Press Releases

Louisiana lands raccoon hunting championship

Jan. 30, 2012, 9:47 a.m. EST

AP

Jimmy Watson, the Times

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — North Louisiana has landed the 2012 UKC Coonhound Championships and the UKC World Bench Championships for this fall.

Thanks to the efforts of the 4-Way Coon Hunting Club in Doyline and to the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Commission, approximately 1,500 hunters and dogs from across the country will invade Hamel's Park on Sept. 20-22 seeking points by treeing raccoons.

"This event hasn't been held in the South since the late 1980s, so we're excited to bring it here," said Kelly Wells, vice-president of sports and tourism for the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. "This could include a big influx of people from the North who want to see more Southern folks involved with the sport."

The event will feature 100 of the top coon hunting dogs and their handlers in the U.S., according to Chris Guice, hunt chairman of the 4-Way Club.

"We're very excited to have this event here," Guice said. "People talk about how hot and dry it will be in September, but we have to hunt in that all the time."

The hunting groups of four dogs will meet at Hamels and will be assigned a hunting area that could be in the Bodcau or Loggy Bayou Wildlife Management Areas, or private lands in north Louisiana or east Texas.

Each dog will receive 100, 75, 50 or 25 points based on how quickly they begin barking because they have located the trail of a raccoon. They will earn up to 125 points if they are the first dog in the group to tree the raccoon.

A dog that trees any "off" game, like an opossum or a squirrel, is immediately eliminated from the competition, according to Guice.

"It doesn't matter if you came all the way from New York. If your dog does that, you're done," he said.

The groups have two hours to complete the hunt and must check in at Hamels by 2 a.m. All of the raccoons are set free if captured.

"We've told guys who will be hunting throughout the season not to kill the coons so that we have a good supply for the championships," Guice said.

Other area clubs, including those from Ringgold, Shongoloo, Shreveport and Gibsland, have been pitching in to help in preparations for the nationals.

"There will be about 100 judges and guides, so about 10 to 15 clubs are working on this," Wells said. "And there are about 15 to 20 people on the action committee."

Wells said his organization is trying to bring some non-traditional sports to the area to make use of the "vast wildlife area" available in north Louisiana.

"The people involved in this sport are passionate about it," Wells said. "We hope this will be successful and that it will springboard us to other similar events."

Louisiana Tech Finalizes 2012 Football Schedule with Addition of Texas A&M

RUSTON, La. (Feb. 8, 2012) –

Louisiana Tech has finalized its 2012 non-conference schedule with the addition of

Texas A&M to the slate, a game set for Thursday, Aug. 30 at Shreveport’s Independence Stadium.

Kickoff time for the game is to be determined and subject to television broadcast times.

Louisiana Tech will host Texas A&M at its “home away from home” at Independence Stadium (Capacity: 50,469)marking the second time in five years Tech has hosted a Southeastern Conference opponent. Tech is 46-22-3 overall at Independence Stadium, last playing in 2010 with a 20-6 win over Grambling State, the first career victory as a head coach for Sonny Dykes. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games in Shreveport, including a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois in the 2008 Independence Bowl. The 2012 game is part of a home-and-home scheduling agreement with Louisiana Tech returning the game in College Station, Texas in 2016. The last time the Bulldogs were host to an SEC team, Tech defeated Mississippi State 22-16 in the 2008 season opener. Texas A&M is entering the SEC beginning with the 2012 football season. “Playing in Shreveport is very important for conference realignment and growing our fan base,” said athletics director Bruce Van De Velde. “We aspire to be Northern Louisiana’s flagship university and it is important to expand our footprint in the Shreveport-Bossier area. With the thousands of Bulldog fans and alumni in Shreveport-

Bossier and east Texas, we expect a great crowd to turn out to kickoff the 2012 season.” Tech defeated an SEC opponent during the 2011 season, a 27-7 win at Ole Miss, and almost captured two straight wins over the league before falling in overtime at Mississippi State earlier in the year. The Aggies will replace a previously announced Sept. 1 game against Lamar on Tech’s 2012 schedule, a game that would not have counted towards bowl eligibility due to new WAC member UTSA’s classification still remaining at the FCS level during the 2012 season. Louisiana Tech’s non-conference schedule is now fully set beginning with the Aug. 30 game hosting Texas A&M. Playing that game on a Thursday evening allows the Bulldogs an extra two days to prepare for Tech’s Sept. 8 game at Houston. The Cougars slipped by the Bulldogs last season in Ruston, 35-34.

On Sept. 15 Tech will host Conference USA foe Rice at Joe Aillet Stadium, renewing a rivalry that has been dormant since 2004. Following Tech’s back-to-back games against C-USA opponents, the Bulldogs will play at Illinois on Sept. 22 against an Illini team that lost their last seven games of the 2011 season. Illinois will open the 2012 campaign with new head coach Tim Beckman who joins UI after guiding Toledo to back-to-back bowl appearances. Louisiana Tech will then face Virginia for the first time in school history as the two teams meet in Charlottesville, Va. on Sept. 29. It will be the first time in 10 years that Tech will face an ACC opponent. The Bulldogs non-conference schedule rounds out on Oct. 6 as Tech hosts UNLV. The two teams have only met twice before with both games decided by one possession. The Western Athletic Conference is expected to announce the full conference schedule in early March. Louisiana Tech will have home games against Utah State, Idaho and UTSA with road games at New Mexico State, San Jose State and Texas State.

The Bulldogs, who won seven consecutive games to close out the 2011 regular season to claim a WAC title, are hoping to repeat the conference title and return to a prominent bowl game this fall. Tech garnered national attention last season with its winning streak and the close loss to nationally ranked TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. Louisiana Tech will return 16 starters for the 2012 campaign including Ryan Allen, the 2011 Ray Guy Award winner (nation’s best punter) and the only player from a non-AQ school to win a national award last season. For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow @LATechPWalsh on Twitter or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.

2012 Schedule

(All times TBA)

Aug. 30 – vs. Texas A&M (Shreveport, La.)

Sept. 8 – at Houston

Sept. 15 – vs. Rice

Sept. 22 – at Illinois

Sept. 29 – at Virginia

Oct. 6 – vs. UNLV

TBA – vs. Utah State

TBA – vs. Idaho

TBA – vs. UTSA

Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, 2012 Readers Choice Award recipient represent one of many great destinations and sports venues throughout the United States. SportsEvents readers nominated and selected the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission based on their high standard of professionalism and quality service in hosting their events.

SportsEvents Announces 2012 Readers’ Choice Award Winners

GULF SHORES, Ala.—SportsEvents Media Group, the leading industry publication focused exclusively on helping sports event planners produce excellent competitions in the United States and Canada, has announced its 2012 class of Readers’ Choice Award winners.

Sports event professionals were asked to name the sports commission, convention and visitors bureaus, or sports events venues that they believe display exemplary creativity and professionalism toward the groups they host. Nominations were received from readers throughout the year, and the top picks were selected based on the results from an online system that registered more than 3,000 votes!

“Due to the power of social media and online voting capabilities, we received an overwhelming response from readers this year, which allowed SportsEvents to honor more than 100 destinations and venues—and the marketing organizations that represent them—with a 2012 Readers’ Choice Award,” said Kristen McIntosh, SportsEvents editor. “These award winners have proven they are willing to go above and beyond the normal service levels expected by providing both the physical attributes and commitment to hospitality and service that today’s discriminating sports event planners demand. It is an honor to announce their selection by sports event planners as some of the best in the United States.”