A quartet of All-American football players, a Southland Conference women’s basketball Player of the Year and a trailblazing basketball team highlight the Northwestern State N-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
The 12-member group will be inducted and honored at 9 a.m. on Nov. 4 ahead of the Demons’ Homecoming football game against Houston Christian. Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.
For the first time since 2017, all inductees came from the competitive portion of the ballot, headlined by the selection of four football All-Americans.
Linebacker Andre Carron (1991), offensive lineman William Broussard (1998, 1999), offensive lineman Gene Tennison (2001) and defensive end Ahmad Willis (2001) combined for five All-American honors in their NSU careers and will head into the Hall of Fame together.
Joining them in the induction class are Angela Davidson, the 2001-02 Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and a three-time All-Southland selection, softball’s Annie Johnston, a first-team Academic All-American, the 2001 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and 2002 Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year, three-time All-Southland Conference baseball second baseman Brandon Morgan, three-time NCAA Championships qualifier Jacqueline Canton, Southland Conference Soccer Players of the Year Erin Hebert and Britiany Cargill, two-time first-team All-Southland third baseman Matt Donner and the 2000-01 men’s basketball team, who authored the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, winning the inaugural play-in game against Winthrop.
A center from Crowley, Broussard defined the term “student-athlete” during his four-year NSU football career. In addition to earning Walter Camp I-AA first-team All-American honors as a senior and second-team All-American honors from the Sports Network as a junior, Broussard also was one of 15 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete winners in 1999 as well as the winner of the Joe Delaney Memorial Leadership Award that season. A Rhodes Scholar candidate, Broussard was one of 20 Division I-AA players chosen as a Burger King Scholar-Athlete after his senior season. A Southland Conference 1990s All-Decade Team member, Broussard was the fulcrum of a Demon offensive line that helped NSU reach the Division I-AA national semifinals and finished with a No. 3 ranking in 1998. A starter in 29 of his 47 career games, Broussard was named to the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time as part of the 2007 NSU football centennial celebration and was “Mr. NSU” and Homecoming King during his playing days.
Like Broussard, Tennison earned All-American honors along the Northwestern State offensive line. A 2001 All-American, Tennison was a two-sport standout who also won the 2001 Southland Conference shot put title at the indoor championships, helping the Demons win the team title. A three-year starter who broke into the lineup in the final six games of the 1998 season that ended in the Division I-AA semifinals, Tennison played tackle and guard – as well as tight end – while helping running back Tony Taylor become NSU’s all-time leading rusher. A two-time Academic All-District selection, Tennison earned a pair of All-Southland honors, including first-team acclaim as a senior, and was a pivotal part of the Demons’ 27-24 win at TCU in the first game following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. Following his career, Tennison received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Carron’s All-American career predated Tennison’s by nearly a decade as the tackling machine was a consensus All-American in 1991, coming up one vote and three points shy of being the Walter Payton Award winner as the top player in Division I-AA. Carron’s senior season produced a school-record 176 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and an interception, earning him Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and his second All-Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year award. A three-time, first-team All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana performer, Carron finished his career with a school-record 521 tackles, 45 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. In addition to remaining the school’s tackles leader, his 15.5 sacks remain tied for sixth in NSU career history. Carron was chosen as one of the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time in conjunction with NSU’s football centennial celebration in 2007.
Willis will join his fellow 2001 All-American Tennison in the Class of 2023. A posthumous inductee, Willis collected 21 career sacks – 10.5 in his junior season of 2001 – and 42.5 tackles for loss, accounting for 234 yards. Twenty of those came tackles came in 2001 and led the Southland Conference, helping Willis earn All-American honors. His 21 career sacks remain third in school history, trailing only N-Club Hall of Famers Greg Necaise (28.5) and John Kulakowski (27.5). A two-time national defensive player of the week, Willis tied the school single-game sack record of 4.5 in a win against Stephen F. Austin in 2001. A product of Quitman, Texas, Willis was named to the Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time in 2007 as part of the NSU football centennial celebration. He died Oct. 1 in a boating accident in Tennessee.
In addition to football, two other NSU sports will have multiple representatives enter the school’s athletic shrine.
Two of Northwestern State’s most productive hitters will hear their names called Nov. 4 as Morgan and Donner enter the Hall.
A two-time, first-team All-Southland Conference honoree with three overall all-conference nods, Morgan ranks first or second in eight offensive categories and is in the top 10 in 12 different offensive career marks. Sixteen years after his career ended, Morgan remains the school leader in career hits (259), RBIs (169) and triples (17) and is second in career runs (175), doubles (59), total bases (421), walks (118) and at-bats (806). Northwestern State’s single-season leader in triples (6), Morgan established the school single-game RBI mark with eight against Southeastern on March 14, 2006, and was the starting second baseman on NSU’s 2005 Southland Conference regular-season championship team that reached the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
Like Morgan, Donner was a two-time, first-team All-Southland Conference selection and a member of an NCAA Regional team. One key difference is Donner accomplished those feats in a two-year career after arriving as a junior college transfer. Donner’s .366 career average remains sixth in school career history, and that production helped the Demons win consecutive Southland Conference regular-season championships under two head coaches (Jim Wells, Dave Van Horn). The 1994 Demons earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Donner’s consecutive first-team All-Southland Conference made him just the second baseball Demon to accomplish that feat, following Kyle Shade in 1992 and 1993.
Soccer’s pair of Southland Conference Player of the Year honorees makes it the second sport to put a pair of inductees in the Class of 2023.
A three-time, first-team All-Southland Conference selection, Cargill was the 2000 Southland Player of the Year and SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Lady Demons to the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Cargill netted 35 career goals in just three seasons, including a school single-season record 16 in 2000. Her career total stood as the school record for 22 years until it was broken this past fall. Cargill established the school single-game goal record with four against Louisiana College on Sept. 1, 1998, and her 37 points in 2000 are the school single-season record.
Hebert finished her career No. 2 in goals with 29, just behind Cargill. The 2007 Southland Conference Player of the Year, Hebert had 10-goal seasons in 2005 and 2007 as part of a three-time, first-team All-Southland Conference career. Hebert’s 23 assists remain second in school career history while her 81 points are tied for second. A talented player, Hebert was a clutch scorer, tallying a then-school career record 12 game-winning goals. A two-time, first-team All-Louisiana selection in 2006 and 2007, Hebert became just the second NSU player to make multiple All-Louisiana teams.
Like Cargill and Hebert, Davidson was the class of the Southland Conference as part of a dominant program.
An Ole Miss transfer from Leesville, Davidson was the 2001-02 Southland Conference Player of the Year after averaging a conference-best 16.2 points per game. A three-time All-Louisiana and All-Southland selection, Davidson averaged 14.3 points per game, the eighth-best mark in program history and connected on 127 3-pointers at a 38.1 percent clip. A 6-foot forward, Davidson added nearly six rebounds per game in her three seasons while collecting 1.7 steals per game. In her three seasons, the Lady Demons won 71 percent of their games (62-25) and were even better in Southland play, going 47-13 (78.3 winning percentage).
Like Donner, Annie Johnston enjoyed a stellar two-season run in a bat-and-ball sport, earning first-team Academic All-American honors off the softball diamond and Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year awards on it. A junior-college transfer, Johnston is one of just three first-team all-region picks in program history and owns the school career batting average mark at .376. Her .427 average ranked her 13th nationally in 2002 and remains the No. 2 mark in school single-season history, trailing N-Club Hall of Famer Ginger Craig’s .428 mark in 1987. Johnston, a center fielder by trade, is third in school history in stolen bases (85) and owns two of the top four stolen base seasons in school history (48 in 2002, No. 2 in school history, No. 3 that season in Division I; 37 in 2001, No. 4 in school history, 12th nationally). A two-time All-Louisiana selection, including a first-team nod in 2002, Johnston’s 15 triples that season ranked third nationally and is second in school history. Johnston helped drive two strong team seasons, including a school-record 45 wins in 2002.
Canton made her name on both the Southland Conference level and the national one as well.
The owner of five Southland Conference individual championships, Canton qualified for three NCAA National Championships – the 2001 indoor meet in the triple jump, the 2001 outdoor meet with a school high jump-record leap of 5-11.75 and the 2003 indoor meet in the high jump. Canton captured a pair of titles at the 2000 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships – winning the high jump (5-10.5) and the triple jump (40-1.5). She added a trio of indoor Southland high jump titles in 2000 (5-8), 2001 (5-8) and 2003 (5-10.75).
In much the same way – and on an even grander scale – the 2000-01 men’s basketball team brought the Northwestern State athletics brand to the March Madness masses. The Demons blazed through the Southland Conference Tournament, winning three straight games against teams that had swept them in the regular season, culminating with a 72-71 victory against McNeese in the title game in Bossier City. Northwestern State followed that with a 71-67 win against Winthrop in the first Opening Round game in NCAA Tournament history. The Demons pushed No. 1 seed Illinois in the first round before falling.
Coach Mike McConathy’s second NSU squad becomes just the third team inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame and the first since 2008 when the unbeaten 1955-58 Mile Relay Team earned the honor. The other team was the 1981 NCAA champion 4×100 relay team, which featured future NFL players Joe Delaney, Mark Duper and Victor Oatis.
N-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Bios
2000-01 NSU Demon Basketball Team – The Demons became NSU’s first men’s NCAA Tournament participant and won the first Opening Round Game in the NCAA Tournament, beating Winthrop 71-67 in Dayton, Ohio, before losing three days later to top-seeded Illinois. The team (19-13) won the Southland Conference Tournament by beating three higher-seeded teams that had swept them in the regular season, winning at Nicholls, then topping UTSA and No. 1 McNeese in less than 24 hours at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City. Two other teams, the unbeaten 1955-58 Mile Relay Team and the 1981 NCAA champion 4×100 relay team, have been inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame.
Dr. William Broussard (football, 1996-99) – Two-time All-American, one of 15 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete winners from all levels of college football in 1999, an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, and elected “Mr. NSU” and Homecoming King by the student body, Broussard is one of the more decorated student-athletes in school history … made Southland Conference All-Decade Team for 1990s … center on two straight Southland Conference champion teams that reached the FCS (then Division I-AA) playoffs, and the 1998 semifinals, as the Demons finished with a No. 3 national ranking in his junior year … a second-team 1998 Sports Network I-AA All-American … 1999 Walter Camp I-AA first-team All-American … First-team All-Southland as a junior and senior, unanimous All-Louisiana first-team as a senior, All-Louisiana as a junior … started 29 games as a three-year starter, played in 47 career games … won 1999 Joe Delaney Memorial Leadership Award as offensive team captain, voted by teammates … nominated as a Rhodes Scholar candidate, Broussard was one of 20 Division I-AA players chosen as a Burger King Scholar-Athlete after his senior season … one of only two I-AA scholar-athletes honored at the 1999 NFF dinner in New York City … earned doctoral degree, served as assistant AD at NSU and was later athletics director at Centenary and Southern, and remains in higher education … chosen for Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster selected in 2007 football centennial celebration.
Jacqueline Canton (track and field, 2000-2003) – Still holds school high jump record with a 5-11 ¼ clearance in 2001 … three-time NCAA Championships qualifier, indoors in 2001 as a triple jumper (41-2 ½) and 2003 (5-10 ¾ high jump), outdoors with her school record high jump mark in 2001 … captured 2000 Southland Conference Outdoor event crowns in the high jump (5-10 ½) and triple jump (40-1 ½) … won three more Southland Conference championships in the high jump indoors (2000, 5-8; 2001, 5-8; 2003, 5-10 1/4), giving her a total of five Southland titles.
Britiany Cargill (soccer, 1998-2000) – Three-time first-team All-Southland Conference selection and the 2000 Southland Player of the Year and SLC Tournament MVP … led Lady Demons to 2000 NCAA Tournament … first-team All-Louisiana in 2000, when NSU won the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament championship and finished 15-8, 10-2 in the Southland … left NSU before her senior season.
Andre Carron (football, 1988-92) – School career tackles king with 521 stops (90 more than anyone else) including a season-record 176 as a senior in 1991 … a fearsome force at linebacker, Carron was a 1991 consensus All-American … was one first-place vote (3 points) shy of winning the 1991 Walter Payton Award as the best player in Division I-AA, finishing second to Weber State QB Jamie Martin, before the Buck Buchanan Award for the nation’s top defender was created (he would have won it) in senior season when he was responsible for 10 turnovers (5 forced fumbles, 4 recoveries, 1 interception) and 139 negative yards (10 sacks, 19 more TFL) … three-time first-team All-Southland Conference selection … 521 career stops, 43 games, 45 TFL, 15.5 sacks, 7 FR, 11 FF … voted by teammates as 1991 Joe Delaney Memorial Leadership Award winner for defense … Southland Defensive Player of the Year … nicknamed “The Terminator” reflecting his violent style of play … two-time All-Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year, three-time first-team All-Louisiana selection … made 39 stops as a redshirt freshman for the 1988 Southland Conference champions … chosen for Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster selected in 2007 football centennial celebration.
Angela Davidson (women’s basketball, 2000-03) – The 2001-02 Southland Player of the Year as a junior, when the Leesville product led the conference with a 16.2 scoring average … was a three-time All-SLC selection, first team in her last two seasons and second team as a sophomore … also three-year All-Louisiana choice … the 6-0 forward, an Ole Miss transfer, had 1,151 career points (14.3 per game, eighth pg all-time at NSU), 478 rebounds (5.9 pg), 127 3-pointers (38.1 percent, including 43.9 percent as a senior), 134 steals (1.7 pg) and 67 blocks in three seasons as a Lady Demon … earned two degrees (psychology, English) while playing at NSU … Lady Demons were 62-25/47-13 in her career.
Matt Donner (baseball, 1994-95) – Two-time first-team All-Southland third baseman for two straight conference championship teams under coaches Jim Wells and Dave Van Horn … his career .366 batting average is sixth best all-time at NSU … 103 career RBI is ninth … Demons were 82-30 in his two seasons and reached NCAA Tournament with an at-large invitation in 1994 … he is one of only two consecutive first-team All-Southland players from the 1990s not already in the N-Club HOF … overall, one of only four Demons to have earned All-SLC first team honors, with the other three appearing on the ballot for the first time in 2020 … others are 2001 senior Jordan Robison, 2002 senior Brad Hanson, 1993 senior Troy Conkle while joined by N-Club HOF members Reggie Gatewood, Terry Joseph, Brian Lawrence, and Kyle Shade as the only Demons to make first-team All-Southland in back-to-back seasons.
Erin Hebert (soccer, 2004-07) – 2007 Southland Player of the Year, first team All-Southland Conference three times (2005, 2006, 2007) … scored 10 goals and registered 28 points, both third in the conference, in helping the Lady Demons to their third NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons in 2005…second in program history in career goals (29), assists (23) and total points (81) and is one of two players to have multiple seasons with at least 10 goals…one of two Lady Demons to be named first team All-Louisiana multiple times (2006, 2007)…recorded two seasons with 28 points (2005, 2007), which rank fourth in program history…a part of a senior class that never finished with a below .500 record overall and finished with a 22-11-3 record in league play.
Annie Johnston (softball, 2001-02) – First-team Academic All-American, Southland Conference Player of the Year and Hitter of the Year, and All-South Region (one of only three first-team all-region picks in program history) in 2002 – despite missing nearly a month at the end of the regular season with a knee injury … centerfielder still owns the NSU career (.376) batting average mark and is second on the single-season list (.427, 13th nationally, in 2002) to Ginger Craig’s .428 in 1987) … third in career stolen bases (85), second (48, third NCAA, 2002) and fourth (37, 12thnationally, 2001) on single-season top fives … her 15 triples in 2002 was third in the NCAA and is second in school history … twice first-team All-Southland Conference … twice All-Louisiana, first team in 2002 … 2001 Southland Newcomer of the Year … two-time All-Southland Tournament pick who helped 2002 Lady Demons to school record 45 wins, 22-5 league mark (runner up), SLC tourney crown, NCAA Tournament … 13-game hitting streak in 2002 tied for third in school history … NSU went 75-45 overall in her two seasons.
Brandon Morgan (baseball 2003-2006)- Three-time All-Southland Conference second baseman (first team in 2004, 2006; third team in 2005) was a four-year starter … second all-time in career games (224) … key piece on the 2005 Southland Conference Championship and 2005 NCAA regional team … ranks either first or second in 10 different offensive school categories and in the top 10 of 12 different offensive stats … leads in career hits (259), RBI (169), and triples (17) … second in career runs (175), doubles (59), total bases (421), base on balls (118), at bats (806), and ninth in home runs (23) … tops NSU single season charts in triples (6, 2003) and also shares second (5, 2005 and 2006) … ranks fifth in career hit by pitches (33) … holds single-game RBI record (8 vs. SLU, 3/14/06).
Gene Tennison (football, 1998-2001, track and field, 1998-2001) – 2001 All-American offensive lineman for Demons’ FCS playoff squad … two-year All-Southland pick, as a sophomore (second team) and senior … two-year Academic All-District VI … won an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship … three-year starter who also played extensively in final six games of 1998 Southland champion season that included run to the FCS semifinals … played both guard and tackle, and even tight end … his blocking was key in Tony Taylor’s career (1998-2000) … his blocking was key as the Demon OL dominated in the fourth quarter comeback at TCU that produced a 27-24 OT victory in first game following 9/11 attacks … won 2001 SLC Indoor shot put title with a 53-0 ¾ mark to help NSU win the team championship … chosen for Top 100 Demons of All-Time football centennial team in 2007.
Ahmad Willis (football, 1999-2002) – The 2001 All-American defensive end had 21 career sacks, 10 ½ in his junior year, and 42 ½ tackles for loss (234 yards), including a Southland Conference best 20 in 2001 … two-time All-Southland selection had 161 career tackles … helped Demons to 2001, 2002 FCS playoffs … his blocked field goal ended the Demons’ 27-24 OT win at TCU in the first game after 9/11 … four-year starter (45 starts) … won national defensive player of the week awards twice, as a sophomore vs. Southern (7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception returned 24 yards, 5 QB hurries) and a year later vs. SFA (6 tackles for 32 lost yards, including 4.5 sacks, tying the school record of N-Club HOFer Greg Necaise) … Top 100 Demons of All-Time roster member.
