NEW ORLEANS – Former LSU softball coach and NFCA Hall of Famer Yvette Girouard along with former LSU pitcher and current San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson are two of the eight honorees to earn an annual award Wednesday as announced the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.
Girouard will be recognized as Louisiana’s Most Outstanding College Coach at a banquet on Saturday, July 23 held inside the Louisiana Superdome. The Allstate Sugar Bowl and Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame based their award selections on the achievements for the 2010-11 academic year which runs from July-June.
Last month, Girouard was honored with a resolution by the Louisiana State Legislature for her “extraordinary coaching career” which produced 1,285 career wins, second-most in NCAA history. Girouard paced LSU to a .754 winning percentage, sixth-highest nationally, during her 11 seasons with the Tigers sparked by trips to the 2001 and 2004 Women’s College World Series. She also guided LSU to nine 40-win seasons and garnered her 14th Louisiana Coach of the Year selection in addition to securing SEC Co-Coach of the Year during the 2011 campaign.
Wilson, who compiled an 18-10 mark at LSU from 2001-03, picked up the Louisiana’s Most Outstanding Professional Athlete. He became the most recognizable face for the Giants as his intimidating black beard and his over-powering arm led to his appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated after throwing the final pitch in the Giants’ first World Series triumph since they moved to California.
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Annual Award Winners:
Yvette Girouard, LSU Softball – Outstanding College Coach, State of Louisiana
Ron Washington, Texas Rangers – Outstanding Professional Coach, State of Louisiana
Rod Cusachs, Archbishop Rummel Wrestling – Outstanding Prep Coach, State of Louisiana
Ryan Brock, Loyola Basketball – Outstanding Male Amateur, Greater New Orleans
Maribel Lopez-Porras, Tulane Golf – Outstanding Female Amateur, Greater New Orleans
Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers – Outstanding Professional, Greater New Orleans
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants – Outstanding Professional, State of Louisiana
Archbishop Hannan Softball – Outstanding Team, State of Louisiana
About the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Selection Committee: The committee is made up of local media members, honors athletes in a wide-range of categories. Following Wednesday’s release of its annual award winners, Thursday will see the announcement of the James J. Corbett Award winners and a pair of Special Award winners, and on Friday, the organization will announce its 2011 inductees for the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Eddie Robinson Award honoree. The Corbett Award has honored the top amateur athlete in the state of Louisiana each year since 1967 (since 2000, a male and a female Corbett Award has been distributed). The Robinson Award was instituted two years ago to honor the legendary football coach from Grambling State University; it recognizes an individual who demonstrates the qualities most closely associated with Coach Robinson: outstanding achievement in athletics, academics, sportsmanship and citizenship by maximizing the use of limited resources.