A COLA alum writes a biography on one of the best in tech

Chris Kennedy, Louisiana Tech Class of 2018 and 2020 graduate of the university’s College of Liberal Arts, will appear at events around the state this fall to share his book on the late coach Joe Aylett, one of Tech’s most beloved.

Joe Aylett of Louisiana Tech It is published by History Press, and is available from most online and in-store booksellers – or at one of the following events this fall.

• Thursday, September 29, Claiborne Parish Library (Homer), 6 p.m.: Kennedy will give a presentation and book signing.
• Friday, Sept. 30, Lincoln Parish Museum, 7 p.m.: Presentation, book signing;
• Saturday, October 8, Louisiana Ghost Train Museum (Opelousas), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Presentation and book signing;
• Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21-22, Tech Homecoming: Time/Location TBD;
• Saturday, Oct. 29, Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, Kennedy is the featured author.

Tech’s football stadium is named after Illet, Tech Athletics and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, where Kennedy ran and watched games and rolled the hills of the south end zone as a child.

“I don’t ever remember knowing the name ‘Joe Aylett,'” said Kennedy, 25. But I knew nothing about him.

He does now. The son of Tech Dean Dr. Gary Kennedy who grew up in the stadium’s shadow, Kennedy, a librarian with a love of words and reading, began his pursuit of the so-called “legendary mystery” months ago, writing about it in a book that is a love letter to Kennedy’s hometown and one of the legends.

Kennedy, who is currently studying for a master’s degree and working at the Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge, uses his personal stories and data from nearly 1,000 articles and 50 interviews to paint a full picture of what he calls an “extraordinary coach and reserved scholar.” “A life story off the field comparable to his side job.

“He was the most talented person in the world of sports in my lifetime,” said former sports producer Niko Van Tien. Shreveport Journal and student worker in the university’s sports information office at the end of Ilett’s career. “He was … a teacher who chose athletics as his field, but excelled in any endeavor. Those of us at Tech have been blessed by his three decades of leadership. He was ‘a man to his name’.