On September 20, 1973, Jim Croce played a concert at Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State University campus. He was 30 years old and at the peak of his career — 'I Got a Name,' 'Time in a Bottle,' and 'I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song' were all charting simultaneously. An hour after the show, Croce, guitarist Maury Muehleisen, comedian George Stevens, manager Kenneth Cortese, road manager Dennis Rast, and pilot Robert Elliott boarded a chartered Beechcraft E18S at the Natchitoches Regional Airport, bound for Sherman, Texas. The plane hit a pecan tree 250 feet past the end of the runway. All six died. The NTSB attributed the crash to pilot impairment — the 57-year-old Elliott had severe coronary artery disease and had run three miles to the airport from a motel — compounded by fog. NSU produced a documentary honoring Croce on the 50th anniversary in 2023. The coliseum is unmarked, but locals know.