Memorial Gym, with its terrazzo floors and tiled walls, built in 1952 in Art Deco style, is rich in history and tradition. Beautiful concrete reliefs of magnolias and the bulldog are carved above the front doors of the gym. A magnificent carved concrete relief mural of baseball players, basketball players, football players, and track athletes adorns the front top of the building facing the newly constructed Mayfield Avenue Parking Lot. The gym was named in memory and honor of the Louisiana Tech students who paid the ultimate sacrifice during WW II. A bronze plaque listing the 142 former student’s names that was given by the class of June 1944 is hanging in the gym.
Memorial Gym was built as the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men’s basketball team. Originally, the men’s team lived on the upper west side of the gym and the visiting opponents would bunk on the upper east side of the gym. In 1974, the gym became home to newly formed Lady Techster’s basketball team. They played here until the 1981-82 season.
The first game in Lady Techster program history was against Southeastern Louisiana on January 7, 1975. Unfortunately, the Lady’s lost 55-59. However, the second home game was played on January 24, 1975 and a different outcome occurred. The Lady Techsters defeated LSU 97-83. That was the first victory in women’s basketball history for Louisiana Tech.
As the popularity of the women’s basketball team increased, so did the crowds. During the 1979-80 season more than 5,000 fans packed Memorial Gym to see them play. During that season attendances of 6,220 against UCLA and 6,314 against Stephen F. Austin were recorded. After that season of record crowds, Louisiana Tech was ordered by the Louisiana Fire Marshal to not allow more than 5,200 fans into Memorial Gym ever again. The fire marshal said that if compliance was not upheld, he would personally count the fans himself and not let more than 4,800 enter the gym. President F. Jay Taylor took care of the seating limitation by having the Thomas Assembly Center, which seats 8,098, built the following year.
The final game played in Memorial Gym was on March 20, 1982. The Lady Techster’s defeated Kentucky 82-60. The Lady Techster’s played only 8 seasons in this grand old building with a phenomenal record of 84 wins and only 6 losses at home. This makes for a very special ranking for Memorial Gym. The Lady Techster’s 93.3% winning percentage at Memorial Gym ranks third amongst best all-time winning facility percentages. Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena is at 94.2% and Connecticut at Gampel Pavilion is at 93.7%.
Not only was Memorial Gym a basketball facility, but it hosted many of the concerts that were held at Louisiana Tech from Brenda Lee and the Lettermen in the 1960’s to Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee in the 1980’s. It also served as the place where class registrations took place before it was moved to the Student Center or the Tonk as it is affectionately known. Additionally, it served for many years as home to the international and national champion Louisiana Tech Powerlifting Team.
Renovations were done to Memorial Gym in the 1980’s, converting the facility into updated classrooms and faculty offices for the then Department of Health and Physical Education (now the Department of Kinesiology). During the renovations, pallets of water and food rations were found underneath the building as it served as a designated bomb shelter in Ruston during the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962.
In 2012, renovations were made once again to the gym, including a new floor, new backboards, basketball rims, wall padding, and repairs made to the old-school bleachers. The renovations were completed by Sports Floor, Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee. This renovation project was done to honor Coach Scotty Robertson and serves as an alternate practice facility for both men’s and women’s basketball as well as women’s volleyball. The gym now serves primarily as instructional space for the Department of Kinesiology.
The newly renovated basketball court was officially dedicated and named the Robert “Scotty” Robertson Memorial Gym on October 20, 2012. Coach Robertson led the Bulldogs from 1964-1974 with a record of 161-86. It was during this time that Louisiana Tech went to its first ever NCAA Tournament. He led the Bulldogs to 3 Gulf States Conference championships, achieved the #1 national ranking in the college division, and played in 2 college-division NCAA postseason tournaments.
Memorial Gym continues to evolve as the Department of Kinesiology continues to grow. The student numbers for Fall quarter 2017 are quite impressive: 503 undergraduate students, 24 graduate students, and 254 Senior Adult Fitness students. Memorial Gym has 4 Smart classrooms equipped with Promethean Boards, projectors, and screens. Two of the classrooms have colorful student-friendly up-to-date table and chair configurations purchased from Hon Furniture Company. It also has a student computer lab.
Memorial Gym has 3 Human Performance Laboratories – a Motor Learning Lab, an Applied Physiology Lab, and the Sport and Movement Science Lab. The Labs will be featured in future blogs, but interested individuals should visit www.latechsportscience.org to learn more.
The bottom floor of Memorial Gym houses not only the Sport and Movement Science Lab, but also a Dance Studio and a Fitness Room for faculty workout classes and student activity classes complete with weight machines, state of the art treadmills, upright and recumbent bikes, and elliptical machines.
The Memorial Gym lobby has been converted into a student lounge. New paint and bright and colorful murals of every type of activity you can think of adorn the walls. The 12 tenets of Tech are also incorporated into the design: Confidence, Excellence, Commitment, Knowledge, Integrity, Respect, Leadership, Loyalty, Enthusiasm, Caring, Hope, and Pride. Two large glass cases hold antique relics from past activity classes taught in this facility. There is a 3 phase plan for this area that you will learn more about in Dr. David Szymanski’s weekly vlog.
Currently, Memorial Gym houses 10 faculty members and 7 graduate teaching assistants. This old house, Scotty Robertson Memorial Gym, that we call home is rich in history and tradition, but continues to evolve into a facility of excellence for all who enter its doors. If you have not been back recently to tour Memorial Gym, we welcome visitors to see all that has been done.
The Exponential Factor 