He’s been there for all the big moments.
He was in Omaha for Warren Morris’ epic home run that shocked the college baseball world in 1996.
He watched as former Tigers would enter as lowly freshmen and leave as high MLB draft picks.
LSU sports information director and voice of Alex Box Bill Franques has worked in the sports information office at LSU since he graduated in 1985. Franques began working as an intern but soon worked his way up and became the sports information director for the baseball team.
Franques is the mediator between the players and the media, and also hosts a radio show and commentates the games over the radio. Starting lineups, batter intros and promotional ads between innings from the Box are all the voice of Franques.
“Although I’m not playing in the game, I feel like I’m participating in the game,” Franques said. “I used to be responsible for the music, as well. I guess I enjoy the part of being the pulse of the game.”
To notarize the 30 years that Franques has given to the LSU baseball team, Mainieri presented the idea at the beginning of the season to dedicate May 5 as “Bill Franques Day” at the Box. The ticket stubs that day will also have a picture of Franques.
The ‘90s were a peak time to be a baseball fan at LSU, as Skip Bertman led the Tigers to four national championships during the decade. Franques experienced first-hand all the big moments, including the walkoff home run from Morris in 1996.
“It was just an unbelievable game,” Franques said. “It looked pretty grim going into the bottom of the ninth inning. We were down early and then fought our way back to that point. It was just an incredible thing to witness.”
Morris’ story was well- documented in a 30-for-30 piece entitled “Walk Off,” which explained the hardships that Morris had to go through that season. A broken hand kept the senior out for most of the season and when he returned to the lineup, all he was able to do was bunt until the morning of the championship game against Miami.
Franques said that for some shots in the documentary, former Tiger slugger Greg Deichmann was used because he was also a left-handed batter.
The success has continued under current coach Paul Mainieri as LSU has made the World Series trip five times with the lone championship coming in 2009. But Franques remembers the 2008 season as one of the most memorable teams during the Mainieri-era.
An influx of freshmen were coming to the team, headlined by DJ LeMahieu, Leon Landry and Micah Gibbs. That team came in as a preseason top 10 team, but a 23-16 start to the season left some doubters.
LSU proceeded to go on a 23-game win streak, won the SEC tournament and advanced to the College World Series before losing to North Carolina twice.
“The expectations were so high that year, but we got off to a terrible start,” Franques said. “The final Super Regional game that year was against UC-Irvine, and it was the last game in the old Alex Box Stadium. The place just erupted so that was one of the most enduring memories of my tenure here.”
Franques said that LSU has embraced many different and unique personalities over the years on the baseball team.
One player that stood out to him was Chad Cooley.
Cooley was from Barbe High School in Lake Charles, where current players Bryce and Beau Jordan and catcher Hunter Feduccia attended.
“Cooley came to LSU in 1993 and struggled a little bit his freshman year,” Franques said. “By the time he was a senior for the 1996 season, he was a leader and one of the best players on that team. Just an outgoing kid that was one of the most entertaining players we ever had.”
Having been around for 30 years, Franques has worked under two of college baseball’s greatest coaches in Bertman and Mainieri. And it’s no secret that Bertman and Mainieri aren’t just LSU’s greatest college coaches, but two of the most respected coaches in college baseball history.
Franques said they have similar qualities that make them the coaches that they are.
“I would say they are both detail-oriented,” Franques said. “Skips big saying was ‘Everything counts,’ there is nothing that is unimportant. From the game programs to the netting behind home plate, to the service at the concession stands. Everyone worked together to make the program great. They are both extremely open and honest to the players, and they gather a great deal of respect from the players because of that.”
Franques can be considered a right-hand man to Mainieri, making the coaches’ job as easy as he can. Franques and Mainieri have built a close relationship in their time working together.
“He knows everything about the history of LSU baseball,” Mainieri said. “He’s such a first-class person and his great diversity. He’s a great SID, a great writer and a great PA announcer. Anything you ask Bill to do, he’ll do it in a very competent way. I think Bill deserves to be recognized for his amazing dedication to our program and [May 5 will] be a special day.”
LSU baseball sports information director and voice of Alex Box Bill Franques sits in his work space at Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
