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Fans from LSU and Southern University cheer on their teams before the game. Photos: LSU Athletics The Golden Band from Tigerland and The Human Jukebox members formed a heart and 225, Baton Rouge's area code, during their halftime performance.
LSU and Southern Shuffle into History
LSU and Southern University both call Baton Rouge home. In fact, they are separated by fewer than eight miles, geographically. The two universities are rich with tradition, history, and success but they had never faced off against one another on the football field.
Until this season.
Fans representing both squads descended onto LSU’s campus. Before kickoff, LSU officials estimated more than 200,000 visitors would take part in the day’s festivities, and LSU’s Head Football Coach Brian Kelly knew the impact the game had for the city.
“It was an exciting day in Baton Rouge,” Kelly said in his postgame press conference. “Playing Southern, we were excited about this matchup. It was great for the city, the community.”
The Tigers came into the contest as heavy favorites and used an incredible 37-point first quarter, the most points in a quarter in school history, to blow the game open early.
But the game wasn’t the highlight of the day.
One of the day’s biggest draws came during halftime. Southern University’s marching band, The Human Jukebox, performed in Tiger Stadium for the first time. They opened the intermission forming the halftime score, 51-0, with their members before dazzling the sold out crowd with their unique sound.
After the LSU Golden Band from Tigerland gave a performance of their own, both groups joined forces for an historic performance. The collaboration included a performance of the "Cupid Shuffle.” Their members danced together on the field while forming a heart and the number 225, Baton Rouge’s phone area code.
Bryson Bernard, the artist behind the “Cupid Shuffle,” is a Lafayette native better known as Cupid. Although he was unable to be in Tiger Stadium with the marching bands, Bernard knew the performance was about more than his song. "There's a lot of great music out there, and there's a lot of great songs," Bernard said in an interview with The Advocate. "For these two schools to agree upon that song and then to watch the crowd — all of them do it in sync — What if the world could be just as in sync as these three minutes of the 'Cupid Shuffle?'"
Ultimately, LSU took the victory 65-17, but the scoreline was expected and the game secondary to the unity on display. Baton Rouge and its two universities came together like never before and shuffled its way into history.
“I don’t care what the score was,” said LSU Alumnus Jonathan Brown. “The experience was a cultural reward.”
A Look Ahead: LSU’s 2023 Football Schedule
This year’s chapter of LSU football is nearly complete, but the stage for next fall’s edition is already set. LSU’s 2023 football schedule was released in September by the Southeastern Conference.
Sun. Sep 3 Orlando, Fla. (Camping World Stadium)
Sat. Sep 9 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium)
LSU VS. FLORIDA ST.
LSU VS. GRAMBLING
The Tigers will open up Head Coach Brian Kelly’s second year in Orlando’s Sat. Sep 16 Starkville, Miss. (Davis Wade Stadium) LSU AT MISSISSIPPI STATE Camping World Stadium against Florida State before returning home to Tiger Stadium against Grambling Sat. Sep 23 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. ARKANSAS University, the first ever football matchup between the two schools. Army and Georgia State round out Sat. Sep 30 Oxford, Miss. (Vaught-Hemingway Stadium) LSU AT OLE MISS the non-conference competition. The arduous Southeastern Conference slate looks to be as challenging as Sat. Oct 7 Columbia, Mo. (Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field) LSU AT MISSOURI ever. LSU opens conference play with three-straight SEC West contests. They start on the road against Sat. Oct 14 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. AUBURN Mississippi State before facing Arkansas at home, then traveling to Oxford, Mississippi for a matchup Sat. Oct 21 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. ARMY against Ole Miss. The Tigers stay on the road to face SEC East foe Missouri. This will be Sat. Nov 4 Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bryant-Denny Stadium) LSU AT ALABAMA the third time that LSU will compete against Missouri since they joined the Sat. Nov 11 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. FLORIDA conference in 2012. Kelly’s squad returns to the friendly confines of Death Valley for a clash Sat. Nov 18 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. GEORGIA STATE with Auburn before a non-conference bout with Army. The matchup against Army is just the Sat. Nov 25 Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) LSU VS. TEXAS A&M second in school history after LSU fell to the Black Knights 20-0 in 1931. The Tigers have not competed against a U.S. Military Academy team since.
As a West Point alumnus, Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards is one fan looking forward to the matchup.
“As a West Point graduate, I can’t wait to see the Golden Knights play in Tiger Stadium next year,” Edwards said on his Official Facebook page. “Looking forward to some great football!”
The Tigers have the week off before their annual bout with Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.
LSU will close out the regular season with three straight home contests against Florida, Georgia State, and Texas A&M.
While the team will determine the outcomes on the field, the second chapter of the Brian Kelly era looks to be an entertaining one.
Locker Room is compiled and edited by writer and sports lover Marc Stevens, project manager at STUN Design. Marc has covered LSU Athletics and written for local publications including The Daily Reveille and DIG Magazine.
LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson leads a team practice. Photo: LSU Athletics
Last season, the Jay Johnson era of LSU baseball began with clear skies. A No. 10 preseason ranking and nine victories in their first 10 contests set the Tigers up for success. Then things got cloudy.
Pitching woes combined with an error-laden 2022 campaign ultimately kept Johnson’s squad from reaching college baseball’s promised land.
But, that was last year.
Johnson used his first offseason to bolster his returning roster and minimize the weaknesses that ultimately sank LSU last season. The Tigers’ highly touted recruiting class filled with incoming freshmen and talented transfers, including two-time first-team All-American Paul Skenes and 2022 Freshman of the Year Tommy White.
“Our entire staff worked tirelessly to put this class together,” Johnson said in a press release. “It features some of the top players in the country, and it will help accelerate our pursuit of getting the Tigers back to Omaha. There is high-end talent at every position all over this class, and it is a group that will complement the great group of returning players we will have in 2023.”
The official preseason polls won’t come out until mid-January, but the talent the Tigers have amassed is putting the rest of college baseball on alert. Baseball America ranked LSU No. 1 in their Never Too Early 2023 Top 25 poll.
The team and its fans have aspirations of returning to Omaha for the first time since 2017 and competing for a National Championship.
LSU has all of the talent and pieces to make this season special, but until the team takes the field, there’s no way to know if this season’s forecast calls for clear skies or stormy days.
Former LSU women’s basketball player Sylvia Fowles ended her illustrious career after the 2022 WNBA season came to a close earlier this year.
Since the LSU women’s basketball program began in 1975, there have been countless stars to wear the purple and gold, but few have been as dominant as Fowles.
During her four years at LSU, Fowles was the cornerstone of LSU squads that achieved levels of success not yet duplicated. She led her teams to four Final Fours, won three Southeastern Conference championships, was named the 2008 SEC Player of the Year, and is one of only two former women’s basketball players to have her jersey number retired.
Former LSU Coach Bob Starkey penned a letter to Fowles to celebrate her time with the Tigers, highlighting her teams’ successes as well as her success at the professional level.
“Even as a freshman we all knew you were special. You came to work each day with a smile, full of enthusiasm and with a thirst to learn,” Starkey wrote. “The LSU record books are covered with your name – yet this was only the beginning.”
After her LSU tenure, Fowles was drafted 2nd overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Her professional career was a 14-year accolade-filled journey in the WNBA and internationally.
She won two WNBA Titles, and was selected as the Finals MVP in 2015 and 2017. Fowles was also an eight-time All-Star, won Defensive Player of the Year four times and was named League MVP in 2017. While representing the United States on the international stage, she won four Olympic Gold Medals.
Despite all of her success, Starkey said that Fowles would be remembered not for what she accomplished, but in the way it was accomplished.
“For all your greatness on the floor, you are revered by how you handled yourself off the floor – with great humility – as someone who always cared about others.” Starkey said. “It was the privilege of a lifetime to coach you and on behalf of the entire LSU community we congratulate you on an amazing career with great wishes for the next part of your journey.”
Former LSU Women's Basketball Star Sylvia Fowles celebrating on the court during an NCAA tournament game. Fowles made four-straight Final Four appearances during her collegiate career. Photo: LSU Athletics
LSU SUMMER 2022 GRADUATES
CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!
On behalf of the LSU Alumni Association and proud LSU alumni across the country and around the globe, congratulations and welcome to Tiger Nation. You have earned it. You have met many challenges and overcome many hurdles, and we are proud of you and all that you have accomplished.
No matter where you live, the LSU spirit is there – and you'll find fellow alumni to support you in your new endeavors and show the world just how awesome LSU graduates are. Our more than 135 alumni chapters around the world provide connection and camaraderie, and we hope you’ll unite with your fellow alums to keep the Tiger spirit alive.
To take advantage of all we have to offer you, visit LSUAlumni.org/recentgrad.
Again, congratulations and Geaux Tigers!
Gordon Monk President & CEO
