Homecoming is just around the corner, so get ready with TechTeamShop.com’s OFFICIAL Homecoming t-shirt. Your Bulldogs will be battling the Aggies from New Mexico State. Make sure to wear your blue and come out to “The Joe” and support the DAWGS!!

For the 3rd straight year Allison Dooley and the Bulldogs will be Tackling Breast Cancer in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Help support this great cause by purchasing a “Bulldogs Tackling Breast Cancer” t-shirt from TechTeamShop.com, Mitchell’s Pharmacy in Ruston or from the La Tech Athletic Department before the Nichols State game on Sept. 19th. All money from the online sell of these shirts will go to Allison Dooley to help find the cure for breast cancer. Do your part and support the Dawgs while you help fight this terrible disease!

The new football season brings excitement and a renewed optimism for the future of Tech Football! It also brings new athletic promotions. For one game this year the La Tech Athletic Department has asked us to put away our traditional blues and paint “The Joe” red during their “Red Out” game versus Hawaii. On Wednesday, September 30, 2009, our “Dawgs” will be seeing red as they devour the Warriors from the island!

To commemorate the Dawgs “Red Out” victory, Tech Team Shop is offering a limited number of “Paint the Joe Red” t-shirts. We are accepting pre-orders and you should expect 10-14 day shipping on all pre-orders and 7 day shipping for orders made after 8/21/09. For those fans living in Ruston, Mitchell’s will also be offering the “Paint the Joe Red” t-shirt and will take pre-orders. Get excited BULLDOG fans…football season is right around the corner!

GO DAWGS!

For all of you ’Dawgs fans that have been begging for new STUFF… Well, new items are beginning to arrive!

Just in time for Football Season, which is just over a month away, TechTeamShop.com is starting to get new products daily. Some of the new items will include decals, car magnets, license plates, watches, clocks, and new golf accessories. These items are rolling in daily. For those FANATICS that are waiting patiently for the new Nike Sideline gear, it will be here in early August!

Check in daily to see what’s new at TechTeamShop.com!

Your LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS are the 2008 Independence Bowl CHAMPIONS! Congratulations DAWGS on the great victory!

Exclusive TECHTEAMSHOP.com Champions shirts are now available. Order yours now! These shirts will ship no later than Tuesday, January 6th. There are a limited number, so get them while you can. GO DAWGS!!

The 2008 “Bulldogs Tackling Breast Cancer” t-shirts are now available online here on TechTeamShop.com! Join Tech Team Shop and Allison Dooley in the fight for the cure of this terrible disease. ALL proceeds from the sale of the shirt on TechTeamShop.com go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure of breast cancer. Thank you for your support of this great cause and thank you to Allison Dooley for bringing awareness to all the Bulldog faithful.

We apologize for the error that occurred when we sent out our postcards to Tech parents. It was a data sort error and it’s our fault completely. Don’t despair, however, as the discount code is still very much valid and can be used by you or your Tech student as many times as you’d like. Again we apologize and hope this hasn’t caused anyone any stress. Thanks for your patience and understanding and we promise to do better next time!

Eric Whitten
Tech Team Shop

The Battle of the Bone is back as Tech takes on Fresno State, Saturday, November 1, at 1:30.

For those of you that didn’t know, we were without power the entire week after Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana. Baton Rouge was very hard hit and is still without power in some areas, but we are happy to say that the lights are back on at Official Team Gear and we’re going stronger than ever. We appreciate everyone’s patience while we worked through this period and if you have anything you want to say to us please feel free to call toll free at 866-635-5150 or email us through the site. Thanks again!

We hope everyone who evacuated or hunkered down during Hurricane Gustav is safe and sound! We’re returning to action today, but like many of you, we’re without power at our office in Baton Rouge.

Rest assured, your orders will ship as soon as possible. We appreciate your business and look forward to a fun season ahead!

This day belonged to the Tech Bulldogs!!

RUSTON, La.—It certainly wasn’t pretty.

But Derek Dooley and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will most definitely take it.

In a game that featured eight turnovers and 14 punts between the teams, Louisiana Tech’s defense dug in its heels in the second half and got three clutch field goals from senior Brad Oestriecher, defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 22-14 on Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium.

“I was really proud of the team,” Dooley said. “We faced so much adversity with turnovers in the red zones. It was something we had talked about all week. But they kept fighting, kept believing and they grinded out a victory.”

Tech (1-0) made the most of MSU’s visit, the first by a current member of the Southeastern Conference to Joe Aillet Stadium, as 25,224 packed the stands to watch Tech’s first victory over an SEC school since a 1999 win at Alabama.

“Our team overcame some demons tonight,” Dooley said. “This team had a lot of confidence in themselves. I had a lot of confidence in them for this game. Mississippi State is a good-looking squad. It was tough. We kept coming back, kept swinging, and good things started happening.”

Oestriecher had field goals of 48, 28 and 50 yards, setting his career long and also the first time that the senior has had multiple field goals in a single game.

“Coach has talked to me a lot about kicking with confidence, be calm and relax,” Oestriecher said. “This has been a long process…I’ve been here 5 years, and I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. My patience paid off.”

MSU (0-1) held a 14-3 lead with under two minutes to play, and Tech was forced to punt after a three-and-out near midfield. In what turned out to be a key play in the game, Chris Keagle’s kick was downed inside the MSU 1, after which the other Bulldogs had to punt following their own three-and-out.

Phillip Livas took Blake McAdams’ punt 28 yards back to the State 13, where Patrick Jackson atoned for an earlier interception by taking a six-yard pass from Taylor Bennett just inside the near pylon for a momentum-changing touchdown. Oestriecher’s extra point attempt was blocked, but Tech went to the locker room down only by a 14-9 margin.

Tech then seemed to catch a huge break as State fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, but an interception in the end zone thwarted the Tech drive. The teams then traded punts, but Keagle’s 54-yard bomb was muffed by State’s Jamayel Smith and then recovered inside the MSU 10 by Anthony Harrison.

Five plays later (which included a personal foul penalty), Jackson plunged in from six yards out for his second score of the day, and Oestriecher’s kick gave Tech its first lead at 16-14.

MSU would put together a 10-play drive that got them inside the Tech 20, but Wesley Carroll’s third-down pass was picked off by Deon Young at the 8. He returned it 42 yards to midfield, then Tech benefited from a late hit penalty that put the ball at the 35 with time winding down in the third.

Tech chipped away for six plays before Oestriecher’s 28-yard field goal boosted the lead to 19-14 as the third quarter came to a close.

Again in the fourth quarter, Tech’s defense dug in, not allowing a single first down for Mississippi State and the offense put together a 16-play drive that consumed more than seven minutes and culminated in a 50-yard field goal by Oestriecher. It was the longest of his career and the longest for Tech since 2003 when Josh Scobee kicked a 52-yarder at Tulsa. More importantly, it gave Tech an eight-point advantage at 22-14.

“It was a great drive,” Livas said. “It was an old-fashioned drive. We stayed patient with the run, the backs ran hard and we had a couple of third and firsts.”

State caught a big break when on a fourth-down punt, the kick hit Tech defender Stevon Howze in the back as he was trying to get out of the way. MSU recovered and had great field position. However, a sack, a short gain and an incompletion forced the other Bulldogs to punt again with only one timeout left.

Tech got the ball with 3:23 to play and was able to milk all but eight seconds before punting on the final play. The Bulldogs swarmed the returner as the clock hit triple zeroes, and the celebration was on.

“Here we are at the last three minutes to go in the game,” Dooley said. “It doesn’t matter what happens. This is the hand you are dealt. Go out and make a big play.”

Taylor Bennett had a rough opening game as a Bulldog, going 14-of-40 for 175 yards with one interception and one touchdown. But most of his completions went for big gains, including a 39-yard dash by Josh Wheeler on a crucial third down play.

“These guys are in the SEC…this is good defense,” Dooley said. “It was Taylor’s first game. He had one bad play, that interception. He wasn’t as accurate as he needed to be.”

Patrick Livas was the beneficiary of most of Bennett’s passes with six catches for 85 yards and also rushed twice for 16. Patrick Jackson had 17 carries on the night for 62 yards.

Antonio Baker led the defensive effort for Tech with 10 tackles on the night and an interception. Kwame Jordan, in his first game for the Bulldogs, had five tackles including a sack and two tackles for loss.

With a trip to their second BCS conference opponent in two weeks approaching next Saturday, Dooley and the Dawgs don’t have time to get too excited.

“You can’t get too excited, even though we’re going to celebrate this win. I always preach consistency. One game doesn’t make a team. Good programs go week to week.”

(La Tech Press release)

It’s finally here! Preparations are being finalized as the final week of the preseason is upon us. As Tech gets ready for Mississippi State to come to town, you should also get ready by grabbing any last minute gear before you head to the game. Don’t forget that all orders placed before 3 pm are packed and shipped that same day and will reach you within 1-2 business days here in Louisiana, East Texas or Mississippi. If you should be outside of that area and are planning on watching the game on ESPN2, then get your home jersey ordered and it will reach you within 2-3 business days.

Don’t despair if you should forget something as Tech Team Shop has you covered on game day. Mitchell’s Pharmacy at 109 N Trenton in Ruston will be carrying all of our great gear from 9AM-2PM on Saturday, August 30th, so if you’ve forgotten something just head on over (it’s less than a mile from campus) and see Steve Vessel at Mitchell’s.

Also don’t forget that Tech Team Shop is your EXCLUSIVE place to get your Tech victory shirts, so after we send Mississippi State home with their tails tucked, be sure to logon to the site or stop by Mitchell’s and grab your Tech victory shirt!

Ladies, not only has Tech Team Shop stocked more things for you to choose from; now we have updated our sizes to show you what each size specifically covers. So if you’ve had your eye on something and were just wondering what “Medium” really meant, take another look and find out!

As many of you may know, we have a location right in Ruston to serve you locally on game days or if you happen to be near campus. Mitchell’s Pharmacy at 109 North Trenton, is your local connection to Tech Team Shop. So if you want to see our products up close before you buy them, or if you just want to visit with the nice people there and talk some Tech sports, Mitchell’s Pharmacy is your local Tech Team Shop connection!

The “Day of the Dawgs” is quickly approaching and kickoff is right around the corner. Get ready for the BIG game by picking up the EXCLUSIVE “Day of the Dawgs” gameday t-shirts! Available on TechTeam Shop.com starting Tuesday, July 29th. GO TECH DAWGS!!

The “Original” Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech will take on the other bulldogs from Mississippi State on August 30, 2008 in Aillet Stadium. Few people realize that OUR Tech Bulldog is the 2nd longest running bulldog mascot behind only the Yale Bulldog. Take pride in knowing that we are the “Original” Bulldogs of the South.

As most of you know it will be the first time an SEC team has ever played a football game in Aillet and the first time an SEC football team has played in Ruston since 1913 (LSU).

The Louisisna Tech Athletic Department has dubbed this event the “Day of the Dawgs”! And to help celebrate the kickoff of a new and exciting season TechTeamShop.com invites you to get the EXCLUSIVE “Day of the Dawgs” Gameday T-shirt. Show your true BLUE spirit with the royal blue “Day of the Dawgs” t-shirt available Friday July 25th. See all of you at the game!

GO (original) DAWGS!!!

Official Team Gear has been chronicled in The News Star! Take a look at the article and see how Official Team Gear was born.

We’ve had several questions surrounding hats and if we’re carrying them, what brands, etc. To answer those inquiries all at once – YES. We have hats ordered that will again be first time available items. 2 styles of Twins Enterprise hats should be in by the end of July with 7 more arriving by mid to late August. Also, Nike and Adidas hats are on order and should be in by mid to late August as well. So check back often and if we don’t have the style you like, let us know.

If you’ve ever been bummed out from buying things on the internet only to pay an exorbitant shipping fee, then OfficialTeamGear.com has what you’ve been looking for. Shipping in the continental U.S. is only $6.99 for orders under $100 and FREE for orders over $100 using UPS Standard Ground guaranteed 4-5 day delivery. Now for you people living outside the continental U.S. you pay what UPS charges and no more. We are not here to make money in the shipping business – we’re here to provide you with the best collegiate merchandise that can be found. So shop till you drop and don’t worry about the shipping!

Note For items that are considered heavy shipping items, such as tailgating tents, pool tables (yes pool tables, coming soon), etc., there is a higher fee to pay but again it’s only what UPS charges.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look at TechTeamShop.com! This site was put together with 2 things in mind – the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and you, the fan. So stop and stay awhile and be sure to check out all of the new Louisiana Tech logos on every item that we carry. Drop us a line through our blog or through email at customer.service@officialteamgear.com. We love to hear from the fans either about the Day of the Dawgs game coming up or about what we carry and what you would like to see.

Just a note, if there’s anything that you’ve seen with another school’s logo on it that you wish you had with Tech’s logo on it, let us know. We’ll track it down and get it. OfficialTeamGear.com and TechTeamShop.com in particular are on a mission to be sure that every fan has equal access to the best collegiate apparel and merchandise available.