LA Tech Football: The Origin of the Bark Circle

Louisiana Tech University recently celebrated its 125th birthday (that’s a lot of candles). Meanwhile, the Bulldog Football program is three games into its 118th season on the gridiron.

Needless to say history runs deep through the beautiful halls, around the noble trees and within Joe Aillet Stadium where that history has bred great tradition.

Before the ball is ever kicked off at The Joe, every LA Tech player touches the bronze Bulldog statue named the Spirit of ’88 that proudly stands inside the doors of the Davison Athletics Complex.

There’s also the ringing of the fire bell, situated in the north end of the stadium by the videoboard, to call the Bulldogs into battle before every game.

The statue, a project initiated by the SGA of Tech and unveiled at the stadium on Oct. 14, 1989, commemorates the 1988 Bulldogs that blazed the path into Division I-A football, enduring one of the most difficult schedules in school history.

The fire bell dates back to when the stadium was built in 1968 as it was originally transported to the top of the hill in the south end zone, commemorating the bravery of the Bulldog that perished saving the lives of the two Tech students in the burning house in 1899.

These are meaningful legends known by many Tech fans.

Another gameday tradition is much younger, but is just as powerful to the team. And if you aren’t in your seats about 30 minutes prior to the start of the game, you’ll miss it.

It comes right after the entire team has emerged out of the locker room and goes through their stretching routine.

A large circle suddenly forms in the south end with players interlocking hands and swaying side to side. Another circle forms in the middle with others running around in between.

Every Bulldog then converges into the center where the alpha dog stands.

LIKE A BIG DOG (AROOF)! LIKE A BIG DOG (AROOF)! LIKE A BIG DOG (AROOF)!

Ever wonder when it started? What it means? Who started it?

“It was me and my roommate Myles White,” said Quinton Patton, an All-American wide receiver for the Bulldogs in 2011-12. “We were in our room before we played our very first game at Southern Miss in 2011. We just got to Tech from junior college and we were talking about what was something we could do pregame to get us hype. We were coming up with different ideas and we kept talking about how we are the Bulldogs and we always wanted to be the big dogs on the field. And the big dogs bark.”

One big circle is made up of the freshmen, sophomores and juniors. And the middle circle is for the seniors. And the person in the middle is the outspoken one. The hype man. The one who is always going to do their job and hold everybody on the team accountable.

The co-creator Patton was born to be an alpha dog.

“Everybody liked me being in the middle because I was the energy person,” said The General. “That was me. I knew what to do at that moment.”

Even after Patton finished dazzling Bulldog fans with his fiery emotion and playmaking ability that left opposing cornerbacks in their dust (just ask Texas A&M), the bark circle has continued.

And with new seasons came new alpha dogs that have carried on the torch, guys like Bobby Holly, Deldrick Canty, Teddy Veal and more.

“Being in the middle shows the respect the guys have for you and how highly they think of you,” said Veal, an All-Conference wide receiver from 2017-18 and current graduate assistant at LA Tech. “It is one of those things where whoever brings the most juice, they will be the ones to rally everyone.”

Players like Veal have made sure the tradition of the bark circle has stayed alive as a way of honoring those who came before them.

“Before we begin the season, we literally walk through pregame and explain where people go, what is being done, how much time we left to do it,” explained Veal. “There is a structure that everybody has to follow. It is an honor watching the bark circle now year after year after being a part of it. And thinking about the guys who have done it before you.

“We have several rituals before we kick off a football game and I think the bark circle is tremendous. You are calling the dogs, getting ready to battle for 60 minutes.”

To steal a phrase from the movie “Drumline” … One band, one sound.

“The bark circle represents us together,” said Patton. “We could be out there barking and talking all we want to. But if we take this step together, if we bark together instead of barking one at a time, we are going to get something done.

“It makes me feel really good knowing that I was able to leave a positive mark on the program with this tradition.”