Graduation, May, 2004 – a tale of two graduates…Eric Bartel and Eddie Mouton

May 20, 2004

What is so special about two "jocks" graduating? If you believe all you have read and heard on the subject, you would think it is considered nothing short of a miracle when it does occur..imagine that – an athlete graduating from college.

Eric Bartel walked-on as a freshman football player in the Fall 1999 and was later awarded an athletic scholarship. A four year letterman, he also served as team captain. Holder of numerous awards and honors, Eric was chosen the Outstanding Graduate of the College of Business Administration in May, 2004. At graduation, he was named by the Alumni Association as the Outstanding Graduate of the university. This first for a student-athlete in this century was acheived while holding various positions of employment and…earning a culumlative GPA of 3.9 with a major in Finance and Risk/Insurance.

Please visit Eric’s profile, so you may understand his challenging journey which culminated with the UL Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Recognition.

Eddie Mouton started SLI in 1959 and was on the basketball and baseball teams. He left school to pursue his dream of playing major league baseball.
He served as the UL baseball coach in 1967 and has always been a strong supporter of the university…yet, something was missing. In the Fall, 2002, he enrolled at UL, the third name for his university while he was an undergraduate student. While working full-time in his family’s real estate business, he continuously enrolled on a part-time basis until the final courses for the degree were completed. His son, Ross, is currently a member of the Ragin’ Cajun Basketball Team, following in some of Dad’s footsteps.

Please visit Eddie’s profile and you will better understand why the journey to his degree was so important to him and why he persisted until his goal was acheived.

Please join the Athletic Network in offering our congratulations to both Eric and Eddie. They are richly deserving of all their accomplishments and serve as outstanding models for our current and future athletes to emulate.

Note: In 1960, M. Douglas Adkins, basketball player, received the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Graduate.

In 1990, Stefni Whitton (Now Coach Stefni Lotief, Head Coach of the Lady Cajun Softball Team) received the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Graduate.

Please inform the Athletic Network of other student-athletes who received the Outstanding Graduate Award from the Alumni Association.

Peace, Ed Dugas