It happens every year.
No, not LSU winning the College World Series, although it almost seems that way. Two outta three ain’t bad.
And no, not an LSU team winning a national championship in some sport. Although the Tigers have celebrated five NCAA crowns this decade, it’s not an annual tradition. Along with the pair that Jay Johnson’s baseball team has captured, Kim Mulkey’s women’s basketball Final Four title came in 2023, the Tiger gymnastics team won in 2024, and the men’s track team reigned in 2021.
But every year, this time of year, in Natchitoches, there’s a different kind of championship dogpile.
The annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration kicks off Thursday with the first of three free events – yes, that’s right, your favorite price, free – the Welcome Reception from 5-7 at the LSHOF Museum, 800 Front Street, at the traffic circle, on the trademark bricks.
There’s free food, “refreshments,” music, and a relaxed vibe. Wardrobe? Casual. Come as you are. Check out a truly world-class museum at no charge (not that it costs much to get in normally; adult admission is just $6 with students, seniors and military getting cheaper tickets on the reg).
Meet real Louisiana legends.
Find out they are nice folks. People you’d like as your neighbors. Yup, the same heroes who you watched win national championships, Super Bowls, All-Star Games, state crowns … those nine competitors who are going into the Hall this weekend all have long lists of amazing accomplishments in athletics that set them into the elite class of selection for induction from a candidate pool over 150 from 27 different sports categories.
They will be in the spotlight at seven different events, including Friday night’s free (there’s that word again) Rockin’ RiverFest on the banks of Cane River Lake downtown on the Rue Beauport stage next to the Church Street Bridge. They’ll be encouraging youth Saturday morning at the free Junior Training Camp – yes, it’s free – providing two hours of full-throttle fun and sports instruction, along with advice on how to succeed in life and enjoy a healthy lifestyle (sign up your kid, 7-17, by completing the waiver form on LaSportsHall.com).
Some of the festivities do require tickets, and only a few remain for the Mardi Gras Bowling Bash Friday at Four Seasons Bowling Center in Alexandria, the VIP Taste of Tailgating Friday night on the bricks above the concert venue, and inside at Mama’s Oyster House and Blues Room on Front Street. The Roundtable Luncheon Saturday, hosted by Shreveporter Tim Brando, provides levity and up-close access to the stars.
The party wraps Saturday with the Induction Ceremony, which will have a record crowd at the Natchitoches Events Center. Just when it appeared sold out at 834 people, some out-of-the-box reconsideration produced a new seating plan that upped capacity to 900. A few dozen tickets are still available at LaSportsHall.com.
You can’t make it to the City of Lights? You can watch, live, free (that word keeps popping up) on Louisiana Public Broadcasting from 7-9:30 Saturday night as a dozen people are officially and memorably enshrined. It’s worth the time just to watch the opening Walk of Legends, when past inductees, then the new class, march in to the strains of the theme from The Natural.
But the real magic of Hall of Fame weekend unfolds afterward, in their induction interviews on stage. There’s laughter, there can be tears, the words might sputter out as emotion takes over. There’s more laughter.
And there are profound messages shared. Like what the Grambling legend, 87-year-old Wilbert Ellis, said to finish his remarks last June, as he entered the Hall as the second-ever recipient (behind Brando) of the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award.
Coach Ellis sees the bigger picture. As Louisiana Lightning, Yankees ace Ron Guidry, memorably said in his 1992 induction, “if you’re going to hold my name up to be honored, well, please use it for some good.”
Saturday night, it will be hard to top what Ellis said last year.
“Don’t turn your head (away from youth) — they want to be helped. They want to be nourished. They need some direction. And don’t be afraid to sit down and talk with them about direction. Tell them about right and wrong, going to church and doing great things in life so that when you see them again, they’re doing great things. They can be lawyers. They can be doctors. But we must work with them in such a way to help make our communities and nation a better place.”
Let’s follow THAT game plan.
It’s moments like that, messages like that, that make the LSHOF weekend so inspiring, whether you’re a sports fan or not.
Come see what happens this weekend. At least, flip on LPB Saturday night. You might talk about it for the rest of your days.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com