By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES – The 12 members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024 brought worldwide acclaim to their home state – adopted or natural.
Fittingly, two of the newest Hall of Famers brought the world to Natchitoches Saturday during the annual induction ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center.
Although New Orleans Saints Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees and former UFC champion Daniel Cormier joined the proceedings via video from Japan and Saudi Arabia, respectively, the stories of the 12 inductees started much closer to home – specifically within their homes.
“I had the greatest parents,” Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism honoree Bobby Ardoin said in tears, “because they didn’t have to adopt me, and they did. They let me do just about anything I wanted. I wasn’t always a summer’s breeze, but they’re the reason I’m here today.”
That reasoning resonated throughout the eight competitive-ballot inductees and the four award winners who officially joined the state’s athletic shrine during the ceremony attended by over 800 at the Natchitoches Events Center. It was live streamed on LPB.org and can be viewed there on the LPB YouTube channel, or the Hall of Fame’s YouTube link through LaSportsHall.com using the multimedia button.
The inductees’ praise Saturday night did not stop at biological family members.
“I had some of the greatest parents in the world, and I have some of the greatest people in the world here tonight,” said Wilbert Ellis, the longtime Grambling baseball coach who became the second-ever Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award recipient. He had nearly 200 supporters in the crowd from nearby and around the country.
“I always wanted to give back. I always wanted to make a difference. That was my prayer. God gave me that prayer, and I’ve been all over the country doing it.”
Baton Rouge saw one of its most notable, successful products honored Saturday night.
LSU All-American Seimone Augustus spent her high school career at Capitol High School being feted as the nation’s No. 1 player. In an era where Tennessee and UConn “had a chokehold on the recruiting game,” according to Augustus, she made the decision to stay home and build something.
That something included the start of five straight Final Four runs for her hometown university and a sweep of the 2006 National Player of the Year honors.
“I was never a trend follower,” Augustus said. “I was a trendsetter. A lot of players as soon as they got a letter from Connecticut or Tennessee, they committed. I was like, ‘Don’t you want to take a visit?’ ‘Don’t you want to meet your teammates?’ I begged to differ. When I didn’t go to Tennessee or Connecticut, a lot of people thought I was crazy. Coach (Sue) Gunter, coach (Pokey) Chatman, coach (Bob) Starkey, they were sending me handwritten letters from when I was eight or nine years old.
“I went through every recruiting letter. Some were authentic. Some you could change my name for someone else’s, and it read the same. LSU’s authenticity and the fact it was in my backyard and the chance to build something that had not been build before (were factors). I could go somewhere else and be one of the greats, or I could be THE great. That was my thought process.”
Staying at home to build the program she grew up watching appealed to Augustus, whose initial impression on Starkey came in an athletic setting but not at an athletic event. It gave him insight into where the woman who now has a statue outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center’s priorities laid.
“The very first time I saw her in person was Thanksgiving at the Riverside Centroplex (now the Raisin’ Cane’s River Center) and she was serving food to the less fortunate,” Starkey said. “Here’s the No. 1 high school player in the country, and she’s spending her Thanksgiving making others feel better.”
Those lessons began at home, forming both Augustus’ altruistic side and a work ethic that forced the LSU staff to adjust its practices.
“No one was going to outwork me,” Augustus said. “I learned that from watching my parents. Within my household, I was driven because I watched two people sacrifice so I could have. I wanted to work hard to give them something to be proud of.”
Along with her parents, among a large contingent of LSU staff and fans was Tigers’ head coach Kim Mulkey, who recently hired Augustus as an assistant coach. Mulkey is the youngest-ever LSHOF inductee, enshrined in 1990 at age 28 after her playing career at Hammond High, Louisiana Tech and for the USA Olympic gold medal team in 1984.
Augustus played on three USA Olympic gold medal squads, and won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx. She will be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in October, and entered the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in April.
If anyone in the Class of 2024 could identify with Augustus regarding elevating a college basketball program, it was former Tulane men’s basketball coach Perry Clark.
When Clark arrived in Uptown New Orleans in July 1988, the Green Wave program was in its infant stages of being resurrected following a self-imposed, four-year shutdown following a point-shaving scandal.
Within two seasons, Clark took Tulane from a resurrection point to the first – and still only – conference championship in program history.
“He had to restart a Division I men’s basketball program, and there was no blueprint for him to follow,” former Tulane sports information director Lenny Vangilder said. “From no program to two years later winning a conference title, it was truly remarkable and may never be done again in the history of college athletics.”
Clark did just that in his own way – focusing on what Tulane could have instead of what it didn’t.
“I knew we weren’t going to get the best offensive players,” he said. “We were able to build defensively. We had the best defensive player in the conference at each position. That first year, we upset Memphis State, who was ranked No. 4 because we were able to stop Elliott Perry. We had a top-20 win every year because we could lock in defensively and believe in what we were doing.”
Armed with a bench group nicknamed “The Posse” after Clark’s favorite NFL team – the then-Washington Redskins – and their dynamic receiving corps, the Green Wave had all three of its NCAA Tournament appearances in Clark’s 11 years at the place he called Camelot.
While Clark left his mark on Tulane, winning 185 games in those 11 seasons, it left just as much of an imprint on him.
“I’m very privileged to be in the state of Louisiana,” Clark said. “The people here have inspired me in my growth as a person, my growth as a coach. This is the most wonderful group of people in the country. You love with your heart. You give with dedication and care. We had to live up to your energy, your desires and the things you hold very, very special – loyalty and caring. If I ever get accused of being too loyal, I hope they find enough evidence to find me guilty.
“I kept asking how do I get in this Hall of Fame. I kept hearing, ‘It’s too hard. It’s too hard.’ I kept asking, ‘What do I have to do?’ This is extremely special to be called a Cajun. I’m happy to be here and happy to be recognized as a Cajun.”
Contact Jason at pughj@nsula.edu