NEWS

Almost a quarter of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s 456 inductees since the first class was enshrined in 1959 have ties to Lincoln Parish—far and away the most well-represented parish in the Hall.

That number includes a robust 34 members from Tech. Meet them, in order of induction:

Joe Aillet, Coach, Class of ’73: First person from Tech to be inducted. He was head football coach 1940-1966, coached basketball in 1944 and 1945, and from 1952-1968 coached the golf teams to 10 Gulf States Conference titles. Tech’s football stadium was named “Joe Aillet Stadium” in 1972.

Jackie Moreland, Basketball, Class of ’84: Played from 1957 to 1960, a three-time All-American and prolific scorer. His jersey is retired and hangs in the Thomas Assembly Center rafters. All-around, ahead-of-his-time player.

Maxie Lambright, Coach, Class of ’86: Head football coach from 1967-1978, athletic director from 1970-1978, architect of Tech Football’s Golden Era.

Paul Manasseh, Distinguished Service Award (DSA), Class of ’86: Shreveport native who spent one year (1968) as Tech sports information director (SID) during a prolific public relations career that included a dozen years as SID at LSU.

Terry Bradshaw, Football, Class of ’88: Played at Tech 1966-1969, first pick in the NFL Draft 1970 after breaking most all the Bulldog passing records at the time. Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with Pittsburgh, NFL Hall of Famer in his first year of eligibility (1989), and now a popular broadcaster for FOX.

Kim Mulkey, Basketball, Class of ’90: Two-time national champion guard for the Lady Techsters during her playing career from 1980-84 and former Tech assistant and associate head coach. Added to her resume post-induction by winning three NCAA titles as head coach of Baylor and by being inducted into both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Currently head coach of LSU’s Lady Tigers.

Leo Sanford, football, Class of ’90: Tech offensive lineman and linebacker, 1947-50, Sanford played for the Chicago Cardinals 1951-57 and was a member of the 1958 NFL Champion Baltimore Colts and a participant in “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” He was the first center inducted into the HOF.

Pam Kelly-Flowers, Basketball, Class of ’94: Played for the Lady Techsters 1978-82, became a three-time Kodak All-America player, two-time national champion, and won the Wade Trophy as the country’s top player in ’82.

Fred Dean, Football, Class of ’95: Defensive lineman for Tech 1971-74, a three-time All-American, two-time national champion, two-time Super Bowl champ, four-time Pro Bowler, and NFL Hall of Famer (inducted 2008).

Mike Green, Basketball, Class of ’96: Played basketball for the Bulldogs 1969-1973. The National College Division “Player of the Year” in his senior year, he led the Bulldogs to several No. 1 national rankings.

Robert “Scotty” Robertson, Basketball, Class of ’97: Head coach 1964-1974 in the on-campus gym since renamed in his honor. Led the Bulldogs to a No. 1-ranking in the National College Division in the early 1970s, was the first head coach of the New Orleans Jazz (now the Pelicans), and was a longtime NBA assistant.

Bob Henderson, DSA, Class of ’99: Sports editor for the Ruston Daily Leader for four years and the Shreveport Times for one year while earning two degrees at Louisiana Tech before he enjoyed a PR career in south Louisiana, most notably at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) where, as SID, he coined the term “Raging Cajuns,” later shortened to “Ragin’ Cajuns.”

Keith Prince, DSA, Class of ’04: SID at Tech for 25 years, including the Golden Era of Tech Football (1971-74), he publicized many of the players and coaches who earned induction into the LASHOF.

Leon Barmore, Basketball, Class of ’04: An outstanding guard as a player, he coached the Lady Techsters 1977-2002 and was head coach 1985-2002. Like Mulkey, who he coached, Barmore was later inducted into both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Janice Lawrence Braxton, Basketball, Class of ’05: Played for the Lady Techsters 1980-84, played in four Final Fours and on two national championship teams, and was the game’s Wade Trophy winner in 1984. Like her teammate Mulkey, she was both a Pan American and Olympic Gold Medalist and a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tom Hinton, Football, Class of ’05: A Bulldog 1954-57, he was the first Tech player in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game, was named the Gulf States Conference (GSC) Athlete of the Year in 1957, played nine years at offensive guard for the British Columbia Lions, and was enshrined into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Pete Dosher, DSA, Class of ’07: In a career of more than 50 years, the Tech grad and Bulldog basketball player served in SID roles at both Tech and neighboring Grambling State, was a selfless promoter of Louisiana sports, a sports historian and meticulous statistician, as well as a journalism professor.

Karl Malone, Basketball, Class of ’08: In his three seasons from 1982-85, “The Mailman” led the Dunkin’ Dogs to a Southland Conference title and a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 1985. He was a two-time NBA MVP and is the league’s second-leading all-time scorer. He’s a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his number is retired in Thomas Assembly Center above Karl Malone Court.

Carrice Russel Baker, Basketball, Class of ’09: A Tech graduate at 19, she coached girls high school basketball for 39 years. She won more than 1,000 games plus eight state championships—four at Winnsboro and four at Jena—first playing 3-on-3 and then playing 5-on-5.

O.K. “Buddy” Davis, DSA, Class of ’09: The Ruston and Lincoln Parish sports authority for more than 40 years, he began his career in the mid-1960s as a student assistant SID at his alma mater of Tech, then was sports editor at the Ruston Daily Leader from 1970 until his death in 2019, during which time he covered everything from Little League to the Olympics to national championships, all with the same dedication. A remarkable example of the perfect guy at the perfect place at the perfect time.

Sonja Hogg, Coach, Class of ’09: The founder of the storied Lady Techsters Basketball program, she was its first head coach (1974-84) while simultaneously teaching in the University’s College of Education. She named the team “Lady Techsters” and remains the original Face of the Program.

Willie Roaf, Football, Class of ’09: A consensus first-team All-American and a finalist for the Outland Trophy as a senior offensive tackle in 1992, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014..

Lee Hedges, Coach, Class of ’10: The multi-use former Caddo Stadium was renamed in honor of this former Bulldog and superb athlete who left coaching at Tech to become the winningest high school football coach in Shreveport-Bossier history with 217 victories. Known for his easy-going manner, offensive innovations, and deflection of recognition.

Teresa Weatherspoon, Basketball, Class of ’10: The charismatic leader of the Lady Techsters 1988 national championship team, “Spoon” is also a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was voted by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history (she was one of the league’s original players in 1997), and currently is an assistant coach for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

Roger Carr, Football, Class of ’12: Probably the fastest receiver in Tech history, he was a headache for defenses 1971-1974 when he helped the Bulldogs win two Division II national titles. He caught the game-winning, last-minute TD pass in the national semifinals against Boise State in 1973 and earned a spot on the Little All-American team in both 1972 and 1973, not bad for a guy who came to Tech from Cotton Valley as a track athlete.

Venus Lacy, Basketball, Class of ’14: The star center for the Lady Techsters 1988-1990, she is No. 1 in scoring average in Tech history, was a 1990 Kodak All-American, and that same season was named the national Player of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Pat Collins, Coach, Class of ’15: Played football under HOF-coach Joe Aillet, then became Maxie Lambright’s defensive coordinator and did well enough for Tech to win a couple of NCAA Division I national championships in the early 1970s. As head coach at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe), he led his team to the 1987 Division I-AA national title in a season known for some remarkable comebacks.

P.J. Brown, Basketball, Class of ’16: Starred for the Bulldogs 1988-1992, this tireless worker came to Tech as a raw talent and left as the program’s second all-time leader in blocks with 241 and fifth in rebounds with 1,017. The NBA Sportsmanship Award winner in 2004, he retired after winning a championship with Boston in 2008..

Sue Donohoe, Administrator/Dave Dixon Award, Class of ’17: A graduate assistant coach for Lady Techster basketball under Tech Hall of Famers Sonja Hogg and Leon Barmore, she helped grow the national women’s game dramatically as director of the women’s NCAA basketball championships and vice president of women’s basketball.

Dave Nitz, DSA, Class of ’19: A broadcaster for more than six decades, “Freeway Dave” began his career at Tech in 1974 and is in his 48^th season calling Bulldog Baseball, the longest such streak of any other college baseball broadcaster. He called Tech men’s basketball and football games through the 2020 seasons, is the original Voice of Lady Techster Basketball, and was Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year in 2011.

Matt Dunigan, football, Class of ’19: Tech’s quarterback most of 1979-82, he led the Bulldogs in ’82 to a 9-0 regular season record, 5-0 in the Southland, and the I-AA playoffs with a fierce competitiveness and rocket arm. Also a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and popular TV analyst and cooking show host in Canada.

Angela Turner, Basketball, Class of ’20: With a lethal jump shot and a smooth style, she starred for the Lady Techsters 1978-82, was a first-team Kodak All-American as a senior when Tech won the first Women’s NCAA National Championship, and was MVP of the ’81 AIAW national championship tournament.

Phil Robertson, Outdoorsman, Class of ’20: Played football for Tech as a pre-Terry Bradshaw quarterback before leaving eligibility behind to pursue his passion for hunting and fishing. He earned his master’s in education, but more than that, he earned the name of “Duck Commander” with his homemade duck calls and became a household name with the hit TV show, Duck Dynasty.

Induction Week for the Class of 2022 is June 23-25 in Natchitoches.

The $23-million Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum, 800 Front Street in historic downtown Natchitoches, is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am-4:30 pm, although school and tour groups may request early arrival. Admission is $6 adults; $5 seniors, students and active military; children 6 and under free. Call 318.357.2492 for more information.

This story was written by Communication student Leslee Bennett.