Men’s Basketball: Shipley Classic to Open Home Slate Nov. 18-20 – Link to Beryl Shipley Classic Page

Athletic Network Footnote: Click here for the Beryl Shipley Classic Page, which includes over a dozen links.

The man who built basketball at the University of Louisiana into a national power in the 1960s and 1970s will be honored this month with a tournament bearing his name. The Beryl Shipley Classic presented by Budweiser will be held on the nights ofNovember 18th and 19th and afternoon on Sunday, November 20th at the Cajundome.

Beryl Shipley, head men’s basketball coach at then-SLI and then-USL (now UL, the University of Louisiana) for 16 years (1957-73) became the winningest coach in Louisiana basketball history. Along the way he recruited and coached the first black athletes to compete in intercollegiate athletics in the South.

Shipley led the Ragin’ Cajuns to the NCAA Division II Final Four and to two NCAA Division I Regional Tournaments.

His .696 career winning percentage ranks him ahead of such coaching icons as LSU’s Dale Brown, .598.

He was instrumental in starting the Bayou Holiday Classic in 1959, a tournament that filled the old Blackham Coliseum for 13 years featuring such teams as Long Beach State, Kentucky Wesleyan, Jacksonville State, Pepperdine, Mississippi State, Baylor and Arkansas.

The Shipley Classic presented by Budweiser is a rebirth of that tournament.

The first night of the Beryl Shipley Classic presented by Budweiser, Friday, November 18th, features Cal State Fullerton vs. Nicholls State at 5:00 p.m., and Houston Baptist vs. UL at 7:30 p.m. The Shipley family, Dolores and her three daughters and their families will be honored with presentations prior to the Cajuns game.

On Saturday, November 19th the matchups include Nicholls taking on Houston Baptist in the 5 p.m. contest and Cal State Fullerton meeting UL in the 7:30 p.m. game. On this night former coaches, players, trainers, play-by-play announcers and All Americans from the Shipley era will be recognized before the UL game.

In the afternoon session on Sunday,November 20th, Houston Baptist faces Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m., then the Ragin’ Cajuns and Nicholls State wrap up the tournament with a 3:30 p.m. contest. Prior to the UL game fans, teachers, cheerleaders and others from the Shipley years will be honored.

Shipley died April 15, 2011.

For further information, visit www.athleticnetwork.net > Photo Gallery > Basketball (M) or contact the UL men’s basketball office at 337-262-3865.

BERYL SHIPLEY CLASSIC (presented by Budweiser) SCHEDULE OF GAMES

Friday, Nov. 18, 2011
5:00 p.m. – Cal State Fullerton vs. Nicholls State
7:30 p.m. – Houston Baptist vs. Louisiana

Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011
5:00 p.m. – Nicholls State vs. Houston Baptist
7:30 p.m. – Cal State Fullerton vs. Louisiana

Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011
1:00 p.m. – Houston Baptist vs. Cal State Fullerton
3:30 p.m. – Nicholls State vs. Louisiana

— Ragin’ Cajuns —