LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University , in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . They participate in the NCAA ' s Division I , in the Southeastern Conference . LSU fields teams in 14 varsity sports ( 5 men ' s , 7 women ' s , 2 coed ) . Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger . The official school colors are purple and gold . LSU ' s nickname is a throwback to its Confederate heritage and is drawn from the Civil War fame of a New Orleans infantry company , the " Tiger Rifles , " who fought so fiercely in General Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia that they , and eventually all other Louisiana troops , became known as " Louisiana Tigers . " Based on winning percentage , the University ' s athletics program is consistently one of the best in the nation . Its arenas include Tiger Stadium aka " Death Valley " ( football ) , Pete Maravich Assembly Center ( basketball , volleyball , gymnastics ) , Carl Maddox Field House ( indoor track ) , Bernie Moore Track Stadium ( outdoor track ) , Tiger Park ( softball ) , and Alex Box Stadium ( baseball ) . Important rivals in football include one of the longest running college football rivalries with the Ole Miss Rebels , and the Tulane Green Wave . Other rivals include the Alabama Crimson Tide , Arkansas Razorbacks , and the Texas A & M Aggies . Keeping with the French / Cajun character of South Louisiana , LSU support can be seen by its distinctive spelling of " Go Tigers " as " Geaux Tigers " . Sports . By winning the SEC championship in Men ' s Basketball for the 2008 - 2009 season , LSU became the first SEC school to win at least 10 SEC championships in the big 3 sports of Football , Men ' s Basketball , and Baseball . That feat remains unchallenged . Furthermore , LSU is the only SEC school to win at least 1 national championship in each of the big three sports . Baseball . The LSU baseball team has won six national championships since 1991 . The team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Paul Mainieri . They play home games at Alex Box Stadium . Men ' s Basketball . The LSU men ' s basketball team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Johnny Jones . They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center . Women ' s basketball . The LSU women ' s basketball team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Nikki Caldwell . They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center . Football . The LSU Tigers football team competes in the Division I - Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . They play in Tiger Stadium , which has a capacity of 92 , 542 . LSU has won three national championships , including two in the last decade . The first national championship was following the regular season in 1958 . LSU played Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 , 1959 following the team being named national champions . LSU won their second national championship in the 2003 BCS National Championship game . A controversy arose as the USC Trojans were awarded the Associated Press National Championship even though they did not play in the BCS Championship Game . LSU ' s win in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game ( 2007 season ) was the Tigers third national championship . They became the first two - loss team to compete for and win the national championship , and the first team to win two Bowl Championship Series titles . The team is currently coached by Les Miles . Men ' s golf . The men ' s golf team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Chuck Winstead . The University Club is the home venue for team . " Former Players " Women ' s golf . The women ' s golf team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Karen Bahnsen . The University Club is the home venue for team . " Former Coaches " Buddy Alexander Mary Holmes Women ' s gymnastics . The women ' s gymnastics team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by D - D Breaux . The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is the home venue for team . Women ' s soccer . The soccer team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Brian Lee . They play home games at the LSU Soccer Stadium . " Former Coaches " Miriam Hickey Gregg Boggs George Fotopoulos Softball . The softball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Beth Torina . They play home games at Tiger Park . Past head coaches : Carol Smith ( 1978 – 1981 ) Cathy Compton ( 1997 – 1998 ) Glenn Moore ( 1998 – 2000 ) Yvette Girouard ( 2001 - 2011 ) Beth Torina ( 2012 – present ) Swimming & diving . The swim team is currently coached by Dave Geyer and the diving team is currently coached by Doug Shaffer . They host home swim meets at the LSU Natatorium . Men ' s tennis . The Men ' s tennis team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Jeff Brown . They play home matches at W . T . “ Dub ” Robinson Stadium . " Former Coaches " Women ' s tennis . The Women ' s tennis team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Tony Minnis . They play home matches at W . T . “ Dub ” Robinson Stadium . " Former Coaches " Goeff Macdonald Phillip Campbell Betty Sue Hagerman Karen McCarter Elliot Pat Newman Men ' s indoor track and field . The Men ' s indoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver . They host home track meets at the Carl Maddox Field House . " Former Coaches " Pat Henry Women ' s indoor track and field . The Women ' s indoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver . They host home track meets at the Carl Maddox Field House . " Former Coaches " Pat Henry Men ' s outdoor track and field . The Men ' s outdoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver . They host home track meets at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium . " Former Coaches " Women ' s outdoor track and field . The Women ' s outdoor track and field team participates in the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Dennis Shaver . They host home track meets at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium . " Former Coaches " Pat Henry Volleyball . The LSU Tigers volleyball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference and is currently coached by Fran Flory . They play home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center . " Former Coaches " Scott Luster Ruth Nelson Gerry Owens Jinks Coleman Notable non - varsity sports . Rugby . Founded in 1970 , LSU Rugby has played its matches at the LSU Sport & Adventure Complex since 2006 . LSU has a tradition of success since its founding , highlighted by its 22 game winning streak during the 1996 - 97 season . More recently , LSU Rugby has been successful in conference play and in national competition . LSU plays in the Southeastern Conference against its traditional SEC rivals . In 2009 , LSU defeated Colorado and Air Force to advance to the national quarterfinals before losing to San Diego State , and in 2010 , LSU again defeated Colorado to qualify for the sweet 16 round of the national playoffs . LSU competed at the 2011 Collegiate Rugby Championship , finishing 9th in a tournament broadcast live on NBC . LSU finished first in the SEC West Division in 2012 , with a 5 - 2 record . National championships . LSU has won 47 team national championships , 43 of which are recognized by the NCAA , tying them for 5th all time in total national championships . Four of them are not recognized because there was not an NCAA sanctioned event in place at the time to determine a champion , and thus polls were used . ^ Prior to 1939 , the NCAA did not conduct a tournament to determine the men ' s basketball national champion , and thus this is a " Mythical National Championship " as determined by polls . ^ ^ The NCAA does not award a national championship in Division I - FBS football . Instead , polls are used to determine national champions . In this case , AP Poll and the Coaches Poll , the two biggest selectors at the time , awarded LSU the national championship . Many members of the sports media and fans refer to Division I - FBS national championships as " Mythical National Championship s " ( a national championship that is won without a tournament ) . ^ ^ ^ In 1998 major Division I - FBS conferences came together to created the Bowl Championship Series in an effort to establish a more legitimate national champion . LSU won the 2003 BCS national championship and the 2007 BCS national championship . These are not NCAA sanctioned national championships , and because of that , many members of the sports media and fans still refer to them as Mythical National Championship s . Broadcast information . The LSU Sports Radio Network ' s flagship station WDGL - FM ( " The Eagle 98 . 1 " ) in Baton Rouge .