Question for older Tiger fans: When did freshmen start playing for LSU?

The freshmen were part of the varsity squad in football – no separate games or practices – just cannon fodder.

In basketball they had a separate freshman team that played before the varsity games. People would pack the Cow Place to watch the Pistol, then empty the place when the varsity played.

1971

1980 or 81, I believe. I know they weren't eligible for the 79 season, because Alan Risher played on the Freshman team.

Hmm, I guess I was wrong, then. LSU did have a freshman team in the late seventies, early eighties, though.

In the 60's and early 70's, many fans were intrigued by the football fortunes of the "Baby Bengals."

My freshman year at LSU, a number of highly regarded freshman played on the team. Terry Robiskie and Robert Dow are two that I remember.

I remember quite well driving home from Baton Rouge with a friend the morning after our loss to Alabama on Thanksgiving night feeling that the "next three years are going to be special" "we'll see championships before we leave school" in large part because of the performance that year of the freshmen.

Mike Miley left for the baseball draft, the change of offensive system to the veer produced mixed results, and we graduated in '77 remembering the "good ole days" that had seemingly ended in 1973.

there were indeed bona fide "freshman teams" that tended to play an abbreivated schedule -- maybe 5 or six games a year. A college such as LSU would sometimes play games against a JC or military school--not a lot of travel.

The current freshman eligibility rules came into play in the fall of 1972. LSU continued to have "JV" football games --played at Bernie Moore-- until the mid 1980's.

Because of WWII and Korea, the NCAA did allow freshman to play varsity in the 1940's and until the late 1950's. But there was a weird rule that in a player's senior year he couldn't participate in post season play which caused many teams to pass on bowl games or the NCAA tournament in basketball or baseball which then led to freshmen being ineligible for varsity play.

LSU's freshman basketball team would play a game before the varsity,typically against the varsity's opponent particularly if it was an SEC game.

I remember going to an LSU freshman game in 77 or 78 against Tulane in NO, so it had to be a bit after that when dropped the freshman teams.

Tupelo,

I'm pretty sure that Apple Sanders and Fig Newton were both a couple of years behind Pete. So they would not have been on the varsity while Pete was playing freshman ball. What you noted about people attending the jv game and then leaving is true, I believe.

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Can any of you old-timers shed some light on the freshman football team?

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I remember watching an LSU-Tulane freshman game at Bernie Moore in 1978 or 1979.

Depressing for a couple of reasons, I guess. I was there so I qualify as an old-timer. Also, LSU - Tulane was still a rivalry back then.