New inductees to the LSU Athletic
Hall of Fame in addition to McClendon will be All-American football center
Joseph “Nacho” Albergamo, All-American basketball guard Marie Ferdinand,
baseball hitting star Eddy
Furniss and standout football center Kevin Mawae.
A limited number of tickets are
available to the general public for the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Gala for $40
each. Interested persons should call Tom Harlukowicz in the LSU Marketing
and Promotions Office at (225) 578-6659. A reception will begin at 6 p.m.
and the dinner and induction ceremony will start at 7 p.m. Jordy Hultberg
will serve as master of ceremonies and a number of LSU Hall of Fame members will
be in attendance.
Charles McClendon, who will be
inducted posthumously, is the first coach elected to the LSU Athletic Hall of
Fame under a new provision that allows for the induction of coaches or
administrators who have made significant impact on LSU
sports.
McClendon, the winningest coach in
LSU football history, led LSU to a record of 137-59-7 while serving as head
coach from 1962-79. Also an assistant coach at LSU from 1953-61, McClendon
led the Tigers to the 1970 Southeastern Conference championship and 13 bowl
appearances. He was the 1970 National Coach of the Year and was twice
named SEC Coach of the Year.
Following his career at LSU,
McClendon served as executive director of the Tangerine Bowl and was later the
president of the American Football Coaches
Association.
He was inducted into the National
Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame in 1986, won the Amos Alonzo Stagg
Award for service to college football in 1992, and was given a Lifetime
Achievement Award at the Paul Bryant Coach of the Year ceremony in 2001.
McClendon died in 2001 at the age of 78 after a lengthy battle with
cancer.
Dr. Joseph “Nacho” Albergamo, a
1988 graduate of LSU, was one of the most decorated student-athletes in LSU
history, excelling both on the field and in the classroom. He was a
consensus All-American at center in 1987, anchoring an offensive line that paved
the way for a then-school record total offense mark of over 4,800 yards. A
four-year letterman from 1984-87, he was also named All-Southeastern Conference
in 1987.
Albergamo was also a two-time
Academic All-American in 1986 and 1987 and a three-time member of the SEC
Academic Honor Roll. He was named the Toyota Leader of the Year in 1987
and was also named one of just 11 National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes,
while also being named an NCAA Top Six Finalist. He also earned both an
NCAA and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship. A 1993 graduate of the LSU Medical School, Albergamo is now a practicing
physician at The Baton Rouge Clinic.
Marie Ferdinand, a 2001 graduate of
LSU, was one of the most explosive guards to ever wear the purple and gold for
the Lady Tiger basketball team. She was a first-team All-American in 2001
who helped usher in the modern day success of the LSU women’s basketball
program. A finalist for the Naismith National Player of the
Year Award, she averaged 13.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in her
career. She led LSU to the Sweet Sixteen in 1999 and the Elite Eight in
2000 as the Lady Tiger program began to establish itself among the best in
college basketball.
She also led the USA Women’s Select
Team to a gold medal in 2000, and soon after was the third pick in the first
round of the WNBA draft, at that time the highest draft pick ever for a Lady
Tiger. Currently a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars, she has played
six years in the WNBA, and was a member of the 2002 WNBA All-Star
Team.
Eddy Furniss, a 2000 graduate of
LSU, won the Dick Howser Award in 1998, given annually to the National Player of
the Year in college baseball. A two-time first-team All-American, he
helped lead LSU to two national championships, as the Tigers claimed College
World Series titles in 1996 and 1997. He was also named to the Academic
All-American team three times.
The 1996 Southeastern Conference
Player of the Year, Furniss is the SEC’s all-time leader in hits, home runs,
RBI, doubles and total bases, and he finished his career as the fourth-leading
home run hitter in the history of college baseball. He was also active in
many community service activities as a student-athlete at LSU. He recently
graduated from the University of Texas Health Science
Center.
Kevin Mawae, a 1993 graduate of
LSU, was a third-team All-American, first-team All-SEC selection and four-year
starter on the offensive line for the Tigers from 1990-93. Mawae excelled
as one of top centers in the nation during a period when LSU experienced four
straight losing seasons and garnered minimal national recognition as a
team. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors in 1990, and then was named
All-SEC each of his remaining three years with the
Tigers.
A second-round NFL draft choice by
Seattle, he
played four years for the Seahawks and eight years for the New York Jets, during
which time he was named All-Pro six times. He now plays for the Tennessee Titans. He is a member of the NFL Players Association Executive Committee,
serving on the Diversity and Competition committees of that organization.
An active community member, he has raised over $300,000 for autism
research.