You and yours are invited to the 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration, which will take place Thursday evening, Friday, and Saturday, making Natchitoches the state’s most joyful hub.
The 66th Induction Celebration will conclude on Saturday night with the enshrinement of the LSHOF Class of 2025 at the Natchitoches Events Center. Up to 900 seats were added last week due to a seating reconfiguration, and a few dozen tickets are still available at LaSportsHall.com.
The Hall of Fame museum at 800 Front Street will host a free Welcome Reception from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday to start off the Induction Celebration.
The Mardi Gras Bowling Bash hosted by BOM at Alexandria’s Four Seasons Bowling Center kicks off the Friday schedule. Individual and team submissions are still welcome, and Walk-Ons will provide lunch for players as the competitive warm-up takes place at the 40-alley facility.
On Friday night, two of the most popular musical acts in south Louisiana will perform at the Rockin River Fest celebration, which is completely free. The event will take place in the Baton Rouge region.
The Chase Tyler Band will be the main act on the Rue Beauport stage, which borders Cane River Lake and is located right in the center of the City of Lights’ stunning and historic downtown district. The Lauren Lee Band will start the celebration.
The VIP Taste of Tailgating party, an indoor-outdoor event that requires tickets and is getting close to capacity on the Front Street brickwork and inside Mama’s Oyster House, Papa’s, and the Blues Room, is being held in conjunction with the Rockin River Fest.
On Saturday, the schedule begins with the free LSHOF Junior Training Camp at Turpin Stadium and the Webb Wellness and Recreation Center on the NSU campus. The camp will be facilitated by community relations representatives from the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, as well as Northwestern State coaches and this year’s Hall of Fame inductees. Natchitoches Regional Medical Center is hosting this event, which is almost full. Children aged 7 to 16 must register for free, which is simple to do at LaSportsHall.com.
The Tiger Athletic Foundation’s Round Table Luncheon will take place at Riverside Reserve on Mill Street on Saturday at noon. Tim Brando, a commentator for Fox Sports, hosts a fun show.
The festivities come to a close on Saturday night with the Induction Ceremony in the Natchitoches Events Center at 7 p.m. and the Induction Reception at the LSHOF museum starting at 5 p.m. Presenting sponsors on Saturday night are State Farm Agents of Louisiana and Northwestern State University.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on Louisiana Public Broadcasting from 7 until 9:30.
Tickets for the Round Table Luncheon, the VIP Taste of Tailgating, the Bowling Bash, and the Induction Reception and Ceremony must be purchased in advance via LaSportsHall.com or by calling 318-238-4255.
The Junior Training Camp, the Friday night River Fest, and the Thursday reception are all free.
Two men who were instrumental in LSU’s 2003 football national championship—coach Nick Saban and Andrew Whitworth, who won at West Monroe High School, LSU, and the NFL over a 16-year professional career—are the class of 2025’s main attractions. Pro basketball All-Stars Vickie Johnson and Danny Granger, as well as Joe Scheuermann, the state’s all-time winning college baseball coach, and Danny Broussard, one of the country’s most successful high school basketball coaches, add even more glitz to this year’s induction class.
It also features George Bobby Soileau, a four-time high school and 1956 NCAA boxing champion at LSU who also won a state championship as a football coach at his alma mater, Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte; LSU gymnastics great and NCAA individual champion April Burkholder; and transformational Catholic-Baton Rouge high school football coach Dale Weiner.
Herb Vincent, an LSU alumnus and current SEC associate commissioner, is being enshrined to receive the Hall’s Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.
In addition, Glenn Guilbeau, one of the country’s most renowned sportswriters, who has covered LSU, state college, high school, and professional sports in addition to tales throughout the South and the SEC, and Ed Daniels, a generational television sports commentator in New Orleans, are being honored. They are receiving the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
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