Texas is home to many LSU students and alumni. But, living a state away did not stop many Texas residents from traveling to New Orleans on semester break for the Sugar Bowl.
Some Texans attended the Sugar Bowl, while others went to New Orleans even without having a ticket to the game.
Kyle Kray, a business sophomore from Houston, said, “I stayed at a friend’s girlfriend’s house in New Orleans along with 17 other people. When you get free food and stay for free, what can you say?”
Kray said of the 17 people, only 8 of them were lucky enough to have a ticket to the game. The others watched the game at a friend’s house. After the game, the group met on Bourbon Street to celebrate the Tiger’s national championship victory.
“I went to the Sugar Bowl, and had a blast,” said Josh Schweiger, a marketing sophomore from Houston. “Being from Texas, which is in the Big 12, everyone down here said that we would lose to OU, but we won. It was so nice beating them and coming back home to rub it in all of their faces.”
Brad Moncla, a 1995 LSU chemical engineering graduate of Lake Jackson, Texas, went to New Orleans without a ticket to the Sugar Bowl and stayed at an apartment a friend rented for the weekend.
“I’ve been to New Orleans many times during Mardi Gras when it’s crazy down there, but this time the atmosphere was really different,” Moncla said. “There was a lot of dialogue between the LSU and OU fans. Everyone was excited about the game and cherishing the moment.”
While there are plenty of in-state schools Texans can attend, many choose to become LSU Tigers instead.
“I came to LSU because there was no Texas school that could match up to LSU,” Schweiger said. “The people, atmosphere, and the campus beat anything that a Texas school could offer.”
The number of Texas residents attending LSU significantly increased from the spring to fall semester of 2003, according to the Office of Budget and Planning Web site.
In fall 2003, LSU attracted 3,468 out-of-state students, a 21 percent increase from 2,860 in spring 2003, according to the Office of Budget and Planning Web site.
The LSU enrollment summary for fall 2003 showed that 1,234 students have a permanent Texas address, a 28 percent increase from 960 in spring 2003.
“I decided to come to LSU because I wanted to experience something different than just going to a Texas school where I would be in a high school atmosphere again,” Kray said.
Kray said he wanted to meet a lot of new people outside of Texas. A scholarship also influenced his decision.
Alumni chapters in Texas include: Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, North Houston, San Antonio, and Texarkana. Debra Thompson, director of Computer Operations at the Lod Cook Alumni Center, said the LSU Alumni Association currently includes about 2,500 Texas residents.