Tulane Athletics Celebrates Its 2017 Hall of Fame Class This Weekend
Oct 5, 2017 | Baseball, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS – Legendary players, a legendary coach and a legendary team.
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All are set to be on hand this weekend as Tulane Athletics celebrates its history and honors its 2017 Hall of Fame Class.
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The impressive class of Green Wave legends is headlined by former baseball head coach Rick Jones, men's basketball standout Rayshard Allen, football standouts Michael Calamari and Dennis O'Sullivan, volleyball standout Sara Radosevic Vidic and the 1970 football team.
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Former baseball player Stephen Martin, Sr., the first African-American to compete in a varsity sport for any Southeastern Conference school, is this year's Billy Slatten Award recipient. Established in 2004 in honor of longtime athletics supporter William A. "Billy" Slatten, this award is given each year to and individual who has given extraordinary service, commitment and support to Tulane and its student-athletes.
The 2017 class will be celebrated with an induction ceremony Friday evening at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium and will be recognized on the field during Saturday's game against Tulsa.
Billy Slatten Award
Stephen Martin, Sr., Baseball, 1965-68
Martin was the first African-American to compete in a varsity sport for any Southeastern Conference school when he played in his first game at Tulane against Spring Hill College in the 1966 season opener. Tulane completed the 1966 campaign with a 17-7 overall record in the Green Wave's final year as an SEC member. He played in 61 career games and was a career .230 hitter with five home runs, 15 RBI and was a perfect 4-of-4 on stolen base attempts during his varsity career.
Attending Tulane on an academic scholarship, Martin earned his bachelor's degree in science and engineering from Tulane in 1968 and earned his master's in business administration from Tulane in 1973. In his professional career, he served in the United States Army and retired as the Chief Financial Officer for Tuskegee University in 2012. Martin passed away on May 14, 2013 at the age of 66. He was honored during the championship game at the 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala., for his place in SEC history.
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Rayshard Allen, Men's Basketball, 1994-98
Allen was a member of the Green Wave teams that reached the postseason all four years, including the 1995 NCAA Tournament. He ended his time wearing the Olive and Blue with 1,505 career points, the sixth most in school history and 761 career rebounds, the seventh most in school history. Allen posted 18 career double-doubles and was the first player in Tulane men's basketball history to achieve a triple-double. The Marrero, La., native completed his career with the highest field goal percentage in school history at 57.3 percent. He twice recorded top 10, single-season bests in field goal percentage – 61.0 percent (third highest) in 1994-95 and 57.5 percent (eighth highest) in 1996-97.
Rick Jones, Baseball Head Coach, 1994-2014
Jones led Tulane to 12 NCAA Regional appearances, three NCAA Super Regionals and two College World Series appearances (2001 and 2005) in 21 seasons as head coach. He compiled 814 wins, the most in program history. Jones guided the Green Wave to four Conference USA regular season championships (1997, 1998, 2001, 2005) and five Conference USA tournament titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005).
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His 2001 and 2005 Tulane squads each won a school-record 56 games. The 2001 team advanced to its first-ever College World Series appearances – the program's first-ever regional and Super Regional titles. The 2005 team entered the NCAA Tournament as the national No. 1 Seed and spent all but three weeks of the regular season atop at least one major poll.
Jones was honored 20 times as a Coach of the Year, including being named National Coach of the Year by Baseball America, Conference USA Coach of the Year and LSWA Coach of the Year in 2005. He coached 19 All-Americans, 89 all-conference performers, including 54 first-team all-conference selections. Seven players under his tutelage were named conference Player of the Year and three were honored as conference Pitcher of the Year.
Michael Calamari, Football, 1961-63
Calamari was a three-year letterman, who earned third-team All-SEC honors by United Press International and the Associated Press as a senior and team captain in 1963. He was chosen to play in the 1963 Blue-Gray All-Star game and 1964 North-South All-Star game following his senior year.
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Calamari became the first Tulane athlete to earn the Outstanding Amateur Athlete of the Year award for both the New Orleans Athletic Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Sports Committee. He sas been inducted in two halls of fame – Louisiana Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and Holy Cross High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Dennis O'Sullivan, Football, 1995-98
O'Sullivan was a four-year starter played in 43 games with 38 starts at defensive tackle where he posted 195 tackles (124 solo, 71 assists), 20 tackles for losses totaling 55 yards, 13 sacks for 88 yards lost, four fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, six pass break-ups and one interception. He completed his career ranked third in school history with 13.0 sacks and his sack total currently ranks tied for seventh in school history.
As a senior in 1998, O'Sullivan was named second-team All-Conference USA after leading all Tulane linemen with 53 tackles (37 solo, 16 assists) to go along with four sacks, five tackles for loss, four pass break-ups and an interception. He added a sack for a nine-yard loss in Tulane's 41-27 win over BYU in the Liberty Bowl to cap the Green Wave's 12-0 season. His 1998 undefeated Tulane team was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.Â
Following his college career, O'Sullivan signed as a free agent with the New York Jets and played in three games during the 2002 season.
Sara Radosevic Vidic, Volleyball, 2005-08
Vidic is the only four-time All-American (each honorable mention) in program history. She became the first player in program history to claim Conference USA Freshman of the Year (2005) and Player of the Year (2008) recognition. Vidic completed her career ranked first in school history in career service aces (197), kills per set (4.73) and total attacks (4,819) while ranking second in kills (1,925) and sixth in digs (1,135). She was just the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Vidic led Tulane to its first NCAA Tournament appearance as a senior, where the team won its opening round match against Tennessee Tech before falling to Western Michigan in the second round.
1970 Football Team
Arguably one of the best teams in Tulane football history, the 1970 team posted an 8-4 overall record and won the Liberty Bowl for the most wins since 1948 and only the second winning season for the program in 14 years.
Following a season-opening loss at Texas Tech, Tulane reeled off three-straight wins including an upset of No. 19 Georgia. The Green Wave then lost two of their next three at No. 8 Air Force in a blizzard and at Georgia Tech, sandwiching a win at home over North Carolina in between. Tulane followed that stretch with a three-game win streak to set up a showdown at home against arch-rival and No. 7 LSU.Â
Despite a hard-fought loss to LSU, the home crowd gave Tulane a standing ovation and the Liberty Bowl representatives in attendance were impressed enough to extend the Green Wave an invitation to play Colorado. It was the school's first bowl invite since the 1939 Sugar Bowl. Tulane stunned the college football world with a 17-3 win. The Green Wave limited the Buffaloes to only 175 offensive yards and ignited for two second-half touchdowns for one of the greatest wins in school history.
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All are set to be on hand this weekend as Tulane Athletics celebrates its history and honors its 2017 Hall of Fame Class.
Â
The impressive class of Green Wave legends is headlined by former baseball head coach Rick Jones, men's basketball standout Rayshard Allen, football standouts Michael Calamari and Dennis O'Sullivan, volleyball standout Sara Radosevic Vidic and the 1970 football team.
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Former baseball player Stephen Martin, Sr., the first African-American to compete in a varsity sport for any Southeastern Conference school, is this year's Billy Slatten Award recipient. Established in 2004 in honor of longtime athletics supporter William A. "Billy" Slatten, this award is given each year to and individual who has given extraordinary service, commitment and support to Tulane and its student-athletes.
The 2017 class will be celebrated with an induction ceremony Friday evening at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium and will be recognized on the field during Saturday's game against Tulsa.
Billy Slatten Award
Stephen Martin, Sr., Baseball, 1965-68
Martin was the first African-American to compete in a varsity sport for any Southeastern Conference school when he played in his first game at Tulane against Spring Hill College in the 1966 season opener. Tulane completed the 1966 campaign with a 17-7 overall record in the Green Wave's final year as an SEC member. He played in 61 career games and was a career .230 hitter with five home runs, 15 RBI and was a perfect 4-of-4 on stolen base attempts during his varsity career.
Attending Tulane on an academic scholarship, Martin earned his bachelor's degree in science and engineering from Tulane in 1968 and earned his master's in business administration from Tulane in 1973. In his professional career, he served in the United States Army and retired as the Chief Financial Officer for Tuskegee University in 2012. Martin passed away on May 14, 2013 at the age of 66. He was honored during the championship game at the 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala., for his place in SEC history.
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Rayshard Allen, Men's Basketball, 1994-98
Allen was a member of the Green Wave teams that reached the postseason all four years, including the 1995 NCAA Tournament. He ended his time wearing the Olive and Blue with 1,505 career points, the sixth most in school history and 761 career rebounds, the seventh most in school history. Allen posted 18 career double-doubles and was the first player in Tulane men's basketball history to achieve a triple-double. The Marrero, La., native completed his career with the highest field goal percentage in school history at 57.3 percent. He twice recorded top 10, single-season bests in field goal percentage – 61.0 percent (third highest) in 1994-95 and 57.5 percent (eighth highest) in 1996-97.
Rick Jones, Baseball Head Coach, 1994-2014
Jones led Tulane to 12 NCAA Regional appearances, three NCAA Super Regionals and two College World Series appearances (2001 and 2005) in 21 seasons as head coach. He compiled 814 wins, the most in program history. Jones guided the Green Wave to four Conference USA regular season championships (1997, 1998, 2001, 2005) and five Conference USA tournament titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005).
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His 2001 and 2005 Tulane squads each won a school-record 56 games. The 2001 team advanced to its first-ever College World Series appearances – the program's first-ever regional and Super Regional titles. The 2005 team entered the NCAA Tournament as the national No. 1 Seed and spent all but three weeks of the regular season atop at least one major poll.
Jones was honored 20 times as a Coach of the Year, including being named National Coach of the Year by Baseball America, Conference USA Coach of the Year and LSWA Coach of the Year in 2005. He coached 19 All-Americans, 89 all-conference performers, including 54 first-team all-conference selections. Seven players under his tutelage were named conference Player of the Year and three were honored as conference Pitcher of the Year.
Michael Calamari, Football, 1961-63
Calamari was a three-year letterman, who earned third-team All-SEC honors by United Press International and the Associated Press as a senior and team captain in 1963. He was chosen to play in the 1963 Blue-Gray All-Star game and 1964 North-South All-Star game following his senior year.
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Calamari became the first Tulane athlete to earn the Outstanding Amateur Athlete of the Year award for both the New Orleans Athletic Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Sports Committee. He sas been inducted in two halls of fame – Louisiana Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and Holy Cross High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Dennis O'Sullivan, Football, 1995-98
O'Sullivan was a four-year starter played in 43 games with 38 starts at defensive tackle where he posted 195 tackles (124 solo, 71 assists), 20 tackles for losses totaling 55 yards, 13 sacks for 88 yards lost, four fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, six pass break-ups and one interception. He completed his career ranked third in school history with 13.0 sacks and his sack total currently ranks tied for seventh in school history.
As a senior in 1998, O'Sullivan was named second-team All-Conference USA after leading all Tulane linemen with 53 tackles (37 solo, 16 assists) to go along with four sacks, five tackles for loss, four pass break-ups and an interception. He added a sack for a nine-yard loss in Tulane's 41-27 win over BYU in the Liberty Bowl to cap the Green Wave's 12-0 season. His 1998 undefeated Tulane team was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.Â
Following his college career, O'Sullivan signed as a free agent with the New York Jets and played in three games during the 2002 season.
Sara Radosevic Vidic, Volleyball, 2005-08
Vidic is the only four-time All-American (each honorable mention) in program history. She became the first player in program history to claim Conference USA Freshman of the Year (2005) and Player of the Year (2008) recognition. Vidic completed her career ranked first in school history in career service aces (197), kills per set (4.73) and total attacks (4,819) while ranking second in kills (1,925) and sixth in digs (1,135). She was just the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Vidic led Tulane to its first NCAA Tournament appearance as a senior, where the team won its opening round match against Tennessee Tech before falling to Western Michigan in the second round.
1970 Football Team
Arguably one of the best teams in Tulane football history, the 1970 team posted an 8-4 overall record and won the Liberty Bowl for the most wins since 1948 and only the second winning season for the program in 14 years.
Following a season-opening loss at Texas Tech, Tulane reeled off three-straight wins including an upset of No. 19 Georgia. The Green Wave then lost two of their next three at No. 8 Air Force in a blizzard and at Georgia Tech, sandwiching a win at home over North Carolina in between. Tulane followed that stretch with a three-game win streak to set up a showdown at home against arch-rival and No. 7 LSU.Â
Despite a hard-fought loss to LSU, the home crowd gave Tulane a standing ovation and the Liberty Bowl representatives in attendance were impressed enough to extend the Green Wave an invitation to play Colorado. It was the school's first bowl invite since the 1939 Sugar Bowl. Tulane stunned the college football world with a 17-3 win. The Green Wave limited the Buffaloes to only 175 offensive yards and ignited for two second-half touchdowns for one of the greatest wins in school history.
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Postgame: LB Dickson Agu - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
Postgame: QB Jake Retzlaff - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
Postgame: HC Jon Sumrall - 9/14/25
Sunday, September 14
Tulane Tuesday: HC Jon Sumrall - 9/9/25
Tuesday, September 09
