Six To Be Inducted Into Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame
 |  Alicia Robertson is the first volleyball player elected to the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame. She and her 2003 Hall of Fame classmates will be inducted during Homecoming Weekend in October. |
July 17, 2003
NEW ORLEANS - Five standout Green Wave student-athletes, including women's basketball duo Carmen Jones and Keisha Johnson and volleyball great Alicia Robertson, plus legendary administrator M.L. Lagarde, make up the 2003 class of the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame, Wave athletic director Rick Dickson announced Thursday. The six individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during 2003 Homecoming Weekend festivities October 11th in New Orleans.
The six inductees include the largest number of women student-athletes - three - ever inducted in one class in Johnson, Jones and Robertson. They are joined by All-American baseball pitcher Jason Navarro and football All-SEC honoree Ernest Colquette along with Lagarde.
A native New Orleanian, Jones was a four-year letterwinner at guard for the Green Wave women's basketball squad from 1986-90 and was a first-team All-Metro Conference selection in 1989. She still holds the Tulane records for career steals, and for single-season scoring average, field goals and steals. Her 43 points versus Alabama in 1990 are a single game record.
Jones was followed at Tulane by Johnson, a forward from Morgan City, La. who was a two-time first-team All-Metro Conference selection while playing for the Wave between 1990-94. Johnson still holds the Tulane career marks for rebounds and rebound average and is the only Tulane women's player to have 1,000 career points and rebounds. She was a key member of the first women's basketball team in Tulane history to advance to the postseason when the Green Wave was invited to the National Women's Invitational Tournament in 1993.
At the same time Johnson was making a name for herself on the basketball court, Alicia Robertson was becoming the most honored player in Tulane volleyball history. The Baton Rouge native was a four-time first-team All-Metro Conference and four-time first-team All-Louisiana selection. She is the only Tulane player to earn All-South Region recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches' Association which she did in 1992 and 1994. Robertson still owns Tulane's career records for kills, attacks, hitting percentage and blocks.
West Monroe pitcher Jason Navarro starred for the Green Wave from 1995-97, earning first-team All-America honors his senior year while picking up second team recognition in 1996. He was a two-time All-Conference USA choice and helped the Green Wave to a pair of C-USA championships, in 1996 and 1997. He completed a perfect 11-0 season in 1996 with a victory over UNLV in the NCAA Regional to earn All-Regional Tournament honors. His career record of 23-2 is tops all-time in winning percentage at Tulane.
Offensive tackle Ernest Colquette hails from a different era of Tulane Athletics as the native of DeRidder played for the Green Wave football squad from 1960-62, serving as the team captain his senior season. He was twice named third-team All-SEC despite playing on a Tulane team that struggled for wins and recognition.
M.L. Lagarde has been associated with Tulane since 1946 when he earned a letter as a member of the Green Wave's outstanding tennis teams of the day. A legend in New Orleans, Lagarde returned to Tulane in 1974 as the sports information director and has remained at the school in various roles for the last 29 years. Currently a special assistant to the athletic director, Lagarde has been honored by the Louisiana Sports Writer's Association and by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Lagarde and his fellow inductees will be introduced Friday night, Oct. 10th, during the Tulane Athletics' "Helluva Hullabaloo," while the Hall of Fame Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 11th will honor their accomplishments. Class members will also be invited to ride in the Homecoming Parade and will be honored on the field during the Tulane-Houston Homecoming game which kicks off at 1:30 p.m. at Tad Gormley Stadium.
The Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1977. This year's inductees were chosen by the Hall of Fame Committee, made up of members of the University's letterwinners' organization (the T-Club), alumni, faculty, local media, current coaches, student-athletes and athletics staff.
Tickets to the 2003 Homecoming game, as well as season tickets and all other 2003 contests, are available by calling the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE. Further information on the Hall of Fame Breakfast and other Homecoming activities will be made available in the coming weeks.
-- THINK GREEN! --
