NFC’s Ledford commits to Tulane
July 4, 2008
North Florida Christian linebacker Cody Ledford announced his intention to sign a football scholarship at Tulane University in February.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Texas Linebacker Eyes Green Wave
July 2, 2008
The future Tulane defense got a pleasant surprise last week when Tallahassee, Fla., standout Cody Ledford went public with his commitment to the Green Wave.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Team manager to AD: After graduating from Tech, Jim Oakes returned to serve for 14 years
June 30, 2008
After rising from football team manager to Louisiana Tech athletic director, Jim Oakes will say goodbye to the hallowed halls of Thomas Assembly Center today after 14 years of running the school’s programs.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Wave’s undefeated team bound for TU Hall
June 30, 2008
Wave’s undefeated team bound for TU Hall - Tulane Beat - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
Posted by Nakia Hogan Staff writer June 28, 2008 10:55PMFormer Tulane record-setting quarterback Shaun King has only one regret from his playing days with the Green Wave. He wishes he and teammates on the 1998 team that went undefeated and captured the Conference USA title were playing under the current NCAA system and given an opportunity to play in a BCS bowl game.
Instead, the Green Wave finished its 12-0 campaign with a decisive 41-27 win against Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl and were left with thoughts of what could have been.
“I just hate that we didn’t have this new arrangement so we could have went to the Fiesta Bowl that year and played Tennessee or Florida State,” King said.
The sting of not being included in one of college football’s elite postseason games has been eased by the fact that the 1998 Green Wave squad is being inducted as an honorary member of the 2008 Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame class.
The 1998 team that was led by King, who became the first NCAA I-A player to have 3,000 yards passing and 500 yards rushing in a season and set a then-NCAA I-A passing efficiency record of 183.3, highlights a class that also includes former men’s basketball coach Perry Clark, former women’s golfer Pam Buff, former baseball player John Olagues and former football player Patrick Ramsey.
The group will formally be enshrined during a ceremony Oct. 3 at the Lavin-Bernick Center on the Tulane campus.
“We are the first team to ever be collectively inducted into the Tulane Hall of Fame, so anytime you are a first it gives you great pride and a great sense of accomplishment,” King said. “It’s a just reward for all the hard work and effort that was put into that season by that team. I thought the guys did a great job of making our success a priority, and it paid off for us.”
Clark, who coached the Green Wave for 11 seasons (1989-2000), said he was pleased with the honor. He was responsible for helping resurrect the program in 1989 after a four-year suspension of the program.
At Tulane, Clark’s teams compiled a 185-145 record, had six 20-win seasons, seven postseason appearances (3 NCAA, 4 NIT) and won the Metro Conference regular season championship once. He was the United States Basketball Writers National Coach of the Year in 1992 and a two-time Metro Conference Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1992.
“I feel very, very honored and special to be honored in the Tulane Hall of Fame,” Clark said. “New Orleans will always be home for me, and Tulane will always be very, very special.
“The way I look at my time at Tulane is like Camelot. It’s just a very special time, and there were a lot of special and magical people that came through. I’ve come to learn to just put it in a time capsule. I don’t ever try to duplicate it because it will never ever come again. You just kind of put it up on a mantel and appreciate and enjoy the memories.”
That’s precisely what Buff plans to do.
She said she was flattered when the call came informing her of the induction. She is enamored that her accomplishments on the golf course are being further recognized.
Buff, who competed at Tulane from 1997-2001, is one of the most accomplished women’s golfers in school history. Three times she was chosen C-USA Player of the Year (1998, 1999, 2000), and she was an honorable mention All-American in 1999.
She also won two C-USA individual titles in 1998 and 1999. But this latest honor ranks up there with all her previous awards.
“This is a huge honor, definitely,” Buff said. “I am very thankful, and I am very happy to be selected to such a prestigious group. I know that there is such a small group that is picked, and I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
Olagues, a hard throwing right-hander and former team captain, starred for the Green Wave in 1965 and 1966.
Olagues, who was 12-8 with 264 strikeouts and a 1.97 earned-run average, averaged 14.03 strikeouts per nine innings on his way to becoming the first Green Wave player selected in the modern-day MLB draft.
Ramsey, who passed for more than 9,000 yards as a three-year starter from 1999-2001, left Tulane as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in school history, having thrown 72 touchdown passes, including at least one in a school-record 31 consecutive games.
Tulane lands football commitment
June 30, 2008
Tulane lands football commitment - Prep Sports - NOLA.com
Posted by The Times-Picayune June 27, 2008 2:12PM
Categories: RecruitingCody Ledford, a linebacker from North Florida Christian School in Tallahassee, has commited to Tulane.
Ledford, 6-0, 215, recorded 184 tackles last season, 30 for losses, seven sacks and two interceptions. He has run 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Speedy Receiver Commits to Wave
June 29, 2008
The trip to New Orleans became routine for the Van Hooser family. And Monday, that trek finally resulted in a new member of the Green Wave family.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Who should be No. 1?
June 27, 2008
Claude “Little Monk” Simons excelled all over the field for Tulane. Back in the 1930s, bowl game invitations weren’t exactly handed out like candy like they are today.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Greatest N.O. sports teams of all time: No. 5
June 26, 2008
Greatest N.O. sports teams of all time: No. 5 - David Gladow - New Orleans Sports
Posted by David Gladow, NOLA.com June 25, 2008 4:31PM
Categories: College Sports, Tulane5.) 1934 Tulane football (10-1) - won Sugar Bowl
Staff / Times-PicayuneClaude “Little Monk” Simons excelled all over the field for Tulane.Back in the 1930s, bowl game invitations weren’t exactly handed out like candy like they are today. Only a few games even existed, and the ones that did still hold a certain level of prestige today (Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Sun Bowl, etc.).
It was in that kind of environment that the 1934 Tulane Green Wave football team powered itself to a Sugar Bowl invitation — and an eventual win over Temple - in posting a 10-win season in the SEC.
That’s nothing to sneeze at. (Just ask LSU.)
A perfect 7-0 conference mark may have been one of the team’s most impressive feats (though that came courtesy of no match-up with co-champ Alabama), and the season really couldn’t be classified as a fluke either … Tulane was already in the habit of posting winning seasons.
From 1928 to 1939, the Green Wave posted winning seasons every year, receiving a bowl invitation four times (and accepting three) while reaching the 10-win mark twice. The 1934 team accomplished the most of the bunch, not only advancing to a major bowl game but winning it as well.
Still, what’s interesting about this team (and one of the things keeping it from being higher on the list), is its lack of true star power. Just one player on the roster was tabbed an All-American, but he was definitely a good one. Claude “Little Monk” Simons led the Green Wave in rushing, passing and scoring, all while playing well on defense and special teams.
Tulane Athletic CommunicationsThe legendary Claude Simons led the 1934 Greenies to a 10-1 season, an SEC Championship, and a victory in the inaugural Sugar Bowl.Simons’ scoring prowess kept Tulane in every game, and it all paid off in the program’s greatest accomplishment in its history: The 20-14 Sugar Bowl win over Temple.
A Sugar Bowl win is something no other New Orleans team has accomplished, making the 1934 Green Wave truly unique … and worthy of inclusion at No. 5 on our list.
Expert Takes:
Ted Lewis:Not only did the Green Wave play in and win the inaugural Sugar Bowl, defeating Temple 20-14, but also there was the added pleasure of beating LSU to get there.
Tulane was 8-1 and LSU 6-0-2 going into their season-ending game and a Sugar Bowl invite was going to the winner. A 50-yard punt return by Monk Simons in the waning minutes lifted the Wave to a 13-12 victory against the Tigers and into the Jan. 1, 1935, game against the Owls.
That game proved to be just as dramatic as the LSU game, as Tulane overcame a 14-0 deficit. Bucky Bryan’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Dick Hardy early in the fourth quarter provided the winning points.
Tulane’s payoff for winning the game in its own stadium was a No. 13 national ranking and $20,759.20.
Tulane gets first early commitment
June 25, 2008
Tulane gets first early commitment - Prep Sports - NOLA.com
Posted by The Times-Picayune June 25, 2008 10:16AMTulane has landed its first early football commitment with a pledge from wide receiver WilsonVan Hooser of Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery, Ala.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound wideout caught 43 passes last season for 749 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 17.4 yards per reception at the Class 3A school that was 8-4 in 4A in 2007. He was an All-Metro selection in Montgomery and was honorable mention All-State. He attended Tulane’s camp last week.
“What consistently stood out about Tulane was the academics,” said Van Hooser, who has a 3.15 grade-point average. “But everything was huge factor, including being in New Orleans. There is not a better city. I love the offense, the facilities, the staff and by doing this (commitment) early, I can focus on my senior season.”
Van Hooser previously visited summer camps at SMU, Southern Mississippi and Auburn. He has 4.48 speed for 40 yards.
“I got the offer I wanted, so why wait?” said Van Hooser, who also looks forward to indoor play at the Superdome. “I know next season I won’t have to worry about catching wet footballs at home games.”
Greatest N.O. sports teams of all time: No. 7
June 25, 2008
Greatest N.O. sports teams of all time: No. 7 - David Gladow - New Orleans Sports
Posted by David Gladow, NOLA.com June 24, 2008 4:04PM
Categories: College Sports, Tulane7.) 1998 Tulane football (12-0) - won Liberty Bowl
Staff / Times-PicayuneTulane QB Shaun King devastated defenses with his legs and his arm.Perfection.
Perfection isn’t something easily attained, yet the 1998 Tulane football team achieved just such a feat, running the table thanks to an inspired coaching staff and an elite college passer.
Tommy Bowden, the son of legendary coach Bobby Bowden, helped put Tulane football back on the map, thanks in large part to an offense that would take the nation by storm, the spread, and one of its earliest proponents, offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez.
The success of both men since (Bowden at Clemson, Rodriguez at West Virginia and now Michigan) hardly seems a coincidence: That Green Wave offense was impressively potent, and it became a model for countless teams since.
Of course it wasn’t all scheme. The team’s quarterback, Shaun King, put together one of the greatest individual seasons in Tulane and NCAA history, becoming the first player to reach 3,000 yards passing and 500 yards rushing in the same season … all while achieving the best quarterback rating in NCAA history: 183.3.
The fact that just one team, Louisville, came within even a touchdown of that Tulane team was both a blessing and a curse. For as dominant as the Green Wave was in ‘98, questions had to eventually rise about the difficulty of the team’s schedule (hence the BCS bowl snub at the end of the season).
Tulane Athletic CommunicationsAt the end of the day, it’s difficult to know just how good that team really was, as it never got the opportunity to prove itself against a so-called “elite” opponent. We can credit the team for taking care of its business in the Liberty Bowl against BYU to finish 12-0, but we can also wonder just how good that team was … and whether Tulane would have held up against a Tennessee or Ohio State.
That level of mystery keeps the Green Wave from grabbing the top spot on our list … but the team’s perfect season will always be one of the most impressive benchmarks reached in New Orleans sports history.
Expert Takes:
Trey Iles:Tulane football was never better than in 1998 when the Green Wave, behind Coach Tommy Bowden and quarterback Shaun King, finished 12-0 and ranked seventh in the nation in the final Associated Press poll. Not only was the season the pinnacle of Tulane football, a new offense was birthed by Bowden and then-offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez — the spread.
Tulane’s offense was the star of the 1998 show with King and Rodriguez driving the bus. King threw for 3,227 yards and 36 touchdowns and rushed for 549 yards and 10 touchdowns in 1998. He had a passing efficiency rating of 183.3, at the time, the best ever in NCAA history.
Tulane completed its season with a 41-27 victory against Brigham Young University in the Liberty Bowl. The one thing Tulane didn’t get, however, was a shot in the Bowl Championship Series or a chance to play eventual national champion Tennessee. But that didn’t bother Rodriguez, who was asked after the Liberty Bowl if he would have liked a shot at the Vols.
“No, not really,” Rodriguez said. “I’d like to finish undefeated.”