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Mr. Jim Champagne

Home:

Katy, TX

Work:
Champagne Pointer Kennels

Home Phone: 337-893-9666
Work Phone: 337-298-5382
Fax: 337 -893 -6905
Email: jimchampagne@att.net

This Living Memorial by Jim was placed in his profile in May, 2010 and will serve as his LM for the Shipley Tribute. Below his LM you will find family information and more information about Jim. Posted by Dr. Ed Dugas on Oct. 1, 2017.

I am submitting this letter (which was sent) after contacting 11 people (only because there would have been hundreds who would have written letters)tom write something on behalf of Beryl Shipley’s selection to the La Sports Writers Hall of Fame.

I could write a book on what this man has meant to me, my family, the university in which he coached at, the state in which he chose to make a life for his family, a city which he has never once thought about leaving (1957)and the contribution he made to history in opening the door to black athletes to play college basketball in the deep south.

You are invited to write and have posted on the Athletic Network (which, along with the creation of RCAF)is bring ULL supporters closer and closer together.

Louisiana Sports Writers Hall of Fame
To: Friends and Associates of Beryl Shipley
From: Jim Champagne
Please allow me to introduce myself.
I am Jim Champagne, a former USL tennis player (1961-1963) and a “want to be” basketball player. Beryl Shipley was the basketball coach at the time and in his infinite wisdom told me I needed to focus on my tennis due to my lack of speed and size. I heeded his advice and after one season turned professional and spent twelve years as tennis pro.
My admiration for Coach Shipley has been a substantial part of my life. The first time I met him, he was on a tour of the campus as the new head basketball coach at SLI. I was thirteen years old and was crossing St. Mary Blvd., between the Catholic Church and Earl K. Long gym, my home away from home. As Beryl stepped out of the car I wheeled around, extended my hand, introducing myself, and said, “I will play for you someday.”
Little did I know then, that day would not come to fruition. Instead, something greater came my way, and Beryl and I became great friends. Over the past fifty- three years he has been both friend and mentor. The relationship has more value to me than any game I might have played. Beryl helped me to nurture my love of basketball, which was passed on to my two sons, who are both head college basketball coaches. He somehow managed to develop me into a pretty decent coach, so well that I was able to coach a National AAU basketball team and coach in college as well as overseas.
Because of his many accomplishments, I feel it is appropriate for him to have his place in the Louisiana Sports Writers Hall of Fame, thus the reason for my letter to you.
I am requesting that you write a letter of commendation in support of his induction into the Hall of Fame. His many accomplishments can be viewed by visiting the UL-Lafayette Athletic Network website. Please focus your comments on the accomplishments which deem most important.
Click here to view his Athletic Network profile: http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=55&profID=2366.
Click here for the Shipley Scrapbook:
http://www.coachshipley.com/beta/scrapbook.php.
Scrapbooks 1-4 document some of the past, while 5-9 document the Shipley Reunion in 2001. Links on the left side of this page include information about other facets of his life.
You may e-mail AthleticNetwork@louisiana.edu for additional information. Most correspondence receives a reply within twenty-four hours.
Each of you has been associated with Beryl in various capacities and when combined with your letters will provide a reasonably complete background for his potential election to the Hall of Fame. We wish for the letters to be positive and focus on his contributions to basketball, higher education, community, and society in general.
Previously the committee has reviewed Beryl’s nomination, and I am hopeful that this will be the year he receives such a distinguished honor. It is my sincere hope that with your letter of support this accolade will be bestowed while he is still living. It would mean a great deal to both him and his family to know that his love for the game and contributions to the state are recognized.
Beryl and Dolores have devoted their lives to the game while raising three children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. They are devoted Christians. Beryl has mentored many young coaches and players, even after retiring from coaching. While he is in declining health, he still manages to attend high- school basketball games and remains an avid supporter of the Top 28 State Basketball Championships. His presence at any event makes it special.
Beryl is respected by fellow coaches and others who will be asked to write a letter in support of his induction. Such letters will be posted on the Athletic Network website (unless you prefer not to have your letter posted there). Your letter, along with ten others, will be presented to Doug Ireland, Executive Director of the LSWWF, by Randy Price, a player on Beryl’s first team at SLI, requesting that the committee kindly review them for consideration of Beryl’s nomination.
May 23, 2010 Update

Obituary: Carole Trahan Champagne – FAN and Family Connections – December 14, 2013

Carole Trahan Champagne

MAURICE – On December 14, 2013, surrounded by family and in the comfort of her home, Carole Trahan Champagne ( 68 ) of Maurice passed away peacefully.

Those with the good fortune to know ” Jane Carole, Miss Carole, Aunt Carole, Nanny Carole, Shorty, Mom” also knew her by the name she was the most proud of … Maw Maw. She lived her life with quiet strength devoted to her family, her friends and her faith. She was a dedicated employee of the District Attorney’s office in Lafayette for 29 years and affectionately referred to her co-workers as her “second family”. She spent her retirement years, traveling around the country supporting her children and enjoying her grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband of 49 years R. James ( Jim ) Champagne, Maurice LA. Her three children – Hope Champagne Grendel ( John ) of Michigan, Bobby Champagne ( Anna ) of Alabama; Roy Champagne ( Michelle ) of Texas and her nine grandchildren, Hannah, Owen & Wyatt ( Michigan ) : Charlie, Will, Joe & Annie ( Alabama ); Catherine & Carson. ( Texas ) Her sister Annette Leblanc ( Gerald ) ; her brother Matthew Trahan ( Donna ), Sisters in law Coni Trahan and Glynn ( James ) Tidwell. She was preceded in death by her parents E Charles ( Charlie ) & Mary Jane Trahan and her brother Robert E Trahan.

On December 23rd – St Alphonsus Church in Maurice will host a rosary at 2:30 followed by a Mass in her honor at 3:00. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to:

Miles Perret Cancer Services 2130 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Suite 200 Lafayette, LA 70508

Florence Alabama Chapter of the American Cancer Society 104 S Poplar Florence AL 35630

Or a charity of your choice .

Published in the The Advertiser on Dec. 20, 2013
– See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvertiser/obituary.aspx?n=carole-champagne&pid=168638553#sthash.VIQlfQIN.dpuf

Carole Trahan Champagne Obituary

Carole Champagne
Obituary
On December 14, 2013, surrounded by family and in the comfort of her home, Carole Trahan Champagne ( 68 ) of Maurice passed away peacefully.

Those with the good fortune to know â€œ Jane Carole, Miss Carole, Aunt Carole, Nanny Carole, Shorty, Momâ€ also knew her by the name she was the most proud of â€¦ Maw Maw. She lived her life with quiet strength devoted to her family, her friends and her faith. She was a dedicated employee of the District Attorneyâ€™s office in Lafayette for 29 years and affectionately referred to her co-workers as her â€œsecond familyâ€. She spent her retirement years, traveling around the country supporting her children and enjoying her grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband of 49 years R. James ( Jim ) Champagne, Maurice LA. Her three children â€“ Hope Champagne Grendel ( John ) of Michigan, Bobby Champagne ( Anna ) of Alabama; Roy Champagne ( Michelle ) of Texas and her nine grandchildren, Hannah, Owen & Wyatt ( Michigan ) : Charlie, Will, Joe & Annie ( Alabama ); Catherine & Carson. ( Texas ) Her sister Annette Leblanc ( Gerald ) ; her brother Matthew Trahan ( Donna ), Sisters in law Coni Trahan and Glynn ( James ) Tidwell.

She was preceded in death by her parents E Charles ( Charlie ) & Mary Jane Trahan and her brother Robert E Trahan.

On December 23rd – St Alphonsus Church in Maurice will host a rosary at 2:30 followed by a Mass in her honor at 3:00.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to:

Miles Perret Cancer Services 2130 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Suite 200 Lafayette, LA 70508
Florence Alabama Chapter of the American Cancer Society 104 S Poplar Florence AL 35630

Or a charity of your choice.

Submitted by Jim Champagne, Dec. 18, 2013 and published in the Daily Advertiser, Dec. 20, 2013.
Carole Trahan Champagne

MAURICE – On December 14, 2013, surrounded by family and in the comfort of her home, Carole Trahan Champagne ( 68 ) of Maurice passed away peacefully.

On December 23rd – St Alphonsus Church in Maurice will host a rosary at 2:30 followed by a Mass in her honor at 3:00. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to:

Miles Perret Cancer Services 2130 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Suite 200 Lafayette, LA 70508

Florence Alabama Chapter of the American Cancer Society 104 S Poplar Florence AL 35630

Or a charity of your choice .

Published in the The Advertiser on Dec. 20, 2013
– See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvertiser/obituary.aspx?n=carole-champagne&pid=168638553#sthash.VIQlfQIN.dpuf

Athletic Network Footnote:
The Athletic Network Family Connections of Carole Trahan Champagne include:
Jim Champagne, Basketball & Tennis; Bobby Champagne, former UL assistant men’s basketball coach; and Hope Champagne Gendel, homecoming court. Additionally, Robert E.Trahan, brother, is recognized in the Special Fans page of the AN History of UL Athletics.

The Athletic Network extends condolences to her family as this time and may the Peace of the Lord be with them.

* * * * * * * * * *

Submitted by Jim Champagne on Sept. 24, 2013
Parents of former assistant basketball coach, Bobby Champagne. In his 12th year as head coach of the men’s basketball at University of North Alabama.

Parent of former homecoming court member, Hope Champagne.

Parents of graduate and president of Sigma Nu, Roy Champagne. Roy is in his 22 year as head coach and AD at Lee College in Baytown Texas.

In law’s of Michelle Chaney RN, wife of Roy, graduate and member of Tri Delta.

Both of my parents attended SLI. My father Roy graduated in 1951. I was in my second year at Hamilton Training School. To this day (70 years old) I follow the lessons I learned from the wonderful teachers.

My wife Carole Trahan Champagne attended USL. She is the elder sister of Robert E Trahan, diseased.

If ever integrated into the ULL administrations hearts, the Athletic-news is one of the Universities greatest assets.

Ed you have accomplished many of your objectives but this may be the one that all of us cherish forever.

Jim Champagne
South Florida Gold ABA
Director Basketball Operations
Assistant Coach
www.SFLGOLD.com
7905 La HWY 92
Maurice, LA 70555
Email:jimchampagne@cox.net
Cell:337-298-5382
Fax:337-893-6905

* * * * * * * * * *
Submitted by Jim Champagne on Dec. 17, 2012.

My mother (Virginia Doris Sandoz) passed away on December 9 2012, she was 88 years old and attended SLI at the same time as Dr. Fisher and my father (Roy Joseph Champagne and E.J. Champagne), my dadâ€™s youngest brother. E.J. skipped a grade and he and my father graduated together and went to college the same year.

I was born in 1943 and like so many others born during the second world war, found our educational lives starting at Hamilton Training School on the campus of SLI. I honestly cannot say when I first remembered meeting Dave Fisher, but I can honestly say that I have known him my entire life. I am not sure when he return to SLI as a professor but I know that when I return to Lafayette to continue my education and athletic career at Cathedral High School, David was there and as we all know retired from UL.

I have never said this before to anyone, and why I do not know, but I have always been very outspoken individual; something that is not enduring to many people. I say this because, for as long as I have known David Fisher, I have admired is calm and gentle strength, while be a great athlete and outstanding academic personality.

As many may remember, 1961 physical education 101 Tennis classes at UL were taught by a freshman himself. None other than myself. Dr. Brown and his entire staff support my assistance and sanctioned me being the instructor for those classes. I have always thought that those of you who were in those classes where responsible for me being the third tennis pro of the third largest country club in the country, one year later. Today I regret not taking the advice of David and Beryl Shipley and getting my degree. My passion for coaching basketball would have been so much easier to accomplish and provide me with so many more opportunities.

David and I remain conversational friends. We meet and speak at length at the Iberia Bank or at high school sporting events, which are greatly enjoyed. As a coach, David should appreciate that the finest compliment to him would be, â€œDavid you were a mentor to so many lives, over the years and you continue to be a mentor.â€

It has been a long time coming for those of us who go back to the SLI Stadium days, but back to back trips to the New Orleans Bowl, was worth the wait. I am sure David and his clan will be in the stands as UL wins another Bowl game. If you see David bow his head, he will probably be saying, â€œthank you Godâ€, now everyone n the world can recognize a â€œRagin Cajun Fanâ€.

â€œHot Boudin, Cold Couch Couch, Come On Bulldogs, Push, Push, Push.â€

Jim Champagne

C: 337-298-5382

Fax: 337-893-6905

E: jimchampagne@att.net

7905 La Hwy 92

Maurice, La 70555

Go With God

Vaya Con Dios

“Los amigos son la familia extendida que usted elige”

“Friends are the Extended Family That You Choose”

* * * * * * * * *

I have enjoyed a wonder life and varied careers (TennisPro/Carpenter/Mud Engineer/Oilfield Sales Mngr./Basketball Coach/Professional Dog Trainer). These endeavors have been supported by a loving wife of 46 years (who is the older sister of Robert Trahan).

I have been able to travel extensivley in the US and in three foriegn countries.

My passion for basketball is shared by my wife and three children. My wife an I have been honored by having all of our children associated with ULL. Hope and Roy as graduates and Bobby as an Assitant Basketball Coach under Jesse Evans for 4 years.

Before coming to ULL Bobby played at South Alabama and coached at Wahington State and Oklahoma. Bobby left ULL to be “Lefty” Drisell’s Assistant at Georgia State and then at UTEP before going to U. of North Alabama, where he is in his 7th year.

Roy, after graduating from ULL has been at LEE College for 17 years(1 as an assistant and 16 as the Head Basketball Coach). During the last year, he served as Head Basketball Coach and Athletic Director.

He acknowleges his tenure as President of Sigma Nu Fraternity as giving him the foundation needed to accept the task.

Hope is the VP of XO Communications with over 350 employees in 5 cities under her care. As UL Market Major graduate she owes much to the ULL Family.

Carole and I were honored when Hope was selected to the ULL Homecomming Court. She was in Tri Delta Soriety.

We are blessed with 9 grandchildren(3 girls & 6 boys). Hope has twin boys. My wife and I have enjoyed living in Maurice for over thirty years. Twenty nine of those years she spent in the DA’s office prior to her retirement.

Mentoring young people has always been part of my life and because of my association with Beryl Shipley I was able to coach a National AAU Championship Basketball Team, coach on the JUCO level and coach in the Venezuela Pro Basketball League.

I have been blessed with good health and my work keeps me fit. Scouting young players and reporting to college coaches keeps me close to the game I love.

* * * * *

Kevin Foote, April 29, 2019

Acadiana Advocate
Written for the LABC

Note: This is the second in a series of two feature stories on this yearâ€™s inductee into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame and this yearâ€™s recipient of the LABCâ€™s Mr. Louisiana Basketball award. The 2019 inductee will be former Louisiana Tech University player Lonnie Cooper. Mr. Louisiana Basketball for 2019 is long-time AAU, college and youth coach Jim Champagne of Lafayette.

LAFAYETTE, LA â€“ Jim Champagne has been many things in his 75 years on Earth with varying degrees of success.
From the time he graduated high school at Cathedral-Carmel in 1961 until today, Champagne has been a college student-athlete, a tennis coach, a father, a coach, a husband, a mud engineer, a dog trainer, a horse trainer â€¦ even a carpenter.
But no matter which role he was playing at any given time in his life, you can bet Champagne was in love with the game of basketball.
â€œAt no point in my life was I ever out of basketball,â€ he said. â€œI might have been making money doing something else, but basketball was always there.â€
In the late 1970s, his love for the game and dedication to his children led to him officially getting back into the game as an organizer and coach of youth basketball. That eventually led to Champagne to forming several AAU basketball teams in Louisiana, including the U16 national champion and U17 national runner-up Louisiana Stars in 1991.
For a lifetime of dedication and contributions to basketball in Louisiana, Champagne is the 2019 recipient of the Mr. Louisiana Basketball award, the highest honor bestowed annually by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC). He will receive the award during the LABCâ€™s 45th Annual Awards Banquet this Saturday, May 4, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Baton Rouge. The banquet is sponsored by the Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic and Universal Coin & Bullion, Ltd.
Champagne played basketball in high school, as well as tennis. He was offered a basketball-tennis scholarship to Western Kentucky out of high school and eventually settled on a similar offer in his hometown at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then called the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
â€œI couldnâ€™t jump, but I could shoot it,â€ Champagne laughed. â€œUnfortunately, a lot of people could shoot it.â€
He was introduced to the game by his father, Roy, who grew up playing basketball in Franklin.
At the end of his first year of college at Southwestern Louisiana, Champagne was playing in a tennis tournament in Florida where he developed a connection with a man who got him a job as a tennis professional in Baltimore.
As much as he loved basketball and tennis, Champagne admits he wasnâ€™t really meant to be a student-athlete.

â€œI hated school,â€ he laughed.
Before he knew it, Champagne was mentoring young tennis players who were seeded No. 1 at such collegiate programs as Wake Forest and North Carolina.
His career as a club tennis pro brought him positions in such places as Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Long Island, Baltimore and even Puerto Rico.
He even worked along with famous tennis instructor Nick Bollettieri. He was even the head tennis coach at Old Dominion.
But again, no matter where he was basketball was always there. His boss at the Baltimore Country Club was Jim Lacy, who led the nation in scoring in 1947 for Loyola of Maryland.
He was connected with former Maryland standout and then-Philadelphia 76ers head coach Gene Shue.
Those tennis days on the East Coast also brought Champagne in contact with a youth tennis standout named John Lucas, as well as Maryland basketball coach Lefty Driesell.
â€œBack in those days, none of us had any idea how good a basketball player John Lucas was going to be, but Lefty did,â€ Champagne said.
After a tennis investment faltered during an economic downfall in the 1970s, Champagne began training dogs and horses, instead of tennis players. He even won a national championship as a dog trainer.
But by 1978, circumstances brought Champagne and his family back to South Louisiana.
â€œOne day, (children) Hope, Bobby and Roy came to me and said, â€˜Daddy, we want to play basketball,â€™â€ Champagne remembered. â€œI looked around and there was nothing.â€
With no door open, Champagne did what his strong personality typically produced. He created a door and walked through.
Before he knew it, he had put up $100 to form his own team and literally began knocking on doors with his children to find players.
â€œWe finished second in the league that first year,â€ Champagne said.
Before long, Champagne had begun an AAU team he called the North Vermilion Patriots, which soon became the name of the high school in that area after several schools consolidated to form the current North Vermilion High in Maurice.
â€œI knew how to coach, I knew the game and I knew how to teach as a former tennis pro,â€ Champagne said.
He just needed a little refining to coach basketball. Tommy LeBlanc, the nephew of former Lafayette High football coach Rayford LeBlanc, directed him to some coaching magazines.
One of the articles detailed the rise of New Jersey high school basketball coaching legend Bob Hurley, whose son later played at Duke.
Asked in the article about the secrets to his success that produced 26 state titles in 39 years as a high school coach, Hurley said, â€œconditioning, short, precision passes and a strong elementary school feeder system.â€
That was music to Champagneâ€™s ears.
â€œI said, â€˜Here I am Lord,â€™â€ he said.
His days in the tennis world taught him conditioning, he was already coaching elementary school kids in Maurice and he believed in short, precise passes.
â€œThatâ€™s been my fundamentals in the game ever since,â€ Champagne said. â€œWhen you catch it, look to shoot it.â€
It didnâ€™t take Champagne long to be looking beyond Vermilion Parish for players. By the late 1980s, he was coaching such future stars as Harold and Carroll Boudreaux, Tyrone Jones, Alonzo Mitchell and Aaron Mitchell on such AAU teams as Team Acadiana, Team Louisiana and the Louisiana Stars.
â€œI told Beryl Shipley that we had three 6-foot-8 kids within 15 miles of Lafayette,â€ Champagne said. â€œBeryl said, â€˜Youâ€™re lying to me. Thereâ€™s no way.â€™ â€
Shipley was the legendary former USL basketball coach who was the 1985 recipient of the LABCâ€™s Mr. Louisiana Basketball award.
To this day, Champagne believes he might have been the first person to meet Shipley when he made his visit to Lafayette in 1957 to begin his Hall of Fame coaching career in the Hub City.
A middle schooler at the time, Champagne said he just happened to be walking on campus near Earl K. Long Gym and shook hands with Shipley.
Later in life, the two became close friends.
â€œI would say, I love my dad, but I love Beryl Shipley,â€ Champagne slowly said. â€œI miss him. I canâ€™t really put into words what Beryl Shipley meant to me in my life.â€
In the late 1980s, Champagne took Shipley to see it with his own eyes. His friend was indeed involved with an AAU basketball team in the middle of the football-minded Deep South, just as baseball was about to begin taking over the collegiate scene in Louisiana.
That group of players played the very first game at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas, losing a national semifinal game due to a controversial call late in the game.
â€œIt was a bad call and I just went nuts,â€ Champagne said. â€œI went after the official and to show you how angry I was, Big Dave (Thibodeaux) grabbed me and I lifted that 300-pound man off the floor.â€
In those days, Champagneâ€™s teams were playing against the likes of Alonzo Mourning and Marcus Liberty.
One of the players Champagne recruited was Lake Arthurâ€™s Jeff Moore, who has now been a college coach for the last 24 years, including the last 13 at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.
â€œAt that time, AAU wasnâ€™t as big,â€ Moore said. â€œHe did a lot to get AAU going around the state. He was always someone who would go out of his way to help you. The one thing that sticks out the most about him is that he believed in his players.â€
â€œHe did all the recruiting and he did some coaching as well, along with his sons Roy and Bobby. Everyone just kind of worked together.â€
Moore remembers Champagne organizing a trip in the summer of 1990 to Madrid, Spain for a couple of days and then to the Virgin Islands for two weeks.
â€œIt was awesome, just an incredible experience,â€ Moore said. â€œWe played games and did basketball camps. He was always trying to help us out and he was never in it for himself. He helped so many basketball players in the state out, so many kids who could have gone in different directions, and he taught so many life lessons.â€
In 1991, Champagneâ€™s U16 roster included such names as Scotty Thurmond, Kelvin Price, Chris Manuel, Lawrence Nixon and Jerald Honeycutt.
Most of those players were also on the U17 roster that year, in addition to Kerry Kittles of New Orleans.
The U16 team won the national championship that year and the U17 team was the national runner-up.
â€œWith about two minutes left (in the U16 national finals) when it looked like we might have a chance to win it, I just put my head down and I prayed â€¦ not for me, but for the kids,â€ Champagne said.

â€œI know itâ€™s not about Jim Champagne. It never was.â€
Shortly after that momentous triumph, the AAU world began blowing up and it became more about big money than old-school recruiting skills.
â€œThatâ€™s not what I was about,â€ said Champagne, who even played a role in the early days of the local stuffed chicken industry. â€œSo I told myself that it was time for a different phase of my life.â€

His next challenge was coaching professional basketball in Venezuela.
Both of his sons Roy and Bobby became college coaches.
Champagne dabbled again recently in the AAU game, but not for long.
On Dec. 14, 2013 his wife, Carole, died. In May, he and his second wife Liz will celebrate their second anniversary.
â€œI was married to Carole for many years and she was an angel,â€ Champagne said. â€œNow Iâ€™m married to Liz Stoma and sheâ€™s an angel, so Iâ€™m thinking Iâ€™m not quite as big an ____ as some people think I am.â€
As for the game he loves these days, Champagne likes the excitement the 3-point shot has added to the game, but wishes the instant replay system wouldnâ€™t play a role in officiating.
â€œIf they donâ€™t use it all the time, I think thatâ€™s being unfair to the officials,â€ Champagne said. â€œAuburn loses in the semifinals on the exact same play that Virginia won on in the finals. If Gerald Boudreaux (2008â€™s LABC Mr. Louisiana Basketball award recipient) is officiating that Auburn game, thereâ€™s no doubt in my mind that Auburn plays in the national championship game. Gerald is the best basketball official Iâ€™ve ever known.â€

In addition to honoring Champagne, the May 4 awards banquet will include the induction of former Louisiana Tech University star Lonnie Cooper into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame. There will also be recognition of Louisianaâ€™s major college, small college, junior college and high school players and coaches of the year, along with the top pro player from the state. More information about the LABC can be obtained by visiting their website at www.labball.com.

Athletic Network Footnote by Dr. Ed Dugas with the acknowledgement of assistance from Jim and Kevin. Congratulations to Jim on his honor and to both Jim and Kevin for contributing to the history of UL athletics.