Haughton native Joe Delaney was the 1981 AFC Rookie of the Year after a two-sport All-America career at Northwestern.
Honoring a true hero on a tragic anniversary
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
It’s been 43 years now, and the tragedy is still resounding. But it also has become a vehicle for good, benefitting thousands of young people in Kansas City and back home in Louisiana, and inspiring generations of athletes at all levels.
On a steamy afternoon in Monroe, Haughton native Joseph Alton Delaney gave his life trying to save three drowning children.
It was June 29, 1983. The Northwestern State two-sport All-American and Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl running back was attending a water park outing for children at Chennault Park when he heard cries for help outside the park, from a nearby oxidation pond.
He handed his wallet to a bystander, telling him, “I can’t swim good, but I’ve got to try to help those kids,” and dashed a couple hundred yards to the pond, and leaped in. He never made it back out. One child did.
Joe Delaney was a two-time All-America running back in 1979-80 for the Demons. After being picked by Kansas City in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, he joined Mark Duper, Victor Oatis, and Mario Johnson on the Demons’ 1981 NCAA championship 4×100 meter relay team, earning All-America honors. Delaney’s relay lap, the second for NSU, put his team in position to win.
Delaney was the surprise 1981 AFC Rookie of the Year for the Chiefs and played in the Pro Bowl. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, who drafted Delaney in the second round of the 1981 draft and coached him in 1981-82, said Delaney was one of the five best players he coached in his 45-year career, including nearly 30 years in the NFL.
He thought Delaney was destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Delaney left behind his wife, Carolyn, and their three young daughters. His heroic act matched his selfless lifestyle and coupled with his astounding athletic career to make him an instant icon in north Louisiana and elsewhere far beyond the sports world. His death and funeral in the Haughton High School gymnasium was covered by all the major news networks and media, and is commemorated annually by NSU, the Chiefs, and national media, notably Mike Florio of NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk.
His No. 44 Demon football jersey was retired at halftime of his final game at NSU. Since his death, no Kansas City player has worn his No. 37.
He is immortalized in several ways at Northwestern, including plaques at Turpin Stadium and the Ledet Track Complex, a painting by renowned sports artist Chris Brown in the Friedman Student Union, and with the permanent football team captains receiving Joe Delaney Memorial Leadership Awards annually. The Demons’ spring football game has been known as the Joe Delaney Bowl since 1989.
He was the subject of a 2015 film entitled “Delaney,” part of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 Shorts series, available through ESPN+.
The Joe Delaney Park in Haughton honors his memory and provides play space for youth in his hometown.
Swimming lessons have been taught in his name in Kansas City, and in Haughton, supported by The 37 Forever Foundation.
In 2022, the “Joe Delaney Learn to Swim Program, Presented by GEHA Health” launched in Kansas City, supported by the Hunt Family Foundation and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, reported Vahe Gregorian, a columnist for the Kansas City Star newspaper who covered Delaney in Kansas City and has avidly chronicled his story since. The Hunt family owns the Chiefs franchise and the late patriarch, Lamar Hunt, founded the team in Dallas and moved it to Kansas City shortly after being a founding owner of the American Football League in 1960.
Thousands of children in Haughton and Kansas City have gone through the program, which will provide swimsuits, goggles, swim caps, and towels that bear the Delaney tribute decal the Chiefs wore in the 1983 season.
In 2020, a monument honoring Delaney was dedicated at the site of the drowning in Monroe’s Chennault Park. The mayor of Kansas City declared Oct. 30, 2020, as “Joe Delaney Day” on what would have been his 62nd birthday.
In 2021, a two-mile stretch of I-435 going past Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City was renamed “Joe Delaney Memorial Highway.”
Delaney was posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizen’s Medal from President Ronald Reagan, presented at his funeral by then Vice President George H.W. Bush to the Delaney family. Delaney is enshrined in the N Club Hall of Fame, the Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 poses following Saturday’s induction ceremony. Pictured left to right (front row): John Brady, Kathy Holloway, John James Marshall, Warren Morris, Gil Lebreton, Jonathan Lucroy. Back row (L to R) Dewain Strother, Mike McConathy, Pat Williams, Todd McClure. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services
By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
“When you build a house, you don’t build it from the roof down. You build it from the foundation up.”
With that little bit of “ol’ country boy common sense,” Dewain Strother, one of the nation’s leaders in all-time high school girls basketball coaching victories, summed up what he and the rest of Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026 espoused throughout Saturday night’s induction ceremonies inside the Natchitoches Events Center.
Strother was one of eight competitive-ballot inductees who were joined by a pair of Distinguished Service Awards in Journalism recipients, the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award honoree and just the third Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Ambassador Award electee in history who added their sterling resumes to the state’s shrine for its top athletes and sports journalists.
Strother’s remark regarding foundations was tied to the beginning of the Florien High School girls basketball team, which began play in the 1983-84 season with little fanfare and a grand total of four wins.
“That was about the time Title IX was hot for women’s sports,” Strother said. “They gave me the opportunity to start it. I knew I took on a big job, but I used some ol’ country boy common sense. There was a group in the eighth grade I was looking at, and I knew they could be a good team. We used some of the high schoolers to mold them. We won only four games that first year, and I thought, ‘I’m gonna get fired.’ The next year we were district champs.”
The step-by-step building process Stother instituted reached its zenith with a 48-0 state championship season in 1990-91 – the first of Strother’s six state championships at Florien, a Class B program that he built into a juggernaut. One year after that title, Florien started five players who would eventually play Division I basketball.
The success meant it wasn’t just basketball-obsessed Sabine Parish that took notice.
“I recruited a lot of them,” former Northwestern State women’s basketball coach James Smith said. “The kids were coachable and very fundamental.”
And successful. In addition to building the house that was Florien Lady Black Cats basketball, Strother built something intangible.
“Being there for that long, you have a certain culture,” said St. Thomas More boys basketball coach Danny Broussard, a 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Kids that come in don’t want to be the team that lets them down and fail. That tradition means a lot.”
Strother built a program that he led to 1,235 victories – the second most nationally among girls high school basketball coaches – after graduating from Northwestern with an education degree and no plans to go into coaching. He was a junior high physical education teacher at Florien who kept the scorebook for the boys basketball team when the principal asked him to start a girls program.
Mike McConathy also started a program at almost the same time. He built the Bossier Parish Community College program from scratch starting in 1983.
Even after developing a wildly successful program at BPCC over 16 seasons, he had been unable to land an NCAA Division I coaching job despite interviewing for five before the Northwestern post opened after the 1998-99 season.
The Demons had five winning seasons in 24 years of Division I play. One observer wasn’t sure if McConathy had come from a planet far, far away.
“Mike McConathy stood up at his (hiring) press conference and talked about bringing Northwestern basketball back to where it was when his dad and uncles played here (before packed gyms in 20-win seasons in the 1950s),” said longtime NSU SID and Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland. “I thought, ‘This guy’s from Mars. You can’t do that here.’”
Not only could McConathy and his team do it, they did. They played in the Southland Conference Tournament finals ending his first year, with only four newcomers on the roster.
Two years after arriving in Natchitoches following a 352-victory career his hometown junior college, McConathy’s 2000-01 Demon team was in the NCAA Tournament – a first for the program.
“I was fortunate to coach here and be able to be who I am,” McConathy said. “I do what I feel like I’m supposed to do to set an example. You do the little things. Don’t ask anyone to do what you wouldn’t do yourself. Those things are so important. If you impact your players and your staff around you, that allows you and your university to be seen in a different light.”
Never did that light shine as bright on Northwestern as it did March 17, 2006, when McConathy’s second NCAA Tournament entry stunned third-seeded Iowa on Jermaine Wallace’s last-second corner 3-pointer – a shot that still graces most March Madness intros during tournament season.
“Skip to the happy ending, but Mike was the perfect coach at the perfect time for Natchitoches and Northwestern State,” said former NSU Director of Athletics Greg Burke. “He just checked a lot of boxes. Sixteens seasons at BPCC at 22 wins per season. He told us he was going to recruit Louisiana. He did. The biggest shot (against Iowa) was made by a guy from Heflin.”
More than 20 years after the defining shot in NSU history, McConathy can still vividly recall the moments before Wallace’s moment in the spotlight.
“Ryan Edwards, whose dad was a doctor and an LSU graduate, was on our staff,” McConathy said. “Ryan rode to school in sixth grade with me to take (McConathy’s son) Michael into school with him because (Michael) didn’t like to go to school. (Iowa’s Greg) Brunner gets fouled and Ryan said, ‘Coach, we need to call timeout.’ I said, ‘OK, Ryan, we’ll do that.’
“Brunner shoots the first and made it (for a 63-61 lead). We iced him (with the timeout). We talked about what we were gonna do. He missed (the second), Luke Rogers steps in, blocks out and rebounds. He looks up, passes and we go into our break. The ball goes to the right side and Kerwin Forges from New Orleans takes a pretty good shot with too much time on the clock to be honest. Jermaine Wallace is on the left side of the floor and did everything he’s supposed to do. He gets to the rebound spot he was supposed to go to. The ball falls to him, because he was where he was supposed to be.
“He had enough thought to look at the clock, see how much time he had and dribble to the corner and launch the winning shot.”
That was the most nationally relevant of McConathy’s 682 career on-court victories, but the 90 percent graduation rate of his players and their post-playing careers and lives brings as big a smile to his face.
The same can be said for the faith that drove McConathy to build the program at BPCC from scratch and then to take over a Demon program that had previously had just five winning seasons in its Division I history.
“Without the Lord Jesus Christ and our relationship with God, I wouldn’t have anything,” he said. “I’ve been given everything – an opportunity to be raised in a Christian home. They played it out for me to follow Christ or not. That’s so critical to do that. I had the opportunity to have a Christian wife and Christian boys and, hopefully, Christian grandchildren when they get to that point. If they do, that will be the greatest win ever.”
Former LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady had to rebuild a once-proud Tiger program while following legendary coach Dale Brown.
Brady came to Baton Rouge from Samford University, a mid-major program in Birmingham, Alabama, but the roots of his landing in Baton Rouge began decades earlier in Starkville, Mississippi, where Brady was a graduate assistant at Mississippi State.
“You go through life and you don’t know who you’ll meet and where they’ll show up later,” Brady said. “I went to Mississippi State as a GA and the other graduate assistant was Joe Dean Jr. We became great friends, and I’d go to Joe’s house and spend the weekend with the Dean family. (Joe Dean Sr., who later became LSU’s athletics director) helped get guys jobs, made calls for them. I had to be successful for the opportunity for Joe (Sr.) to hire me. The relationship I made with Joe Dean Jr. led me to knowing his father. Twenty years later, I’m the head coach at LSU. It’s funny how life works and the twists and turns along the way.”
Following a Louisiana legend like Brown was not an easy transition, but Brady did it his way, relying on his basketball mantra to mold an LSU team on probation into an SEC championship team.
“John had a saying, ‘Responsibility plus accountability equals success,’” said Brady assistant Kermit Davis, who eventually became a head coach at Middle Tennessee and Ole Miss.
That equation – and the signing of Fair Park High School standout Stromile Swift – ignited a turnaround on the court and helped Brady truly start building a program that dealt with the loss of six scholarships across a three-year period.
Despite the sanctions, the foundation was in place for the building that would crest with a magical 2005-06 season where a group of six players from within a 50-mile radius helped Brady take the Tigers to the Final Four – a joyride that included an upset of top-ranked Duke and came just months after Hurricane Katrina ransacked the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
“That team, the top six players were from within 50 miles of Baton Rouge,” said Brady, who led the Tigers to a pair of SEC championships and three NCAA Tournament berths. “They had grown up playing with each other or against each other, and they had a really special bond. Every one of them was touched by the tragedy of Katrina, and I think that brought them even closer together.”
As a quarterback at then-Jesuit High School in 1976, John James Marshall became a state champion, throwing the game-winning screen pass in the title game.
That trophy may have portended athletic greatness, but Marshall’s office wall now overflows with innumerable awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, an organization Marshall served as president of before his 30th birthday.
His writing prowess is just one of the tools in a multi-faceted toolbox that helped lead Marshall to the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
“I couldn’t do anything else,” Marshall said. “I spent my whole being around sports. In baseball season, it was baseball. In football season, it was football. I just loved sports. Eventually, I kept loving sports when my friends were off becoming accountants and lawyers. I missed that train. This was a logical thing, keep doing sports. I can write about it. Everything in sports, what goes into players, coaches, the intricacies, everything involved in it fascinated me.”
In an appropriate iron sharpens iron moment, Marshall and 2022 DSA awardee Teddy Allen shared the 1987 Associated Press Sports Editors national best feature award.
“A guy like J.J. will make you work an hour longer, ready a little more copy, make another phone call because you know he’s going to be that good,” Allen said.
Marshall had plans on being a “40-year newspaper veteran,” but the industry had other ideas.
Marshall pivoted as deftly as a second baseman turning a 6-4-3 double play and teamed with his brother, Ben, to create “Sports Talk with J.J. and Ben” on Shreveport sports radio.
Thirty-four years later, the back-and-forth banter between brothers remains on the air as Louisiana’s longest-running sports talk radio show. Along the way, Marshall has served his alma mater, now Loyola College Prep, educating the next generation of journalists and becoming a part-time documentarian whose latest labor of love is a documentary about that 1976 state championship Jesuit squad, which Marshall hopes to unveil at the team’s 50th anniversary reunion in September.
“I was going to be a sports writer my entire life,” Marshall said. “In 1981, that’s what you thought. Those guys were 40-year veterans. I had to make a decision. When opportunity knocks, you answer the door. I didn’t know what it was going to lead to.”
LSHOF Junior Training Camp gives kids free fun, sports tips and more
Story & photos by KEVIN SHANNAHAN, Journal Staff
Over 250 young people from miles around enjoyed a morning filled with sports fun at the 2026 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Junior Training Camp led by the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans marketing staff on NSU’s campus Saturday.
The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 members, assisted by coaches and players from NSU’s football and basketball teams, put the young people through a series of drills in football and basketball skills. This is the 15th year the free Junior Training Camp has been held in Natchitoches. Over the years, the Junior Training Camp has become an eagerly awaited tradition for area families.
After being introduced to the Hall of Fame inductees, and hearing brief motivational remarks from Hall of Famers Warren Morris and Kathy Holloway, the kids were divided into two groups, one staying inside the gym at the Webb Wellness and Recreation Center and the rest heading outside to Turpin Stadium. They enjoyed a series of fast paced drills that kept the campers on their feet and moving as they learned and sharpened their skills.
Gumbo, the New Orleans Saints mascot, greeted the children. They got to play a sports trivia game with fun prizes from both the Saints and Pelicans.
Natchitoches Regional Medical Center is the presenting sponsor for this wonderful annual event. NRMC provides free T-shirts and healthy lifestyle material to the campers and helps to underwrite the cost of staging the camp. As always, NRMC is a tremendous community partner.
The Journal Services staff would like to commend the members of the NSU men’s and women’s basketball and football teams who helped at each of the stations. They were unfailingly helpful and gracious to the children. These young men and women embody everything that is right and good about the student-athlete concept. NSU’s WRAC staff turned their facility over to the campers and supplied water for breaks. They and the teams were superb ambassadors for Northwestern State University.
Natchitoches’ Beauport Riverbank Stage was the place to be Friday night as the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Induction Celebration hosted the 2026 Rockin’ River Fest.
The popular event, long part of the annual induction of each new class of sports legends into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, featured a concert and family fun for children at the riverbank, all free of cost to anyone attending. Food trucks and vendors were there for food, drink and more games, including a golf simulator.
South Louisiana’s Connor Martin and Blue Crab Redemption from Baton Rouge provided fun sets of music. The Louisiana Propane Dealers Association sponsored the Kids’ Zone on the riverbank for youngsters and their families as well as an appearance by Miss Louisiana 2026, Miss Shelby Boredelon. NSU basketball team member played with children on goals in a venue set up by the New Orleans Pelicans, whose basketball vice president is Natchitoches’ Joe Dumars.
The 2026 LSHOF Induction Class was introduced to the public during a break in the concert. Miss Louisiana, Miss Heart of the Pilot and NSU’s Lady of the Bracelet were also introduced. After the 2026 LSHOF induction class was presented, festivalgoers were treated to a spectacular fireworks show over the Cane River, always a treat. The annual Induction weekend is a wonderful three days of family fun for all ages.
Polls across Natchitoches Parish and the state of Louisiana closed tonight at 8 p.m. as voters decided key party primary runoffs and a critical local ballot measure.
According to David Stamey, Natchitoches Parish Clerk, and the Louisiana Secretary of State, complete but unofficial final results have been compiled following the conclusion of voting.
Below is the breakdown of how Natchitoches Parish voted, followed by the broader Louisiana statewide totals.
Part 1: Natchitoches Parish Local Vote & Ballot Measure
The following totals reflect the final, complete votes cast within Natchitoches Parish according to Screenshot 2026-06-27 221356.jpg.
U.S. Senator — Democratic Party (Natchitoches Parish Vote Only)
“Jamie” Davis (DEM) — 79% (1,086 votes)
Gary Crockett (DEM) — 21% (288 votes)
Total Local Votes: 1,374
U.S. Senator — Republican Party (Natchitoches Parish Vote Only)
John Fleming (REP) — 51% (1,211 votes)
Julia Letlow (REP) — 49% (1,179 votes)
Total Local Votes: 2,390
Fire Protection District No. 10 — 8.70 Mills Renewal — BOC — 10 Yrs.
Voters living within Fire Protection District No. 10 decided whether to renew an 8.70-mills property tax for a 10-year period to support local fire services. This measure was decided by three local precincts.
YES — 83% (24 votes)
NO — 17% (5 votes)
Total Votes: 29
Part 2: Louisiana Statewide Results
According to finalized official tracking data from the Louisiana Secretary of State, the collective vote from all 64 parishes across 3,722 precincts has been fully tallied.
U.S. Senator — Democratic Party (Statewide Totals)
“Jamie” Davis (DEM) — 80% (156,776 votes)
Gary Crockett (DEM) — 20% (39,415 votes)
Total Statewide Votes: 196,191
U.S. Senator — Republican Party (Statewide Totals)
Paucity refers to “littleness” in numbers (as in “a paucity of facts”) or quantity (“a paucity of common sense”). The word comes from paucus, Latin for “little.”
A new book by Shreveport native Dr. David Hylan documents one of the most significant yet overlooked chapters of Louisiana history, featuring strong connections to Natchitoches and three men whose lives became intertwined through activism, friendship, and the fight against AIDS.
Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South chronicles the story of ACT UP Shreveport and the activists, allies, healthcare professionals, and ordinary citizens who challenged fear, stigma, and political indifference during the AIDS crisis. Based on more than a decade of interviews, archival research, and firsthand accounts, the book expands upon the award-winning documentary Small Town Rage and preserves an important chapter of regional history.
Among those featured in the book are Chris Free, Gary Cathey, and Justin Normand, all of whom have ties to Natchitoches and were members of ACT UP Shreveport.
Chris Free’s story serves as a reminder of the human cost of the AIDS epidemic. Free later died from AIDS-related complications, and his story is among those preserved in the book to ensure that his life and contributions are not forgotten.
The book also highlights the experiences of Gary Cathey, whose story is prominently featured in Chapter 6, Silence and Exposure. The chapter examines the controversial 1992 outing of Congressman Jim McCrery and Cathey’s central role in those events. His reflections provide one of the book’s most compelling accounts of the personal costs of activism in the Deep South.
Justin Normand, who serves as one of the coordinators of the book’s official launch and reunion event, represents the continuing effort to preserve the history of those who fought for dignity, treatment, and equal rights during the AIDS crisis.
“The history of the AIDS crisis is often associated with major cities,” said Hylan. “But the epidemic touched communities throughout Louisiana, including Natchitoches. The courage and determination of people from smaller communities deserve to be remembered.”
The official launch and reunion event for Small Town Rage will be held Saturday, June 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Central Art Station in downtown Shreveport.
The book features a foreword by award-winning writer and longtime HIV activist Mark S. King and is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats wherever books are sold.
Members of the 2026 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction class include (front row, l-r) Jonathan Lucroy, John James Marshall, Warren Morris, Kathy Holloway, Gil LeBreton, (back row, l-r) Dewain Strother, Todd McClure, John Brady, Mike McConathy, Pat Williams. (Photo by CHRIS REICH, Northwestern State)
Class of 2026 inductees savor their selection to Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
By JONATHON ZENK, Written for the LSWA
The power of family and relationships was on full display during Thursday afternoon’s introductory press conference for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
The inductees shared their gratitude and fondness for the state that helped them the people they are today and led them to be enshrined in the state’s athletic hall of fame, the top honors an athlete from Louisiana can receive.
The 10 inductees speaking, as well as former New Orleans Saints legend Joe Horn and LSU women’s basketball great Sylvia Fowles, are being officially enshrined Saturday evening.
Family came up during everybody’s speech, but not everybody works with a family member, which is exactly what Shreveport’s John James Marshall does. He co-hosts with his older brother Ben on “SportsTalk with J.J. and Bonzai Ben,” the longest-running sports talk show in the state.
“It’s easy arguing with my brother for an hour,” Marshall, who is being awarded the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, said. “We grew up doing that. He’s a Red Sox fan and I grew up as a Yankees fan—until (former New York Yankees owner George) Steinbrenner came along. We argued about Yankee-Red Sox things our entire lives.
“If I was talking with (fellow 2026 inductee) Warren Morris, I’d be very careful what I said to Warren Morris. With your brother, you can say anything you want at any time and not worry it is going to offend him. And he does the same to me.”
As an accomplished sportswriter as well, Marshall always has that in him.
“I’ve done a lot of writing, and I’ve done a lot of talking, and now I try to find a way to combine both of those.”
While Marshall works with his brother, former Florien High girls basketball head coach Dewain Strother was able to coach his granddaughters, leading them to a state semifinal appearance in his 39th and final season three years ago.
“Who would have ever thought you’d be coaching long enough to coach your grandchildren?,” Strother asked. “I was able to coach my daughter and while I didn’t coach my son, I coached him at home. After my grandchildren were done playing, I knew it was time to go.”
Strother, who has the second-most wins nationally with 1,235 and is the all-time state leader in girls basketball coaching victories, led Florien to six state championships, five runner-up finishes and 21 semifinal appearances.
Legendary Northwestern State basketball coach Mike McConathy had his two sons play for the Demons as he continued the legacy left behind by his father.
While a great player in his own right, ‘Coach Mike’ received words of wisdom from his father, N-Club Hall of Famer Johnny McConathy, at a young age.
After the younger McConathy was a fourth-round NBA Draft pick after starring at Louisiana Tech, he was cutting yards in Bossier City waiting for training camp, and told his father that he bet no other NBA picks were doing that.
“He told me, ‘Son, you can take that draft choice down to the coffee shop and coffee is still 35 cents a cup.’
“He was saying to me that I am who I am and I am no better than anyone else,” said McConathy.
McConathy, through his time at Bossier Parish CC and NSU, is the state’s all-time coaching wins leader (682) for college basketball. He led the Demons to unprecedented heights, notably three NCAA Tournament berths, including two wins, with one coming in an upset of third-seeded Iowa on a corner 3-pointer from Jermaine Wallace.
Like McConathy, former LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady came into a program down on its luck and turned it around in a quick fashion.
In his third season, he guided the Tigers to the Sweet 16, led by Shreveport native Stromile Swift.
During the 2005-06 season, the team had to deal with the adversity of Hurricane Katrina, and it only strengthened an already-strong bond between the team members, as five of the players were from Baton Rouge and two more were from close by.
All they did was knock off No. 1 Duke on their way to the Final Four behind Baton Rouge natives Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas and Garrett Temple.
“We were displaced after Katrina hit,” Brady said. “We had to practice at different facilities, but because that group was so close, they tried to do something for the state to be proud of and they took them to the Final Four.”
While Jonathan Lucroy is originally from Florida, he made a name for himself in Louisiana to start his career, setting records at UL Lafayette, and eventually became a two-time All-Star in MLB and a gold medalist in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team USA.
He looks back at his time at UL with fond memories, making it to the NCAA regionals twice in three seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns. He credited his late coach for that success and being a cornerstone for him and all the players he encountered at UL.
“Coach Tony Robichaux is a Hall of Famer here,” Lucroy said. “Outside of family, he is probably the most influential man in my life, and most every player he has had says that. It’s a special thing when you have a special coach and he was very impactful in my life. If it wasn’t for playing for him, I never would have made it to the big leagues.”
Like Lucroy, Warren Morris also made it to the big leagues and won a medal with Team USA. The Alexandria native owns an Olympic bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, a few weeks after the most pivotal swing of his life.
Morris, who will receive the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, made his biggest mark for LSU in the bottom of the ninth inning of the 1996 College World Series championship game. He hit a game-winning homer for the Tigers.
He is only the third ever recipient of the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, which combines athletic involvement with advocacy of the state.
“As a young man, I never really thought the home run would be something we still talk about 30 years later,” Morris said. “I remember the next day, we were walking through the airport to fly back to Baton Rouge, I remember seeing my picture on the front page of the Omaha paper. I thought ‘That’s awesome that they put me on the front page.’”
For years, there’s been a statue of Morris in Omaha commemorating his historic blast.
While baseball was the first love for Todd McClure, the Baton Rouge native made a name for himself in football for LSU and in the NFL.
After All-America honors with the Tigers, McClure was a 14-year veteran at center for the Atlanta Falcons, blocking for quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Matt Ryan.
A seventh-round draft pick in 1999, he had an unfortunate beginning to his career, as he tore his ACL during training camp as a rookie, but came back and carved out a sensational career and earning a spot on the Falcons Ring of Honor.
McClure, who loved LSU throughout his life, did not think his dream of being a Tiger would come true.
“Early on, I wasn’t a very physical kid,” McClure said. “I remember my dad getting on me about not wanting to hit anybody or be physical. But one day, it clicked.
“I was a tight end/defensive end in high school,” he said, remembering his move to center at LSU, and a preseason major injury to the starter there. “I was told ‘McClure, you’re in.’ I had a training camp and eight games to get ready for the SEC. At the end of the season, coach (Gerry) Dinardo told me I had a future in the NFL.”
One of the guys McClure blocked in the NFL was Monroe native and resident Pat Williams, who was a massive defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, where he was part of the ‘Williams Wall’ with Kevin Williams.
Williams was key on a defense that was either No. 1 or No. 2 in opposing yards per carry from 2006-08 and in the top 10 every year from 2006-10.
He was awarded 37 game balls throughout his NFL career.
“I got my first one from (Pro Football Hall of Famer) Bruce Smith,” Williams said. “Ted Washington got hurt and I came in and got three sacks.”
Williams’ first taste in playing organized football came after seeing his friends walking down the street with pads and then asking his mom if he could sign up. She said yes, and the rest is history.
Gil LeBreton, who will also be awarded the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, grew up in New Orleans and graduated from LSU to become a goliath in the industry. He spent 50 years as a writer and columnist and covered 26 Super Bowls, 16 Olympics and 13 World Series.
Even though he spent 37 years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, his roots remained back home.
“LSU was so important in my life and career,” LeBreton said. “After serving in the Vietnam War, I decided I am going to use the G.I. Bill to get a degree in journalism at LSU. Those years, working for (former LSU SID) Paul Manasseh, working with those people you got to meet. Out of the first 12 recipients of the distinguished service award, I worked with eight of them.”
Kathy Holloway is the recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. The Rapides Parish native and resident was the first woman president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association and a few years later, broke the glass ceiling as leader of the National High School Coaches Association.
She received the news of her selection a bit different from everybody else, at a Christmas Eve program at her church in Pineville.
“(Louisiana Sports Writers Association president John Marcase) is in our church and asked to speak at the service. My son, the pastor, was delighted. John said, ‘Many of you know her as the pastor’s mother’ and asked me to come to the podium. John announced it and I was shocked. It was a really sweet time.”
Before she was the president of the high school coaches association, she was a terrific basketball coach at Tioga High School. But she moved into an administrative role and quickly became prominent statewide in that capacity.
“A lady from Thibodaux saw there was a committee on girls athletics,” she said. “She wanted to know who was on the committee and no one was on it. The LHSCA president appointed me, the woman who wrote the letter and (Jennings coach) Charlotte Creed to serve on that committee. So that was the start of it.”
The Class of 2026 all have different stories, but they all share pride and roots in the state of Louisiana.
“I’ve lived in different places, and I’ve been to other places, but there is no place like this,” Morris said.
Hall of Fame Induction Celebration Welcome Reception gets the party started; free concert tonight
Story, photos by KEVIN SHANNAHAN, Journal Staff
Sports enthusiasts and area residents were joined by 2026 inductees into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame at the welcome reception for the LSHOF’s 2026 class held Thursday evening.
The event at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum was free to the public and was an excellent opportunity to meet some of our state’s sports legends, and enjoy a festive scene in a world-class museum at 800 Front Street.
Another free event is tonight, downtown at the Rue Beauport stage and amphitheater. The Rockin’ River Fest concert begins at 6, stops for Hall of Fame introductions at 9:15 followed by fireworks, and continues until 10:30. Food trucks and other vendors will be on site along with a Kids Zone with games and activities guided by NSU athletes and marketing staff from the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.
Thursday, the official portraits and memorabilia from each inductee were displayed for the first time to the general public. Each portrait shows the inductee in the context of his or her sport and is a tradition of the Hall of Fame.
Saturday morning will feature the free Junior Training Camp presented by NRMC on the NSU campus where young people will be able to test their abilities and learn what it takes to succeed on and off the playing field. Registration is open Friday at LaSportsHall.com.
The weekend will culminate with the induction ceremony Saturday evening at the Natchitoches Events Center, televised live statewide on LPB.
Dewain Strother (left), Mike McConathy at Thursday’s Hall of Fame press conference.
NSU alumni McConathy, Strother honor families during Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame press conference
By JASON PUGH, Northwestern State Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations
There are plenty of parallels between Mike McConathy and Dewain Strother, two members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
In addition to being classmates in the state’s athletic shrine, the pair are record-breaking basketball coaches who own Louisiana records when it comes to coaching victories, they are both deeply tied to Northwestern State and they would much rather give credit to others – especially family members — than to speak glowingly about themselves.
That trio of bullet points came together Thursday afternoon as the pair joined eight other members of the Hall’s Class of 2026 at the introductory press conference presented by LaCapitol Federal Credit Union. McConathy, Strother and the rest of the class will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame at 7 p.m. Saturday in a ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center.
“When you live in Natchitoches for 23 years, you know about the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and you hear about all of the players who came through,” McConathy said. “You hear about how important God was in their lives and how they speak boldly about God. This is overwhelming and very humbling – just special.”
What McConathy built at Northwestern was special for several reasons – the least may have been the 330 of his Louisiana state college basketball-record 682 victories that he accumulated as the Demons’ head coach. He also holds a master’s plus 30 hours in education from NSU.
McConathy’s remarkable 23-year tenure at Northwestern was in many ways a tribute to his father, a former Northwestern star and eventual NBA Draft pick.
A multi-sport athlete growing up in Bossier City, McConathy recalled seeing his father play during a church men’s league game and the impact it delivered.
“He never talked about himself,” McConathy said of John McConathy, who was drafted fifth overall by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1951 NBA Draft. “He walked in to see Coach Prather (at Northwestern) and said, ‘I’d like to try to play basketball.’ The coach said, ‘You don’t look like a player.’ Those are the things that I got from him – that drive to be the best you can with what God has blessed you with. He didn’t say a whole lot.
“He was a basketball player and a coach. He won a state title in 1960. He was 35 years old playing in a church league. He went down the baseline and he got up off the ground – like one of my players used to say, ‘He had air under his feet.’ I said, ‘This guy could play,’ and I wanted to be the best player possible because of what I saw him doing.”
The baseline drive that launched a Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame playing career and a 43-year coaching tenure had a lasting impact on generations to come.
While McConathy’s Northwestern teams captured three Southland Conference Tournament championships and the program’s first three NCAA Tournament appearances – including the Demons of Destiny’s 2006 upset of third-seeded Iowa – his team’s biggest victories came off of the court as 90 percent of his players graduated with their four-year degrees.
“I was in junior college (coaching) for 16 years,” McConathy said. “Everybody had to graduate to go where they wanted to be. That’s what we were supposed to do – graduate them. When we got here, it was what we were used to doing. I wanted to make sure our guys graduate – that way they’ve used the game and the game hasn’t used them.”
Much like McConathy built the Bossier Parish Community College men’s basketball program from scratch, Strother turned Florien High School into a state and regional power.
Six state championships and 1,235 victories – the second-highest total nationally in girls high school basketball and a Louisiana record – highlighted his 40-year head coaching career.
The other numbers – nine Division I players, five state Class B Coach of the Year awards and 49 years in education – speak more about Strother than he wants to about himself.
“I’m up here doing one of the hardest things for me, and that’s to talk about Dewain Strother,” said Strother, a 1974 Northwestern State education graduate. “I don’t like to pull my chain. I don’t need to be patted on the back. This is something that never crossed my mind. When I got the call, I just stood there. (My wife) Lisa said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I just got inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.’ She said, ‘I thought you were already in it.’”
While the punch line led to a room full of laughs, no one laughed at what Strother accomplished in his four decades coaching the Black Cats.
In the early 1990s, Strother’s team was invited to an eight-team Tournament of Champions in Birmingham, Alabama. Each of the eight teams had won a state championship and were brought together to face off with one another.
“We went and played and won the first game,” Strother said. “We won the second. As a matter of fact, we went up against Saudia Roundtree, who ended up playing at Georgia. We played them and won. We played the finals and we won. We beat a team out of Illinois, I think. We won by 16 points, and the coach told me I didn’t have any class, because we beat them by 16.
“I told him, ‘Coach, I played my second bunch the last four minutes of the game, so I’m sorry.’ That was the Alabama trip.”
While McConathy’s career got a boost from his father, the latter part of Strother’s career enjoyed one from the other end of a family – a trio grandchildren that extended his Hall of Fame career before a brief two-year retirement that was upended by a return to Florien as an assistant coach this season.
“Who would have ever thought you’d be around long enough to coach your grandchildren?” Strother said. “I had my daughter here today. I coached her. I didn’t coach my son (on the court), but I coached him at home. Those of you who have grandchildren know, grandchildren should come first. You can spoil them and put them back in momma and daddy’s arms, and they’ve got to leave the house.
“They’re great. I enjoyed all three of mine. They were good players. The oldest one tore her ACL. The other two were good shooters, All-State players. I knew it was time to go, but it wasn’t time to go. Two years (out of the game) was rough. As they always say, if you need something, pray for it. He put me back.”
Join Marvin this regarding the pending pay raise in Louisiana.
Brought to you by Lance Lopez with Farm Bureau, the Harrington Law Firm, the Sharpco Hotel Group, the Mariner’s Restaurant and Local Businessman Pat Johnson.
Editor’s Note: The Natchitoches Parish Journal received numerous emails, text messages, phone calls, and social media messages today regarding Kevin Warner. Each inquiry received a response. Because many asked essentially the same question, we are publishing one representative response below. The sender’s name and other identifying information have been removed by the NPJ.
Thank you for your email and for taking the time to share your concerns.
The personnel matters involving Kevin Warner and Melissa Cloutier have certainly generated significant public discussion. The Natchitoches Parish Journal has spoken with individuals connected to both matters and is aware of the public interest surrounding them.
However, there is an important distinction between public discussion and verifiable facts. At this point, much of what is being circulated consists of opinions, speculation, social media commentary, and what many would describe as “street talk.” While such conversations may raise legitimate questions, they do not, by themselves, provide a factual basis for responsible reporting.
When the Journal publishes a story, we strive to do so based on documents, records, sworn testimony, official statements, court filings, or other evidence that can be independently verified. In matters where litigation is pending or anticipated, reporting based on rumors rather than facts risks misleading the public and potentially harming the interests of those involved.
The matter you referenced involving a previous foreclosure proceeding was different in that it involved public records and documented actions that could be independently verified. In those instances, readers were provided the underlying facts and supporting documentation so readers could reach their own conclusions.
Kevin Warner and Melissa Cloutier deserve the same fairness. Neither should have their case tried in the court of public opinion based on rumor, innuendo, or social media speculation. They deserve the opportunity to present their evidence and have the facts established through the appropriate process.
When verifiable facts become available through public records, court proceedings, official documents, or other reliable sources, the Journal will evaluate those facts and report them accordingly.
One of the challenges facing our community today is the increasing tendency to substitute gossip for evidence and speculation for facts. The Journal’s responsibility is not to amplify rumors, but to provide readers with information that is accurate, documented, and capable of being verified.
Our city has been harmed far too often by decisions and opinions formed from unverified claims rather than established facts. The Journal believes the public is best served when reporting is grounded in evidence, documentation, and transparency, rather than rumor or conjecture.
We appreciate your interest in local government and your willingness to hold all public institutions, including the Journal, accountable. That accountability is important, but so is the commitment to factual reporting.
Sincerely,
Publisher Natchitoches Parish Journal
ORIGINAL
I’m wondering why the Journalist hasn’t published anything about Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Warner being “let go” by the mayor. I also wonder why the Journalist hasn’t published never reported on former Events Center Director Melissa Cloutier being “let go” either. These two people were doing their jobs and yet the mayor fired them and has put his friends in their positions. I’m curious as to just what the journalist considers newsworthy. For example, when BOM foreclosed on Russell Stacy, the journal ran quite an article about it. At the time, I wondered why that was considered newsworthy; in my opinion, I and many others with whom I spoke, felt it to be a violation of the Stacy’s personal business. Perhaps I am not cognizant of what passes as news in today’s climate. I do feel that the firing of the aforementioned individuals warrants at least some attention. The excuse of “going in a different direction “ seems particularly puzzling. Just what direction is the city going? As far as I can tell, we’re headed straight down the drain.
Nick Saban answers a question during his 2025 induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, televised live again this Saturday night on LPB. (Photo by CHRIS REICH, Louisiana Sports Writers Association)
LPB providing live coverage of Saturday night’s Hall of Fame ceremony
If you can’t be there, you can still watch Saturday night’s Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony live from Natchitoches on Louisiana Public Broadcasting stations and the LPB.org website.
LPB’s “Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame: 2026 Celebration” show premieres live Saturday at 7 p.m.on both LPB and New Orleans’ WLAE-TV, bringing one of the state’s premier annual sports events to viewers across Louisiana. WYES-TV in New Orleans will also broadcast the program on Monday night, July 6 at 9 o’clock.
Sports fans can begin the celebration early as LPB live streams the “Purple Carpet” pre-ceremony online at lpb.org and on the LPB YouTube channel beginning at 6:15 p.m.Saturday evening. Northwestern State University presents the “Purple Carpet” coverage.
Produced in partnership with the Hall of Fame, LPB’s 7 o’clock induction show features exclusive interviews, profile stories, and memorable moments celebrating the remarkable achievements of this year’s honorees.
“Sports is a universal language in Louisiana, bringing communities across the state together with a common goal,” says Clarence “C.C” Copeland, LPB President and CEO. “Through our partnership with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, LPB is able to bring this celebration directly to sports fans no matter where they live.”
This year’s honorees include Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Sylvia Fowles; NFL stars Joe Horn, Todd McClure, and Pat Williams; Major League Baseball All-Star Jonathan Lucroy; and legendary basketball coaches John Brady, Mike McConathy, and Dewain Strother.
LSU baseball legend Warren Morris will receive the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, and trailblazing high school sports administrator Kathy Holloway will be honored with the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Sportswriters Gil LeBreton and John James Marshall will receive the 2026 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
“The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is honored to once again partner with Louisiana Public Broadcasting to televise our annual Induction Ceremony,” said Ronnie Rantz, President and CEO of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. “Louisiana is home to countless sports legends, and this partnership allows us to celebrate their achievements and share their inspiring stories with audiences across the state.”
This year’s ceremony will be hosted by master of ceremonies Teddy Allen with Victor Howell and Matt Moscona handling inductee interviews and special segments, and Lyn Rollins voicing the stirring Walk of Legends to start the show.
LPB will encore the show Friday, July 3 at 10:30 p.m. The program also will be available for on-demand viewing through the LPB YouTube channel.
For more information on the 2026 induction festivities, visit the LaSportsHall.com website.
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Since the high-powered console’s debut late last year, video game companies have steadily unveiled a cavalcade of new games that showcase its groundbreaking graphics.
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