Elite class will enter UL Hall of Fame

From Daily Advertiser staff reports • October 21, 2010

A very prestigious group of four former UL standout athletes will be recognized by the Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club during homecoming festivities on Saturday at Cajun Field.

By that time actually, the 2010 Athletic Hall of Fame class of softball pitcher Brooke Mitchell Garrity, defensive end Jeff Mitchell, star cornerback Todd Scott and track and field phenom Winston Sinclair will already be wearing their jackets.

The induction banquet will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Les Saisons in the Oil Center.

The Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club Alumni Chapter is comprised of men and women who lettered in athletics while they were students at SLI/USL/UL Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club is a constituent chapter of the UL Lafayette Alumni Association and it retains close ties to the Athletic Department.

"Our goal is to remind each new generation of athletes of the tradition they must uphold and the ideals that they should strive for while they are wearing the UL Lafayette uniforms," said Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club President Tom Carroll (UL Baseball 1971-74).

Brooke Mitchell

Brooke Mitchell Garrity was a four-time letterman for UL’s softball program from 2002 to 2005. Her list of achievements is a long one. She was a first-team NFCA All-American, a two-time Academic All-American, a four-time All-Louisiana selection, a four-time All-Sun Belt selection, a two-time All-South Region pick and was recognized as the All-Louisiana Pitcher of the Year three times.

In the Sun Belt, she was Pitcher of the Year, Freshman of the Year and received the Sun Belt Award of Excellence.

More than any of those awards, though, UL softball fans will remember the pitcher for her grit and determination to take the ball to the circle for the good of the team, no matter how injured or tired she was.

She received a Finance degree from UL in 2005.

Jeff Mitchell

Mitchell may have come from a Class 1A school in Loreauville, but his impact on the Cajuns’ football program was anything but little.

Mitchell played defensive end in what many consider the golden years of UL football from 1992 to 1995. He was a three-time All-Big West selection, including two first-team conference recognition twice. On both occasions, he was also named as the All-Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

He still holds school records for career sacks with 21 and 11 in a season, yardage lost on sack with 153 for a career and 83 for a season, tackles for losses with 45 for a career, 21 in a season and 5 in a game. He also is the school record holder in total yardage lost with 227, 119 in a season and 26 in a game.

He received a General Studies degree in 2001.

Todd Scott

Before he was selected to the All-Pro team in 1993 and the All-Madden team in 1994 with the Minnesota Vikings, Scott was a big-time playmaker for the UL Ragin’ Cajun football team from 1987 to 1990.

The Cajuns didn’t have a load of All-Conference honors to speak of, because the Cajuns weren’t in a conference during his stint here.

That doesn’t mean Scott didn’t have a major impact on the program. He still holds the UL record for punt returns with 70 for 553 yards, which also still ranks 10th nationally and for career tackles with 197. He had a career high with six interceptions.

In 1990, he was selected to play in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game in Montgomery, Ala., on Christmas Day.

He was a sixth-round pick in the 1991 NFL draft, the same year he received his degree at UL.

Winston Sinclair

Sinclair was a four-year letterman in track at UL from 1992-1996.

Sinclair was a four-time indoor conference champion in the 400 meters, a two-time indoor conference champion in the 200 meters, a two-time outdoor conference champion in the 400 meters and a three-time outdoor conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles.

Sinclair was also a three-time NCAA qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles. In 1994, he received All-American honors after finishing fourth in the nation in the 400-meter hurdles.

He received Business Management degree from UL in 1996 and a second degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2007.