University of North Carolina Athletics
Hoolahan Awarded Louisiana Sports Leadership Award
April 29, 2015 | Football
NATCHITOCHES – Paul Hoolahan (UNC '72), whose shrewd leadership over 19 years has helped keep the Allstate Sugar Bowl among college football's elite postseason contests, has been named the 2015 recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
A three-year (1968-70) football letterwinner and first-team offensive tackle (1970) at North Carolina, Hoolahan became the Sugar Bowl's executive director in 1996 and has added the role of Chief Executive Officer of the organization, which not only hosts at least one of college football's premiere games annually, but also stages a continuing series of events promoting high school and college sports around the state.
The Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award is presented annually by the LSWA's 35-member Hall of Fame selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level.
Dixon Award winners are enshrined as Hall of Fame members and are featured in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Natchitoches.
The award is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Dixon, the driving force behind bringing the NFL to Louisiana with the creation of the New Orleans Saints franchise. Dixon, who passed away in 2010, is also considered the “father” of the Mercedes-Benz Louisiana Superdome, developing the concept for the innovative domed structure and pushing state officials for its construction in the late 1960s.
Hoolahan will be among the 11-man 2015 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class to be spotlighted in the annual Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 27, at the Natchitoches Events Center. The Induction Dinner and Ceremonies are the culmination of the 2015 Induction Celebration beginning Thursday afternoon, June 25, with a press conference and the La Capitol Kickoff Reception.
LSU's all-time leading rusher, three-time Super Bowl champion Kevin Faulk, joins UL-Lafayette great and Super Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme, former NBA champion point guard and Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, along with coaching legends Pat Collins, Yvette Girouard and Otis Washington, among eight greats chosen for the 2015 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class. College Football Hall of Fame member Leonard Smith and championship Thoroughbred racing trainer Frank Brothers are also in the Class of 2015 announced by the Hall of Fame and LSWA last October.
Also honored with enshrinement will be south Louisiana newspapermen Glenn Quebedeaux and the late Bobby Dower, chosen the 2015 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
The 2015 Induction Class will be showcased in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system
