lot o hearts.

Bulldog ans may be see-ing the Dogs second everFred Biletniko Award win-

ner, the rst being Troy Ed-wards in 1998. Patton is cur-rently on the watch list orthe award, given to the na-tions top receiver every year.

Its great to have thatin ront o your name. Youknow, watch list, Pattonsaid. But Im all about wins.I I dont win it, oh well. II do, oh well. As long as we

have a winning season at theend, its all good.

Born in Nashville, Tenn.,the General, nicknamedater Gen. George S. Patton,attended Coeyville Com-munity College in Kansasand or his rst two seasons.Originally, Patton was goingto go to Texas Tech Univer-sity, until they took away hisscholarship.

Then some man namedMark Tommerdahl (insidereceivers coach) came romLouisiana Tech, which I hadnever heard about, Pattonsaid, laughing. He said totake a visit down here and Iwould like it. I didnt believehim. But then I came downhere and I swear as soon asI stepped oot o the planethat it just elt good in myheart that this is the place Ishould be at.

Once here, Patton saidhe was treated like any otherrecruit to grace Joe AilletStadium with his or her pres-cence. Attending practice,he soon became amiliarwith assistant head coachand wide receivers coachRob Likens, who is someonehe credits or making himthe player he is.

(Patton) makes every-

body good around him, Lik-ens said. On top o that, hesa good person and coach-able. Thats what makes himgreat. He wants to be a bet-ter player and person.

Likens added he does thelittle things right, such as lov-ing to practice, running goodroutes and being a tremen-dous blocker.

He can dominate a

game all by himsel, Likenssaid. Theres times wherehe can just take over a game.I havent been around a guywho has the unique abilityto elevate his game when heneeds to. Against good com-petition, he plays better.

Patton, the man who al-ways rings the bell beorehome games, said he is one

o the leaders, but it is more

about the team eort.There are vocal leaders

and quiet leaders, hesaid, smiling. Themore vocal leader isme. Thats in my na-ture; I have a lot oenergy. I try to geteverybody going.

Patton said itwould be a great

honor i he wins the prestigious award and wants tothank everybody who madhim the receiver he is.

I give great credit to thman above, he said. Gorst, then Ive got to credimy mom and all the coachewho have coached me, especially coach Likens.

Patton, with a smile roear to ear, said he is happy tobe playing in ront o his anin Ruston.

Tech is my second hombesides Nashville, Tenn., hsaid. This is where I grind aand bleed at. I bleed that re

and blue.

Emailcommentsto [email protected].

General Patton fghting or Biletniko

Photo by Sumeet Shrestha

Terrance Williams

Quinton Patton DeAndre Hopkins

McDANIEL

Austin Franklin Willie SneadLouisiana Tech senior

848 yards65 receptions

10 touchdowns

Baylor University senior

1203 yards60 receptions9 touchdowns

Clemson senior


N.M. State sophomore


Ball State sophomore

901 yards65 receptions

6 touchdowns

Redshirt senior wide recevier Quinton General Patton is up for the 2012 Biletnikoff Award.

Documents

HC Edition 2012