On Saturday, nine sports figures will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, including former Saints quarterback Drew Brees and LSU legend Seimone Augustus. Hall of Fame Foundation President Ronnie Rantz says Augustus is regarded as the greatest women’s basketball player from Louisiana.
“You know, obviously, what she did at LSU with her Final Fours and what she did in high school where she was a nationally, uh, player of the year in the country, you know, what she did in the professional ranks and the Team USA and everything like that. She’s the greatest,” he says.
Rantz says inducting Brees is a no-brainer, explaining, “obviously, Drew Brees is in the conversation of, you know, top 10 greatest quarterbacks of all time in the history of the game. So, clearly in the state of Louisiana, what he meant with the Super Bowl and [the] 2009 season, and [he] will always be a legend.”
MMA icon Daniel Cormier, who currently serves as a combat sports analyst with ESPN and a commentator for UFC events, will also be inducted this year. Cormier was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 after a storied career in which he became just the second UFC fighter to hold two divisional titles (heavyweight and light heavyweight) simultaneously.
Former Tulane men’s basketball coach Petty Clark is in this year’s induction class after leading the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances in four years, which are the only three NCAA trips in program history. He was inducted into the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
Wilbert Ellis is joining the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this year. Ellis was the second ever coach for the Grambling baseball program. He spent 43 seasons there, including 30 as head coach, posting a record of 743-463-1 and three NCAA appearances. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006.
Prolific high school football and baseball coach Frank Monica is being inducted this year after being inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. In his career that spanned half a century, Monica won state football titles at three different South Louisiana schools and guided St. Charles to 12 state semifinals appearances and six state finals berths.
Inductee and LSU star Kevin Jackson became only the second Black wrestler globally to win an Olympic gold medal in 1992. Jackson ended up taking home five major wins in five years, and is one of only six U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers to claim at least three career Olympic or World Championship titles. As a coach for USA Wrestling, he helped bring home three more gold medals. Jackson is a member of the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame, the United States National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Quarterback Kerry Joseph, another inductee this year, helped McNeese State achieve their first ever playoff win and first Division I-AA national semifinal appearance. In his 19-year pro career, Joseph played slotback for the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins, as well as safety for the Seattle Seahawks. He went on to be named a CFL all-star and won the Grey Cup with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Joseph was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Roughriders Hall of Honour in 2019.
Horse jockey Ray Sibille is being inducted this year as well. Rantz says Sibille’s 4,000 career wins exemplify something you just don’t see anymore.
“Ray Sibille from Sunset, Louisiana, right there north of Lafayette, is from that era of great jockeys — horse jockeys, race jockeys — from that part of the state, which is a little bit of a dying breed,” he says.
Sibille ranks among the top 80 jockeys of all time who have at least 4,000 career wins.
Induction celebrations will be held during this weekend at the HoF’s home in Natchitoches. The induction ceremony proper will be held on Saturday.
