PROVIDENCE—The president of McNeese State University lives in Burton Hall, a dormitory on campus. Hurricane Laura destroyed the president’s residence in 2020, so a remodeled two-room dorm was the best available option at a school of modest means. Wade Rousse and his wife live with the students and eat meals with them in the cafeteria.
On Thursday, Rousse celebrated with the students, too, when his university went national, went viral and went to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The No. 12 seed McNeese State Cowboys dominated the No. 5 Clemson Tigers for 32 minutes and held on for the last eight, walking off with a 69–67 triumph that marked the first major upset of this tourney.
