Samuel Thomas Assembly Center
Construction
"The TAC"


Location	1650 West Alabama Avenue Ruston, LA 71272
Coordinates	32°31′56″N 92°39′30″W / 32.5321°N 92.6584°W / 32.5321; -92.6584
Owner	Louisiana Tech University
Operator	Louisiana Tech University
Capacity	8,000
Record attendance	8,975 (January 22, 1985)
Surface	Maplewood
Opened	December 4, 1982
Construction cost	$17.5 million
Architect	Morgan, Hill, Sutton & Mitchell Architects, LLC.
Tenants
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters (NCAA) (1982–present)

The Samuel M. Thomas Assembly Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Ruston, Louisiana.^[1] The arena, named for its benefactor and businessman Samuel M. Thomas, is home to the Division I NCAA Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs (men) and Lady Techsters (women) basketball teams. The arena also hosts concerts and events.

The arena opened in November 1982 just west of Joe Aillet Stadium, and replaced the then-30-year-old Memorial Gymnasium on the corner of Tech Drive and Railroad Avenue. The men's basketball team hosted the Southland Conference tournament in the STAC in 1985 and 1987, and four NIT games, one in 1986, two games in 2002, and one in 2015. The women's team has hosted the first, second and regional rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament nineteen times, most recently in 2003.

The TAC also serves as the home of the Louisiana Tech Women's Volleyball team since the program's inception in 1987.

NBA greats including Karl Malone, P.J. Brown, Randy White and Paul Millsap have called the Samuel Thomas Assembly Center home during their collegiate careers.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Thomas Assembly Center". latechsports.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2015-06-01.

v t e Louisiana Tech University
Located in: Ruston, Louisiana
Academics	Applied and Natural Sciences Business Education Engineering and Science Liberal Arts
Athletics	Sports: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Soccer Softball Track & Field Conference USA Venues: Joe Aillet Stadium Thomas Assembly Center Scotty Robertson Memorial Gymnasium J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park Dr. Billy Bundrick Field Robert Mack Caruthers Field Jim Mize Track and Field Complex Lambright Bowling Alley Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex Squire Creek Tech Farm Rivalries: Rivalry in Dixie Traditions: Athletics Hall of Fame Band of Pride Hoop Troop Tech (mascot)
Campus	Main Campus South Campus Enterprise Campus Shreveport-Bossier City Campus Barksdale Campus Cyber Innovation Center Global Campus Arboretum Hide-Away Park A. E. Phillips Laboratory School The IDEA Place
Media	The Tech Talk TechTV KLPI
Student life	Lagniappe
People	Presidents Faculty Alumni Athletes
History	History Legends and traditions
Founded: 1894 Students: 12,694 Endowment: $99.8 million

v t e Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
Venues	Men's Gymnasium (1925–1952) Memorial Gymnasium (1952–1982) Thomas Assembly Center (1982–present)
Culture & lore	Tech
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1909–10 1910–11 1911–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball
Venues	Memorial Gymnasium (1974–1982) Thomas Assembly Center (1982–present)
Culture & lore	Tech (mascot) Traditions of Louisiana Tech University Hoop Troop
People	Sonja Hogg Leon Barmore Kurt Budke Chris Long Teresa Weatherspoon Tyler Summitt Brooke Stoehr
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
AIAW and NCAA national championships in bold; AIAW and NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Basketball arenas of Conference USA

Current arenas

Ocean Bank Convocation Center (FIU)
Pete Mathews Coliseum (Jacksonville State)
Liberty Arena (Liberty)
Vines Center (Liberty, alternate)
Thomas Assembly Center (Louisiana Tech)
Murphy Center (Middle Tennessee)
Pan American Center (New Mexico State)
Bernard Johnson Coliseum (Sam Houston)
Don Haskins Center (UTEP)
E. A. Diddle Arena (Western Kentucky)

Future arenas

KSU Convocation Center (Kennesaw State, from 2024–25)
Bob Carpenter Center (Delaware, from 2025–26)

v t e NCAA Division I college basketball venues in Louisiana
The American	Devlin Fieldhouse (Tulane)
Conference USA	Thomas Assembly Center (Louisiana Tech)
SEC	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (LSU)
Southland	The Legacy Center (McNeese State) Lakefront Arena (New Orleans) Prather Coliseum (Northwestern State) Stopher Gymnasium (Nicholls) University Center (Southeastern Louisiana)
Sun Belt	Cajundome (Louisiana men) Earl K. Long Gymnasium (Louisiana women) Fant–Ewing Coliseum (Louisiana-Monroe)
SWAC	F.G. Clark Center (Southern) Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (Grambling State)

v t e Music venues of Louisiana
Arenas/stadiums	Alario Center BREC Memorial Stadium Burton Coliseum Caesars Superdome Cajundome CenturyLink Center F.G. Clark Center Fant–Ewing Coliseum Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Houma Terrebonne Civic Center Ike Hamilton Expo Center Independence Stadium Lakefront Arena Lamar Dixon Expo Center Monroe Civic Center Pete Maravich Assembly Center Pontchartrain Center Prather Coliseum Raising Cane's River Center Arena Rapides Parish Coliseum Shrine on Airline Smoothie King Center Stopher Gymnasium Sudduth Coliseum Tad Gormley Stadium Thomas Assembly Center Tiger Stadium University Center Yulman Stadium
Concert halls	Jefferson Performing Arts Center LSU Tiger Band Hall Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts McAlister Auditorium Orpheum Theater River Center Theater for Performing Arts RiverView Theater Saenger Theatre Shaw Center for the Arts
Historic venues	Congo Square New Orleans Municipal Auditorium Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium
Outdoor venues	Champions Square Fair Grounds Race Course Greek Theatre New Orleans City Park
Theaters and clubs	Carver Theater Civic Theatre Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts House of Blues The Howlin' Wolf Joy Theater Maple Leaf Bar Preservation Hall Rock n' Bowl Snug Harbor State Palace Theatre Tipitina's
Festivals	Bayou Country Superfest DeltaFest Essence Music Festival Festival International French Quarter Festival Highland Jazz & Blues Festival New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Satchmo SummerFest Voodoo Experience

Gallery

See also

References