UL Announces 2012 Athletic Hall Of Fame Inductees – Causey, Gomez, and Tillman 10/6/12

To confirm your attendance please R.S.V.P to 337.482.0900 or jonaslandry@louisiana.edu

Lafayette, La. (October 2) – The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club is proud to announce the 2012 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. They are Jackie Causey – Track and Field; Danyele Gomez – Softball; and Charles “Peanut” Tillman – Football.
The Hall of Fame reception and meet-and-greet will be held Friday, October 5 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the UL Alumni Center and is free to attend. On Saturday, October 6 the inductees will participate in the parade and will be in the UL Alumni tent signing autographs prior to the game. They will be officially inducted during halftime of the football game.
Jackie Causey (Track and Field) was a 3-year letterman in track and field for USL from 1968-1970. While at USL, Jackie was the Gulf States Conference Champion in the high jump in 1969 and 1970—setting the school record in 1969 with a jump of 6’-10”.   Jackie won the NCAA II Outdoor National title in 1969 with a jump of 6’-10” and he was the NAIA Indoor Champion in 1970 with a jump of 6‘-10”. Jackie earned All-American honors in high jump in 1969 and 1970. In 1970 he broke the 7’ barrier at the USTFF Indoor National Championships where he won first place. Jackie’s personal best while at USL was 7’-3/4”. Jackie’s post-USL career continued at Southern California College and in international competition where he posted a personal best jump of 7’-2” high. Jackie is CEO of Vernon Home Health in Leesville, LA. Jackie is married to Debbie Stracner Causey and has three children—Andrew, Aimee and Rachel. Jackie currently resides in Leesville, LA.
Danyele Gomez (Softball) was a 4-time softball letterman as an outfielder at UL from 2003-2006. Danyele was a 3-time NFCA All-American; 4-time All-Louisiana selection; and a 3-time All-South Region selection. Danyele was also a 2-time Sun Belt Player of the Year; a 2-time Louisiana Player of the Year; and was the Sun Belt and Louisiana Freshman of the Year. In addition, Danyele was selected to compete on Team USA as a member of the Elite team. Danyele completed her career as a Ragin’ Cajun with a .359 batting average, 83 home runs, 588 hits and a .946 fielding percentage.   Danyele received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 2007. Danyele currently resides is Metairie, LA where she is a nurse at Tulane Medical Hospital.
Charles “Peanut” Tillman (Football) was a 4-time letterman in football for UL from 1999-2002. In 2002 Charles received All-American recognition, was named an All-Independent selection in 2000; and was a 2-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection. Charles ended his career as a Ragin’ Cajun with 284 tackles, 12 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries and 3 blocked punts. Following his stellar career at UL, Charles was the third pick in the second round by the Chicago Bears—where he is still the starting Cornerback. As a Bear, Charles was named Sports Illustrated Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003. He has recorded 686 tackles, 30 interceptions, 29 forced fumbles and 4 touchdowns and has been named to a Pro-Bowl team. Charles has also received the prestigious Walter Peyton Man of the Year award four times, the Brian Piccolo award twice, the Ed Block Courage award and the NFL Neighborhood MVP award. Charles has been an ambassador of the University with his pregame introduction of “Charles Tillman, Cornerback, THE University of Louisiana. Charles received a Bachelor degree in Criminal Justice in 3 1/2 years and is currently enrolled in graduate school at Kaplan University. Charles currently resides in Chicago, IL with his wife, Jackie, and their children.
The purpose of the UL Lafayette Hall of Fame is to give recognition to those athletes who have made a significant contribution to the good name of the University by demonstrating exceptional ability and sportsmanship on the playing fields, commendable scholarship in the classroom, high quality leadership on the campus, and who after leaving the University have established a personal reputation for character and citizenship in the community which they reside.
“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 ’71-’74).
            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.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Tiffany Harris (337) 278-1097
tharris@fostermarketing.com
Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club – VP and Hall of Fame Chairman
Softball ’92-’95

2007 Hall of Fame Inductee

President
Foster Marketing

337-235-1848