Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

2021 Induction Class

Competitors
MAHMOUD ABDUL-RAUF -- A 6-foot-1 guard who was a prolific scorer and silky-smooth shooter, he played just
two seasons at LSU but was a two-time consensus SEC Player of the Year in averaging 30.2 points and 27.8 points
in 1988-89 and 1989-90, respectively. His 30.2 average in 1988-89 was an NCAA freshman scoring record, helping
him become the second freshman to make the Associated Press first-team All-America squad and the first ever to
make the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s All-America team. Even though he played in just 64 games for the
Tigers, he ranked seventh in scoring (1,854 points, 29.0 average) while setting freshman school records for points in
a game (55), points in a season (965) and season average (30.2) despite an ongoing battle with Tourette’s
Syndrome. He was chosen to the second team on the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches All-Louisiana
Team of the Century. He left school early to enter the NBA draft and was the third pick of the 1990 draft by the
Denver Nuggets. After growing up and playing at LSU as Chris Jackson, in 1991, he converted to Islam and changed
his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.. He played nine seasons in the NBA and averaged 14.6 points and 3.5 rebounds
for his career. He was a deadly free-throw shooter, making 90.5 percent for his career. His best season was in 1993-
94 when he made 219 of 229 attempts for 95.6 percent, falling short of the all-time single-season record by a single
miss. Also played many seasons as a professional around the world and remains active as a standout in the 3-
man summer pro league. LSU retired his No. 35 jersey in the 2019-20 season, the fifth jersey retired in program
history. Born 3-9-1969 in Gulfport, Miss.

MARQUES COLSTON -- A seventh-round draft pick in 2006 (252nd overall) out of Hofstra University, Colston easily
became the most productive receiver in Saints history in a 10-year career from 2006 to 2015. Quiet and reserved off
the field but competitive on it, he quickly became one of the cornerstones of Sean Payton's first Saints team.
Colston's size (6 feet, 4 inches and 225 pounds) and willingness to go over the middle and make the tough catch
made him an instant favorite of new quarterback Drew Brees and New Orleans won the NFC South title and reached
the NFC championship game as Colston made the all-rookie team. Three years later, Colston and the Saints won the
NFC crown and the franchise's only championship with a 31-17 victory over Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis
Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. In his 10-year career, Colston played in 146 games with 106 starts and caught 711 passes
for 9,759 yards -- both club records. An especially inviting target in the red zone because he towered over most
defenders and could easily come down with Brees' patented back-shoulder throws, he also scored 72 touchdowns
for another franchise record and tied Joe Horn for the most 100-yard games in club history with 28. He had 150 yards
or more in six of those games, topped by a 10-catch, 169-yard performance vs. Pittsburgh in 2006. For his career,
Colston had 189 more receptions and 1,905 more receiving yards than Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member Eric
Martin and 22 more touchdowns than Horn, elected to the LSHOF’s 2020 class. Colston produced six 1,000-yard
receiving seasons with a best of 1,202 yards in 2007 when he also had a club single-season 98 receptions and
scored 11 TDs. He grabbed another 58 passes for 788 yards and had four scores in 10 postseason contests,
catching seven balls for 83 yards in the Super Bowl XLIV win. Born 6-5-1983 in Harrisburg, Pa.

GLENN DORSEY — The most decorated defender in LSU football history, Dorsey, a graduate of East Ascension
High in Gonzales, passed on a chance to enter the 2007 NFL draft when he was projected as a first-round pick and
returned to school for a senior season that will be difficult to match. A 6-foot-2, 303-pound defensive tackle, Dorsey
was a monster in the middle for the Tigers, who won their second BCS national championship in five years with a 38-
24 victory over Ohio State — a month after toppling Tennessee in the SEC title game. As the heart and soul of the
LSU defense, Dorsey, the 2007 SEC defensive player of the year, won a grand slam of sorts when he raked in the
Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy and Nagurski Trophy. A two-time All-American, he had 179 career
tackles, with 13 sacks among his 27 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Dorsey was the fifth overall pick of the
2008 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but injuries sidetracked his pro career after four seasons. After playing in
62 games his first four seasons, he played in just 42 his final five. He missed the entire 2014 season with an injury
and suffered a torn ACL in 2015 that eventually led to his retirement following the 2016 campaign. … Born 8-1-85 in
Baton Rouge.

VILLIS P. “BO” DOWDEN - He won bass fishing’s most prestigious event, the Bassmaster Classic, on the St.
Lawrence River (N.Y.) in 1980, highlighting 14 appearances in that event.  The Natchitoches native and
Northwestern State graduate, who has been a Sabine Parish businessman for over three decades, had career
winnings of $235,261.79 through Bassmaster events, not including earnings from various other trails. In the late
1980s, Dowden was one of the top six earners among all anglers. His 1980 Bassmaster Classic victory was a “wire-
to-wire” triumph over three days and received network television coverage from ABC-TV’s 20/20 news magazine in a
segment hosted by Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, providing a big boost for the sport and expanding the fan
base considerably. Topped by a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass he called “Queen Bee” caught on the final day, Dowden’s
54-pound, 10-ounce haul provided a 10-pound, 9-ounce winning margin that is the fourth-largest in Bassmasters
Classic history 41 years later. The weight was second-best in the 10-year history of the event and ranked sixth in its
first 30 years (13th now in 51 years). His 1980 Bass Masters Classic win was worth $41,000 and was the first career
win by the Northwestern State alumnus. It highlighted an impressive stretch in the sport’s focal event – Dowden was
second in the 1976 Classic and third in 1977 and 1982. Overall, he finished second in four tournaments, third five
times and was in the top 10 of 25 tournaments. He was in the money in 57 percent of the tournaments he entered,
including 99 of 241 on the BASS tour. His best years on the pro circuit were in 1977 when he was second, third and
fifth in pro events, and in 1981 when he had two thirds and a second. In 2004, ESPN Outdoors and BASS named
him among the 35 greatest anglers of all-time. Born 7-6-1941 in Natchitoches.

PAT HENRY – One of the most successful coaches in NCAA history, Henry led the combined LSU men’s and
women’s track and field program to 19 Southeastern Conference titles and 27 NCAA indoor and outdoor crowns
during a remarkable 17-year run from 1988-2004 before accepting the same position at Texas A&M -- where he’s
coached the past 17 seasons (through 2021). In 34 total seasons as a Division I head coach, Henry has claimed 36
NCAA men’s and women’s titles (27 at LSU) with an incredible total of 57 top-three team finishes (35 at LSU).  In
1989, he led the Tigers to their first NCAA outdoor title in 56 years and also won the women’s crown. In doing so,
LSU became the first school to sweep both titles in the same year -- a feat Henry would repeat a year later in 1990.
He also did it three consecutive years at A&M (2009-11). Under Henry, LSU also was the first school to sweep the
men’s and women’s national indoor titles in 2004. A month shy of his 36th birthday, Henry was hired by LSU in June
1987 from Blinn (Texas) Junior College, where he built one of the nation’s top men’s programs from 1983-87 and led
his team to a sweep of the 1987 national NJCAA indoor and outdoor titles. In his first season at LSU in 1988, the
Lady Tigers won the NCAA outdoor title for the second year in a row, then claimed the next nine to give the school 11
national outdoor titles in a row (an NCAA Division I record for women's athletics that still stands), while adding 10
more indoors (including five in a row from 1993-97). In achieving the most NCAA championships by a head coach for
indoor and outdoor track and field, Henry is the active leader and third among NCAA coaches all-time in any sport for
national titles (Jim Steener, Kenyon College, Division III swimming and diving, 50; John McDonnell, Arkansas,
Division I cross country/track and field, 40). Henry also guided his teams to 19 SEC titles (14 women, five men) and
was named the league's coach of the year 15 times (nine women, six men). One of Henry's top highlights came in
1989, when LSU claimed seven of a possible eight men's and women's titles in the SEC and NCAA indoor and
outdoor championships. Henry was head coach of the USA men’s team that won 10 golds and 19 total medals at the
2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. At LSU, Henry, who’s recognized as one of the nation’s top sprints
and relays coaches, had 37 Olympians who won three gold medals and 38 World Championships participants who
brought home six golds. Henry and his family were inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame (1998) and Pat
Henry is also a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Hall of Fame (inducted
2002) and Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2017). ... Born 7-22-1951 in Albuquerque, N.M.

COURTNEY BLADES ROGERS – The Baton Rouge native was a four-time all-state pitcher at Belaire High School
before an ultra-successful career at Nicholls and Southern Miss where she had a career record of 151-34 with 77
shutouts and an 0.97 ERA. She chalked up a then-NCAA record 1,773 strikeouts in 1261.2 innings pitched. She was
the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1998 at Nicholls, then transferred to USM (following Nicholls coach
Lu Harris there) and led the Golden Eagles, who were returning after a seven-year hiatus for the program, to the
Women’s College World Series in 1999 and 2000. She collected 95 of her team’s 115 wins in that two-year span,
going 43-6 and 52-7 in the circle. A two-time first-team All-American, Rogers threw three no-hitters with a perfect
game and she set an NCAA single-season record with 497 strikeouts in 1999. As a senior, she was the 2000 Honda
National Softball Player of the Year after winning an NCAA single-season record 52 games with four no-hitters and
two perfect games. She averaged 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings to lead the nation, sitting down 663 batters. In
the 2000 WCWS, Rogers pitched a perfect game against No. 1 Arizona, a feat unmatched in the Series until 2021.
She established NCAA records for career wins (151) and strikeouts (1,773) though both have been surpassed.
Rogers once recorded 21 strikeouts against LSU, her hometown team, in a 1-0, 13-inning loss in an NCAA regional
game. She proved to be more than just a pitcher, hitting .320 during her two seasons at Nicholls and .307 at USM.
Played for Team USA between her junior and senior seasons at USM and became the first softball player to be
inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Recently an NCAA.com columnist ranked her among the top 11
pitchers all-time in the collegiate game. Born 5-16-1978 in Baton Rouge.

RICKIE WEEKS – A prolific collegiate hitter, the former Southern University All-American set two NCAA records that
are still on the books heading into the 2021 season – Division I career batting average (.465) and career slugging
percentage (.927). The Florida native played for Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame coach Roger Cador from 2001-03
before embarking on a 14-year major league career after being drafted second overall in 2003 by the Milwaukee
Brewers. That year, Weeks was the Baseball America Player of the Year and he won the Golden Spikes Award and
Dick Howser Trophy as the nation’s top player after leading Division I for the second year in a row with a .479
average while driving in 66 runs. He was also the SWAC Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Hitter. As a
sophomore in 2002, he led D-I while hitting at a .495 clip with 96 RBIs after batting .422 with 70 RBIs as a freshman
in 2001. He led the nation in slugging percentage in 2002 (.995) and ’03 (.933). For his career, Weeks, who played
center field as a freshman and second base the next two seasons, appeared in 160 games and was 254 for 546 at
the plate (.465) with 232 RBIs in leading the Jaguars to NCAA tournament appearances in each of his three seasons.
With Milwaukee (2003, 2005-14), Seattle (2015), Arizona (2016) and Tampa Bay (2017), Weeks had a .246 career
batting average with 161 home runs, 474 RBIs and 132 steals. His top hitting seasons came when he hit .279 in 2006
and .274 in 2014, but he hit .269 with 29 homers and 83 RBIs in 2010 and in 2011 was the starting second baseman
for the National League in the All-Star game. Weeks finished that season hitting .269 with 20 home runs and 49
RBIs. … Born 9-13-1982 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

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2021 Induction Class – Contributors
Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award
 
TERRY McAULAY -- An LSU computer science graduate who grew up in Hammond, McAulay was an NFL official for
20 seasons — the final 17 as a referee after working just three seasons as a side judge. He officiated a total of 316
games (267 as a referee) of which 17 were in the playoffs. He worked seven NFC or AFC Championship games and
is one of just six officials to referee at least three Super Bowls (Jerry Markbreit, 4; Norm Schachter, Jim Tunney, Pat
Haggerty, Bob McElwee, McAulay, 3 each). McAulay served as crew chief for Super Bowls XXXIX (New England vs.
Philadelphia), XLIII (Pittsburgh vs. Arizona), XLVIII (Denver vs. Seattle). He was the first referee to draw a Super
Bowl assignment with fewer than five seasons as a referee when he was the crew chief for Super Bowl XXXIX after
only his fourth season. He started his officiating career working high school football and basketball games while
attending LSU before moving to the Baltimore area in 1982 after taking a job as a computer programmer and
software engineer for the National Security Agency (NSA) where he worked for 26 years until his retirement in 2008.
On the field, he worked in some smaller collegiate leagues before becoming a referee in the ACC from 1994 to 1997
and was the referee for the 1997 BCS title game in the Orange Bowl. While an NFL official, he was coordinator of
officials for 10 seasons for the Big East and American Athletic Conferences. In June 2018, McAulay retired from the
NFL to become the on-air rules expert for NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame football telecasts. … Born
12-24-1959 in Brownsville, Texas (moved to Hammond when he was 4 years old).
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Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism

RO BROWN -- A pioneering broadcasting presence who became a sports media staple in his native New Orleans,
Brown was the first on-air African-American sports anchor-reporter in New Orleans at WDSU-TV in 1978. After one
year (1980-81) at KPLC-TV in Lake Charles he returned to WDSU where he worked for 21 years, becoming a staple
of the New Orleans media scene. The final three years he was the first education reporter in the New Orleans
market (1999-2002). In 1983 his 5-part series on the Black Student-Athlete won a Louisiana Associated Press Award
for best sports series. Brown also received a New Orleans Press Club award for highlights of the Liberty Track and
Field Meet. In 2012 the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) presented him with
the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award and in 2020 he was awarded the prestigious Mac Russo Award by the Louisiana
Sports Writers Association. While continuing to cover sports in and around New Orleans, he has worked for the
Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation as Director of Community Relations; Event Producers, where he produced
and hosted television shows for the Sun Belt Conference and the Louisiana High School Athletic Association; and
Assistant Director of Communications at the University of New Orleans. Brown, who attended George Washington
Carver High School before graduating from John F. Kennedy High, is an alumnus of Loyola University in New
Orleans. He served four years in the U. S. Navy and is a member of selection committees for the Louisiana Sports
Hall of Fame, the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame and the New Orleans Saints Hall of
Fame.

DOUG IRELAND – Chairman of the Hall of Fame since April 1990, just over a year after he left the Alexandria Town
Talk sports staff and launched a 30-year run as the acclaimed, innovative sports information director at Northwestern
State. Ireland spearheaded efforts leading to construction and the 2013 opening of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches. Ireland managed all aspects of the annual Hall of Fame
selections and inductions from 1990-2010, and since has continued to coordinate elections while collaborating with
LSHOF Foundation leaders to stage the Induction Celebration each year. Ireland ended his SID career in the
summer of 2019. His 1992 Demon football media guide won Best in the Nation for Division I-AA from the College
Sports Information Directors of America, and a 1997 historical feature marking Demon great Joe Delaney’s induction
in the College Football Hall of Fame was second in a national CoSIDA contest. In 18 months (1987-89) as a
sportswriter for the Alexandria Town Talk, Ireland captured 15 top three finishes in the annual LSWA writing contest,
including records of nine overall awards including six first places in the 1987-88 competition while he covered state
colleges, high schools and did general assignment reporting. He picked up six more awards, two firsts, in the 1988-
89 contest despite leaving the LSU beat in January 1989 to accept the SID post at his alma mater. Ireland added
dozens of LSWA awards for writing and publications in 30-plus years as the Demons’ SID, including 33 since 2000.
In 2016, he won the LSWA’s Story of the Year award as a correspondent for the Natchitoches Metro Leader. In
February 2008, he was presented the “Distinguished American Award" by the S.M. McNaughton Chapter of the
National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Ireland was named the Alexandria Town Talk’s Cenla
Sportsman of the Year for 2012, an acknowledgement of his dual roles with the Hall of Fame and NSU Athletics He
was the recipient of the Southland Conference’s 2016 Louis Bonnette Sports Media Award for impact in the NCAA
Division I league. Ireland launched his career at age 14 as a sportswriter and columnist at the weekly Jackson
Independent, and broadcasting for the local radio station while playing two sports at Jonesboro-Hodge High School.
While earning his journalism degree at NSU, he was a news reporter for the Shreveport Times for two years, running
the Times Natchitoches Bureau in 1981-82. He spent the next three years as the first-ever assistant SID at UL-
Lafayette, then was an award-winning sports editor of the Natchitoches Times before joining the Town Talk sports
staff in 1987.

SHELDON MICKLES -- A Gretna native and graduate of Archbishop Shaw High School and LSU, Mickles has spent
43-plus years covering a variety of sports for two Baton Rouge papers -- the old afternoon State-Times (1978-91)
and The Advocate (1991-present). He started covering high schools and LSU track, then moved on to Southern
football and basketball before settling in as the Saints beat writer for 30 seasons from 1984-2013. During his time on
the Saints beat, he was in the press box for 540 preseason, regular season and postseason games -- including the
team's run to the Super Bowl XLIV title -- as well as 17 other Super Bowls. He's also covered the LSU track teams for
the past 43 seasons and currently is in his second stint as the LSU men's basketball beat writer as well as being part
of The Advocate's football coverage team. He's also covered LSU gymnastics, women's basketball, baseball and
softball events, and the New Orleans PGA Tour event for the past 31 years. The winner of numerous state, regional
and national writing awards, Mickles is a two-time LSWA Class I Columnist of the Year and was the Louisiana-
Mississippi AP Managing Editors (APME) Columnist of the Year in 2012. The 1998 Mac Russo Award winner, he
served as president of the LSWA (1988-90) following stints as secretary and vice president and has been a Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame committee member since 1983, serving as nominating chairman since 2009. His longtime
involvement with, and stewardship of the LSWA writing contest, teaming with Glenn Quebedeaux, has been a
bedrock for the organization. The 2019 recipient of the Track and Field Writers of America's Cordner Nelson
Memorial Award for lifetime achievement and writing excellence, he is a voter for the Heisman and Biletnikoff awards
and also votes on the AP college basketball poll. ... Born 11-27-1955 in New Orleans.