Inside this December 2007 edition of the L Club Newsletter:

L Club Welcome

Welcome! to the second edition of our online newsletter. Our first online newsletter, which debuted in August, was e-mailed to over 750 former letterwinners. Today’s edition is reaching just over 900 former letterwinners and that’s quite an increase! Thanks!

As you might recall, our publication schedule was adjusted last summer to mirror that of the Alumni Associations:

(1) an e-newsletter will be sent in August and December and

(2) immediately after the Hall of Fame weekend, our L-Club Newsletter will be mailed to all our life and current dues paying members.

Since our August e-newsletter, we have hosted five reunions:

As you can see, your L Club has been very busy these last six months. To date, we have big three events on our calendar for the coming year:

What's Next?

l. Our Web site will soon include a link where you can pay your dues online and update your record. We’re working on this and hope to have it ready any day.

2. We will soon introduce an expanded L Club Web site which will include, among other things, a Hall of Fame page with photos and profiles of each Hall of Fame member.

What You Can Do For YOUR L Club

l. Help us support our university and all the reunions we’re hosting by sending in your dues / contribution.

2. Come to our reunions and attend ULM athletic events.

3. Support your university - join the ULM Alumni Association, the ULM Athletic Foundation, recommend to other alums to stay in touch, and encourage students of all ages to enroll to ULM!



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Bigger, Older Warhawks Picked High in Sun Belt

What a difference a year makes.

One season ago, ULM’s men’s basketball team was the youngest and smallest club in the Sun Belt Conference and picked to finish last in the league standings. Today, the Warhawks are older and bigger and no longer considered cellar material but championship material, especially after becoming only the second visiting team to win the 26-year-old Hawkeye Challenge at Iowa in early December.

In fact, under normal conditions Coach Orlando Early’s team would have been an overwhelming favorite to win the SBC title with all five starters and all but one letter winner back from a squad that won 18 games, shared the West Division championship and boasted the only perfect home record in the conference.

But this is not a normal season in the Sun Belt. The league is top heavy with returning stars, including the top five and eight of the top 10 scorers. “It’s going to be like the SEC in football,” says Coach Early. “Everybody in the conference is going to be tough.”

ULM leads the conference with returning players who scored 94.9 percent of its points, pulled down 92.9 % of its rebounds and handed out 97.2 % of its assists in 2006-07. The Warhawks are big favorites to win the West Division again this season but Western Kentucky is the pick to win the overall title. The Hilltoppers have the SBC’s strongest basketball tradition with 19 NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four and had last season’s best regular season record of 22-11.

“We don’t pay any attention to the rankings or the polls whether we’re picked last like last year or first in our division like this year,” says Early, who was selected as the “Coach of the Year” last season in the conference, the state, and the district. “Our approach has been the same since the day we got here—to be the best we can be and get better every day.”

The ULM coach says his team “has a chance to be better since the guys are a year older. We have four seniors now and five juniors. Plus we have added some size and athleticism. They’re young but they give us some size around the basket that we didn’t have last season.”

Early’s returning starters are led by 5-11 junior Tony Hooper, who was named to the all-SBC third team last season and to the pre-season all-league second five this fall. Hooper led the Warhawks in scoring (15.4) and steals (1.7) last year.

Also back from the usual four-guard, one-forward lineup are 6-3 senior Jonas Brown (12.3 points), 6-2 senior Lance Brasher (10.4), 6-7 junior Afam Nweke (5.1 points, 6.9 rebounds) and 6-0 sophomore Brandon Roberts (9.7 points).

Six-three senior Jordan Payne was perhaps the SBC’s best sixth man, ranking second on the team with a 13.6 scoring average. He was second in three-point goals with 60 and 20-point games with six. In the SBC he ranked No. 6 in free-throw accuracy with .783%.

Roberts is back at the point after playing in only 15 games in 2006-07. He missed all of the 2005-06 season because of a broken foot, sat out the first nine games last year with a broken thumb, then missed the final eight contests with a torn ACL. He averaged 9.7 points and led ULM with 4.73 assists a game, which would have ranked No. 3 in the Sun Belt if he had played enough games to be eligible for ranking. With Roberts in the lineup, the Warhawks were 10-5, without him they were 8-9.

Normally a shooting guard, Brown handled most of the point duties in Roberts’ absence and did a great job. For the year, he was third on the team in scoring (12.3) and second in three other categories--assists (3.06), steals (1.2), and blocks (total of 10). He was selected as Louisiana’s “Newcomer of the Year” by the LSWA.

Brasher played both guard and forward. He was No. 4 in scoring with a 10.4 average and No. 2 in rebounds with 5.8 despite being at a decided height disadvantage. He, Hooper and Brown started every game.

Nweke became a starter in game six and stayed there. He led the team and ranked No. 7 in the Sun Belt with 6.9 rebounds. He was the only Warhawk to shoot above 50% from the field with a .621 percentage.

Dalky Melendez (6-8) had five starts and averaged 3.1 points Also back is 6-7 David Garrison, who averaged 0.7.

The new players are led by the two most heavily-recruited ULM big men since NCAA block record-holder Wojciech Myrda signed in 1999, 6-8, 265-pound Raphelle Turner and Mitchell Hampton (6-7, 220). Turner averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds at Peabody Magnet in Alexandria and scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in the exhibition game victory over Millsaps. Hampton averaged 23 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks during an all-state season at Monroe’s Ouachita High under ex-ULM star Casey Jones.

Other newcomers are shooting guard Sei Paye (6-3) of Strake Jesuit HS In Houston and point guards Kenneth Averette (5-7) from St. Catherine JC in Kentucky and Raschard Boatner (6-0) of Monroe Richwood. Lawrence Gilbert (6-8), who started some games at Miami of Florida last year, also signed with ULM but must sit out 2007-08 because of the transfer rule.

The Warhawks played a tough early schedule and struggled in games against highly ranked teams like Kansas, Michigan State, Ole Miss and others, all on the road, before finally playing in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, where they won 14 straight last winter, on Nov. 27. ULM easily defeated Alcorn State in that Nov. 27 home game, then went on to greater things at Iowa City Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

Coach Early’s team upset host Iowa in overtime, 72-67, on opening night, then cruised past Rice to win the championship the next day, 80-67. Tony Hooper was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 39 points in the two games, including a tourney-high 26 in the win over Iowa. Jonas Brown also made the all-tournament team after averaging 12.5 points in the meet. The two wins improved ULM’s record to 4-4 going into the exam-week break.




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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: A Historic Day in Tuscaloosa

Bob Andersonby Bob Anderson

Dec. 19, 1987. . .May 5, 1992 . . . Sept. 3, 1994 . . . Nov. 17, 2007. . .

Dec. 19, 1987 was the day ULM, then Northeast Louisiana University, won the national 1-AA championship. That achievement, more than any other, planted the seed of 1-A football in the minds of many connected with our university.

May 5, 1992 was the day that then-university President Lawson Swearingen formally announced that ULM planned to become a 1-A program in 1994.

Sept. 3, 1994 was the day ULM played its first game as a 1-A member against Colorado.

And Nov. 17, 2007, of course, was the day the Warhawks became—in the minds of thousands of people, including many of their own fans—a true 1-A team, the day they beat Alabama.

Alabama Scoreboard
The scoreboard says it all . . .
Charlie Weatherbie and ULM football players
. . . as does ULM head football Coach Charlie Weatherbie's expression and that of the 'Bama faithful.

ULM has been, on paper, a member of college football’s top division for 14 years but for most of that time it was merely a Great Pretender. Major college football was played in places like South Bend, Los Angeles, Lincoln, Athens, Baton Rouge. And Tuscaloosa.

There were some great days to be sure. ULM defeated Kentucky in 1994 and Mississippi State in 1995. But these wins were significant mainly not because these were strong teams or traditional powers—because they were not—but because they were members of the Southeastern Conference.

The Southeastern Conference is the strongest conference, year in and year out, in the country. We southerners have accepted this as gospel for a long time but in recent years it has become common knowledge nationwide—a recent article in USA Today being the latest testimony to that effect.

So a victory over a SEC team is an achievement worth bragging about because there are plenty of 1-A teams and even some conferences that have never beaten any SEC members.

In the Sun Belt Conference, for example, only four teams besides ULM have defeated SEC members—Troy has a win over Mississippi State (2001), Arkansas State beat Ole Miss (in 1915), North Texas has wins over Tennessee (1975) and Florida (1947), and Middle Tennessee has three victories, all over Vanderbilt (2001, 2002, 2005), traditionally the weakest SEC member. None of the other Sun Belt members have ever defeated Alabama.

In its short 1-A history, ULM has defeated three different SEC teams. As I pointed out before, Kentucky and MSU are not perennial national powers, but between them they have won three SEC titles and Kentucky even claims a national championship in football.

Alabama is a different story. This is one of the most storied football programs in America, a place where 92,138 fans showed up for a spring scrimmage, the home of Bear Bryant, Frank Thomas, Wallace Wade, Don Hutson, Lee Roy Jordan, Cornelius Bennett, Johnny Mack Brown, Fred Sington, Ozzie Newsome, Joe Namath. This is a school that has won 12 national championships, 21 SEC titles and played in more bowl games (54) than any other team in the country.

If you think the 2007 Crimson Tide was only a pale imitation of Alabama’s glorious past, just remember this—the team ULM defeated was directed by a national championship coach, had a 6-4 record going into the game, was nationally ranked two weeks earlier, had beaten SEC East champ Tennessee by 24 points, and was 1:39 away from overtime with then-No. 1 LSU.

So this was a victory any college football team would love to have and one that will live in Warhawk lore forever. And it was no fluke—this was a contest that ULM won, not one Alabama lost.

A week later, ULM beat ULL for the fifth time in six years to finish with six wins, becoming bowl eligible for the first time since joining 1-A or the NCAA Bowl Subdivision, which is now its official name. It was a grand finish to an excellent season highlighted not only by the win over Alabama but also the Malone Stadium-record crowd for the Grambling game, the ESPN2 home game against Tulsa, the 20th anniversary reunion of the 1987 national championship team, and six victories in the last eight games, including five of the last six.

SPEAKING OF BIG WINS—While we’re talking about victories over “name” opponents, let’s note that Sun Belt Conference members have won several in the last few years. In addition to the ones mentioned earlier, Arkansas State beat Army and Memphis (both 2006), FAU beat Hawaii (2004) and Minnesota (2007), ULL beat Conference USA champion Houston (2006), North Texas beat Cincinnati (2002) and SMU (2006), and Troy beat Missouri (2004), Rice (2006) and Oklahoma State (2007).

All these are signs that the SBC is maturing into a true 1-A football league. Florida Atlantic is a former SBC weak sister who surged into title contention this year and North Texas has some young stars who should put Todd Dodge’s team back among the living in a year or two. Florida International is still down but eventually its presence in the middle of one of the nation’s most fertile recruiting areas will turn this program around.



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Warhawk Football Team Enjoys Outstanding Season

It all added up to a superlative football season for the 2007 Warhawks. Coach Charlie Weatherbie’s team won six games, the most since ULM became a 1-A member in 1994. After opening with losses to three bowl teams ( Tulsa , Clemson , Texas A&M) plus SBC co-champion Troy , the Warhawks became a dominant football team.

With members of the university’s 1987 1-AA national championship team cheering them on, the Warhawks scored 30 unanswered points to blow by Arkansas State on Oct. 6, 30-13. After an upset loss on the road to North Texas , ULM celebrated homecoming by whipping Florida International for victory No. 2, 28-14.

Florida Atlantic, which would later beat Troy to claim a share of the Sun Belt Conference title and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl, fell in a thriller at Boca Raton , FL , when Dawson ran 31 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown in the third overtime in a 33-30 decision.

Next up was Middle Tennessee. The Warhawks gained 624 yards, ran for three touchdowns, passed for two, scored a field goal and a safety, came from behind to drive 65 yards and score what seemed to be the winning touchdown with less than a minute to play, only to lose on an 89-yard kickoff return by the Raiders, 43-40.

ULM rebounded to defeat Grambling State , 28-14, before the largest home crowd in Warhawk history - 30,101 - on Nov. 10 as the defensive unit held GSC to only nine first down, 169 yards passing and minus four rushing. Both freshman Frank Goodin (106 yards) and Dawson (100 yards) went over the century mark in rushing for the second time in the season—the other time was against Clemson.

Then came the high point of the season and one of the biggest victories in school history. The Warhawks defeated Coach Nick Saban and Alabama , 21-14, before 92,138 in Tuscaloosa . Alabama came into the game with a 6-4 record and had been nationally ranked only two weeks earlier. The Tide would eventually win a berth in the Independence Bowl.

Alabama scored first, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Then cornerback Quintez Secka intercepted his second John Parker Wilson pass of the period, returning it to the one-yard line. Dawson ran in for the touchdown on the first play of the second period.

After another ‘Bama touchdown, Dawson’s understudy, Goodin, ran 13 yards for another ULM score, ending a 10-play, 80-yard drive and it was 14-14 at the half.

Midway of the third period, ULM took over on its 35 after a Bama punt. Dawson and Goodin combined on runs that kept the Tide defense honest but most of the key plays in this drive were passes by Kinsmon Lancaster to Marty Humphrey and Darrell McNeal. On third-and-six, Lancaster hit McNeal with a slant pass for 11 yards and a first down at the 50. Two plays later, Humphrey was on the end of a crossing pattern that went for 19 yards to the 32. Dawson ran for 11 and Goodin for 10 to put the ball at the Bama 11. Goodin ran for another four but Dawson was dropped for a four-yard loss on second down and the Warhawks were back on the 11 facing third-and-10. Lancaster and Humphrey combined again, this time for the biggest of the game’s offensive plays that put ULM on top, 21-14, with 3:05 left in the third quarter.

Now the ULM defense and special teams had to come up with some big stops to nail down the upset victory.

First, LaGregory Sapp, a star receiver who does extra duty on special teams, blocked a field goal after Alabama had driven to the ULM 19 on the final play of the third period.

Then in the final period, the ULM defenders stopped the Tide at the ULM 43 when Wilson was stopped for no gain by Darius Battles and Alaric Coleman on second down and threw incomplete on third.

Later in the fourth, Bama mounted its most serious threat, driving 69 yards and had a second-and-one at the Louisiana 19 before James Truxillo jolted the ball loose from RB Jimmy Johns and Battles recovered at the ULM 14.

Battling fiercely to avoid an upset, Bama’s defense kept ULM ’s offense in check, first forcing the Warhawks into third-and-23 on their one-yard line. Dawson provided a little breathing room by running for a yard. Scott Love, who averaged 39.2 yards on the day, got off a good punt under pressure but Jonathan Lowe’s 19-yard return left the Warhawk defense still under the gun with the ball at the ULM 26 and 2:52 left.

Alabama moved eight yards on two plays and had third-and-two at the 18. But the Tide got absolutely nothing on two runs by Terry Grant. Coleman and David Cooper stopped the first one and freshman LB Theo Smith made the hit on the last.

The Warhawks could gain only one yard on three runs and Love faced another pressure punt. He came through again, punting 44 yards and out of bounds at the Bama 37. Wilson was incomplete on first down, then scrambled for four yards. Aaron Morgan hurried Wilson ’s third down throw and on fourth-and-six. Wilson ’s sideline throw with Truxillo covering was no good.

One play later the clock said 0:00 and the scoreboard said “ ULM 21, Alabama 14.”

Warhawk players swept the Sun Belt “Player of the Week” honors that week, Humphrey winning the offensive award, Secka the defensive prize and Love the special teams honors.

ULM finished the season by beating the Cajuns, 17-11, in Lafayette, as Greg James returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown, Lancaster ran three yards for the second TD, Cole Wilson kicked a 28-yard field goal and defensive ends Jameson Jordan and Coleman combined on the defensive play of the day, Jordan forcing a fumble at the one and Coleman recovering in the end zone. It was ULM’s fifth win over ULL in the last six meetings and left the Warhawks 6-6 and 4-3 for the season.

Dawson broke the school record for career rushing yards with 3,378, breaking the old record of 3,061 set by all-American Roosevelt Potts in 1990-92. He led the SBC in rushing and all-purpose yards for the second year in a row with 1,414 run yards and 1,758 on all-purpose runs.



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Warhawk Ladies Hope to Bounce Back in 2007-08

ULM’s women’s team played not just one but two basketball seasons in 2006-07. Season No. 1 was great, highlighted by high-profile victories, two tournament titles, success on the road, and a 10-1 record. Season No. 2 was horrible, marred by debilitating injuries to two senior stars, frustration in a new league, a long losing streak, and only four wins and 15 losses.

The two campaigns added up to a rare losing season for Coach Mona Martin and a disappointing 4-14 record in the Warhawks’ debut in one of the country’s strongest women’s basketball leagues, the Sun Belt.

The two senior starters who were slowed by injuries last year were four-year starter April O’Neal and two-year starter Melanie Williams. O’Neal suffered an ankle sprain that caused her to miss three complete games and dropped her scoring average from 7.2 to 6.4 and cut her assist total almost in half, from 114 to 58. Williams had to undergo her fourth knee operation, missed nine games altogether and was able to start only six, compared to 25 the previous season. Her scoring average was more than cut in half, from 8.7 in 2005-06 to 4.1.

Despite all their problems, the Warhawks actually did a little better in 2006-07 than expected in the SBC, finishing sixth in the Western Division instead of a predicted seventh. Martin thinks her team will exceed expectations even more this winter. “I’m excited,” she says. “I think we have a chance to be pretty good.”

It’s an optimism based on the return of nine letter winners, led by the team’s best player, LaJeanna Howard.

The 5-10 guard led the team in four major categories last year, scoring (12.7), assists (3.3), steals (1.3) and three-point goals (57).

One other regular is back, along with four other girls with starting experience. Senior Shannon Lloyd, the team’s tallest player at 6-2, started 25 of 30 games, averaged 5.8 points and missed sharing the team rebound lead by one, averaging 5.5 with 165 boards.

Junior Lottie Moore (5-9) had the third most starts of any returning player with 10 and averaged 3.5 points.

Sophomore point guard Regena Jackson (5-6) started eight games and was the team’s sixth leading scorer with 5.4 points. Another soph, 5-10 Jesse Carrier, started three times, averaged 3.4 points and was third in three-point goals. Senior Cristen Aldredge started twice in 06-07 and scored nine points.

Sophomore Ashley Wallis (5-10) played in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds. Dyamond Hogg (5-8) is a senior guard who averaged 1.2 points in 19 games as a transfer from LSU-Shreveport last year while sophomore Shannon Davis (6-0) also played in 19 games, scoring four points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Martin has five newcomers, four freshmen and senior Heather Hanson (5-5), in her first season of college basketball after earning four letters on the softball team.

Kassie Courtney (5-10) is a guard from Holden who was the class B state MVP last year after averaging 18.9 points and 8.9 rebounds. Teniqua Gray (5-7) did not play as a senior at Hendrickson High in Texas because of a ACL tear but averaged 20.6 points as a junior. Jordan Rawson (6-1) is the tallest addition and averaged 10 points and eight rebounds at Pineville HS. Forward Sannisha Williams (5-11) had 18-point and 14-rebound averages at Ruston High.

The Warhawks won their first three games over McNeese, Centenary and Texas State, all at home, before losing to Southern Mississippi on the road.



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ALL ABOUT YOU: 80 Return To ULM For National Championship Reunion

They came from the far corners of our country—from Wyoming, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, from 14 states in all. The occasion was the 20th anniversary reunion of ULM’s 1987 Division 1-AA national championship football team on October 6.

A total of 80 former players, coaches, and support personnel, came back to the campus to relive the high moments of the university’s winningest football team. The 1987 squad won 13 games, lost only two, and defeated Marshall, 43-42, in the championship game in Pocatello, Idaho.

1987 National Championship Football Reunion
Former Head Football Coach Pat Collins (left) points out a face in the crowd to Cisco Richard as Duke Marcus and Marcel Boureois look on.
1987 National Championship Football Reunion
(from Left) Spencer Ellison, Tag Rome, Cyril Crutchfield.
1987 National Championship Football Reunion
(from left) Former Head Football Coach Bobby Keasler, Brian Bell, Michael Smith and Bernard Heflin (Brian Bell's father-in-law)

The 1987 team was feted at a Friday night public reception, was introduced at halftime of the ULM-Arkansas State games and then formed a tunnel to cheer the Warhawks as they came out of the dressing room for the second half of the game. The 2007 Warhawks, as you probably already know, scored 30 unanswered points to win that game, 30-13.

Here are the players, coaches and support personnel that turned out for the reunion, led by some of the people that came the farthest:

TE Tommy Jackson, Laramie, WY.; TB Cisco Richard, Detroit, MI; DT Karl Alosio, Chandler, AZ.; NG Curtis Richardson, Chandler, AZ.; DE Troy Brown, Schwenksville, PA; strength GA David Richardson, Hilliard, OH; TB Jeff Steele, Delaware, OH; strength coach Barry Rubin, DePere, WI.

RB Mike Allen, Greenville, MS; DE Norman Amos, Jonesboro; WR Brian Bell, Arp, TX; OG Marcel Bourgeois, Lutcher; DT Claude Brumfield, Humble, TX; WR Kenneth Burton, Arlington, TX; DE Brian Castle, White Hall, AR; WR Brett Chatalain, Ponchatoula; DT Don Childs, Longview, TX; OT John Clement, Germantown, TN.

Head Coach Pat Collins, Longview, TX; DB Cyril Crutchfield, Port Sulphur; P Kevin Duhe, Prairieville; DB Spencer Ellison, Little Rock, AR; radio crew member Buddy Embanato, Monroe;

TE Kendall Farrar, West Monroe; OT Scott Ferguson, Monroe; DB Brian Flores, Destrehan; C Duane Foret, Destrehan; K Teddy Garcia, Oak Grove; DB Ron Gipson, Shreveport; student trainer Richard Gregoire, Kathy, TX.

Student manager Michael Gough, Abington, VA; WR Mark Guerriero, Monroe; C Rusty Haile, Colleyville, TX; DE Al Hamby, Eros; OT Chris Haye, Monroe; RB Kyle Heaslip, Baton Rouge; QB Stan Humphries, Monroe; TE Randy Jackson, Greenville, TX; K Claes Jetzel, Alabaster, AL; OT Vaurice Johnson, Sharpsburg, GA; WR Chris Jones, Lake Charles; faculty athletic committee member Dr. H. Perry Jones, Monroe; OT Billy Jung, Farmerville.

Defensive Coordinator Bobby Keasler, Monroe; WR Bobby Langbartels, Jefferson, TX; Academic Counselor Ron LeLeux, Sulphur; LB Greg Lewis, Monroe; C Curt Manasco, Rockwall, TX; LB Duke Marcus, Ruston; DB Marcus Martin, Mansfield, TX; OT Larry McDonald, Monroe; DB Jerry Melton, Monroe; Assistant Trainer Ricky Mestayer, Sulphur; OG Blair Michel, Lafayette; FB Tommy Minvielle, Monroe; LB George Murphy, The Woodlands, TX; OG David Muse, Bendbrook, TX.

LB Johnny “Buddy” Owen, Camden, TX; QB Doug Pederson, Shreveport; C Randy Pittman, Monroe; DB Hiram Porter, Hammond; QB Walt Phythian, Opelousas; RB Henry Powell, Ponchatoula; Offensive Coordinator Willie Ragan, Monroe; GA Coach Tag Rome, Ruston; TE Eric Smith, Little Rock, AR; DE Michael Smith, Trophy Club, TX; TE Joe Paul Smith, Bastrop.

GA Coach Mike Suggs, Shreveport; DB Jerry Tillery, Shreveport; OL Mike Traxler, Monroe; LB Scott Tubbs, Bastrop; DE Rickey Upshaw, Rowlett, TX; RB Bobby Van Buren, Pearl, MS; DT Craig Washington, Houston; Student Trainer Gerard White, Thibodaux; DE Anthony Williams, Arlington, TX; Assistant Trainer Robert Williamson, Monroe; DT Kevin Wright, Monroe; DT Rodney Young, Houston, TX.

Here’s a rundown on what’s going on right now in the life of some of the 1987 players and coaches. Cisco Richard is a teacher in Detroit, while Jeff Steele, who shared tailback duties with Cisco in 1987, runs a catering business in Columbus, OH…Tommy Jackson owns a restaurant in Laramie…

Gerard White is the athletic trainer at Nicholls State…Tag Rome is a State Farm Insurance agent in Bossier City…Ron LeLeux is the mayor of Sulphur…Marcus Martin went on to earn a MA degree in Criminal Justice from ULM, a MPH degree from North Texas and a PhD from Howard University in Washington. He now runs the Education is Freedom Foundation in Dallas…Coach Pat Collins is the director of athletics at Longview High School…Several members of the ’87 team are coaches in Louisiana. Cyril Crutchfield is the head coach at South Plaquemine, an early favorite to win the state class 1A championship. Doug Pederson is coach at Calvary of Shreveport, a new school that is already flexing its muscles. Mike Suggs is the football coach and AD at Byrd of Shreveport.

It was great to see several former ULM athletes at the Grambling game Nov. 10. Former basketball star Anthony Jones (MBB, 88-91) came over from Dallas-Fort Worth to see the ULM-GSC game as well as the Warhawk ladies’ game against McNeese. Three former football stars at the Grambling game were Harvey “Peter Rabbit” Johnson (FB, 73-76), Ken Ivory (FB, 75-76) and Vernon Mills (FB, 76, 78-80).



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Great Basketball Tradition To Be Spotlighted At Feb. 16 Reunion

ULM ’s great men’s basketball tradition—recognized as one of the best in the country—will be spotlighted in a Feb. 16 reunion on campus.

All former ULM men’s basketball players are invited to the reunion with the university’s first conference championship teams—the teams that did the most to start our great tradition—to be honored and individually introduced at halftime of the Sun Belt Conference game against Denver in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

The 1961-62 team won what was then Northeast Louisiana State College’s first Gulf States Conference title with a 17-8 overall record and an 8-2 mark in GSC play. Three years later, the 1964-65 Indians won the second GSC title with an 18-4 record with half those victories and only one defeat coming in league competition. Both teams were coached by Lenny Fant.

Since those first two championship years, ULM basketball teams have gone on to compile an extraordinary record. ULM has won a total of 14 conference or district championships, competed in 10 national tournaments, including seven NCAA meets, and enjoyed 38 winning seasons—including 21 straight, which was the fourth longest such streak in the country at the time.

Numerous ULM players have earned all-America honors and selection in the NBA draft, including a first-round pick, Calvin Natt, in 1979. Glynn Saulters was the first Louisiana player selected on the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1968.

These achievements earned the university inclusion in the Street & Smith’s list of the 100 Greatest Basketball Programs of All Time. ULM and LSU were the only Louisiana schools included in the 100 and ULM and Western Kentucky were the only Sun Belt Conference universities on the list.

The latest achievements of note for the Warhawk basketball team include sharing the West Division title in the Sun Belt last year and becoming only the second team besides host Iowa to win the Hawkeye Challenge mid-season tournament this year.

Former Coach Mike Vining is the chairman of a committee planning the Feb. 16 reunion. Returning players will have a chance to get together the afternoon before the ULM-Denver game, then will be the honored guests at a public reception in Fant-Ewing Coliseum between the women’s and men’s games, then be presented at halftime of the men’s game.

Vining, L Club Director Billy Laird and L Club President Bob Cooper want to emphasize that this is a reunion of all former men’s basketball with the members of the first two conference championship teams to be specially honored.

Members of the 1961-62 squad were Robert Cook, Jimmy Walker, Milton Linder, Malcolm George, Jerry Snelling, Irby Gamble, Bob Groves, John Hagan, Harry Crowe, Raymond Hawkins, Larry Butler, Jerry Salley, John Varino, Bobby Lockwood, Spike Smith, Charlie Biggar, Buddy Embanato, and all-Americans Lanny Johnson and Stuart Toms. Fant’s only assistant that year was student junior varsity coach G.B. Thompson.

The 1964-65 squad was composed of Glynn Saulters, Ronnie Suggs, Charles Gammill, Billy Brooks, Mike Vining, Chris Rhodes, Albert Krause, Johnny Peel, Rich Bailey, James Brian, Tommy Enloe, Paul Thompson, Walter Hays, Larry Butler, Lawson Swearingen, Dick Williams , Gilbert Burgess and Connie Rolen. Irby Gamble served as the graduate team manager and Don Ross was assistant manager.



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Reunions, Reunions, Reunions

Enjoy a photo gallery of other reunions sponsored by your L Club!

ULM Baseball
(from left) Retired Head Baseball Coach Lou St. Amant, Brian Moreau, Scotty McDonald, Head Baseball Coach Jeff "Shake" Schexnaider, Gary Huckabay, Mickey Parenton, Matt Dornier.
Lou St. Amant and Jeff "Shake" Schexnaider
Retired Head Baseball Coach Lou St. Amant(left) and Head Baseball Coach Jeff "Shake" Schexnaider stand by Coach St. Amant's retired jersey marker at Warhawk Field. Coach St. Amant's baseball jersey was the first retired baseball jersey at ULM.
1997 Softball Team Reunion
(from left) Sarah Dawson, Tony and Tonya (Harley) Dengle, Cori Scroggins, Coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill and husband Ron Hill are honored during a Homecoming reunion for the 1997 Softball Team which made the NCAA regional playoff’s that year.





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L Club Wrap Up

We hope you have enjoyed our second online newsletter. Please feel free to send your comments and suggestions to rwilliamson@ulm.edu or call 866-Warhawk. Thanks for your continuing support of ULM and of the L Club. I look forward to seeing you on campus this year in support of our university. Don’t forget to send in your dues!

Go Warhawks!

Billy Laird


Billy Laird
Executive Director
(318) 342-5427
rwilliamson@ulm.edu



Don’t forget to check out the “Lost Members” link located at the top of this newsletter – help us locate these lost teammates. Send any information to me at rwilliamson@ulm.edu.







Photos courtesy of Richard Lupo, ULM Photo Services.

ULM/Alabama football photos copyright and courtesy of David Lann of Birmingham, Ala. Used with permission.