The 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class will be celebrated June 26-28 in Natchitoches, Opportunities to purchase admission for the four ticketed events are available at the LaSportsHall.com website through the www.LaSportsHall.com/Induction25 link.
Among the inductees is George “Bobby” Soileau, who won four high school boxing state crowns, beginning with his eighth-grade year, and captured the 125-pound NCAA title in 1956 in the heyday of the sport at the state and collegiate levels. He won 159 games in 30 seasons as football coach at Sacred Heart, including a 1967 state championship, and is a 1988 Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee and an inaugural Louisiana High School Boxing Hall of fame inductee.
The 2025 Induction Class will be showcased in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum. The facility is operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and has garnered worldwide architectural acclaim and rave reviews for its contents since its grand opening during the 2013 Hall of Fame induction weekend.
The nine new competitive ballot inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 395 athletes and coaches honored since the first induction class — Baseball Hall of Famer Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley — was enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.
The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame already includes 25 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, 18 Olympic medalists (including 11 gold-medal winners), 14 members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, seven of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players, seven National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 45 College Football Hall of Fame members, 10 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, 10 Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, nine National High School Hall of Fame members, nine College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, five National Museum of (Thoroughbred) Racing and Hall of Fame inductees. The LSHOF showcases jockeys with a combined 16 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, four NBA Finals MVPs, four winners of major professional golf championships, and three Super Bowl MVPs.
Biographical information on all current Hall of Fame members is available at the LaSportsHall.com website, and a steady stream of info is available at the @LaSportsHall X (formerly Twitter) account.
The 2025 Induction Celebration will kick off with a press conference and reception. The three-day festivities include two receptions, a free youth sports clinic, a bowling party, and a free riverbank concert in Natchitoches. Tickets for induction events, along with congratulatory advertising and sponsorship opportunities, are available through the LaSportsHall.com website.
The 2025 Induction Celebration will be hosted by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, the support organization for the Hall of Fame. The LSHOF Foundation was established as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit entity in 1975 and is governed by a statewide board of directors.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Foundation President/CEO Ronnie Rantz at 225-802-6040 or RonnieRantz@LaSportsHall.com, or Greg Burke, the Foundation’s Director of Business Development and Public Relations, at 318-663-5459 or GregBurke@LaSportsHall.com. Standard and customized sponsorships are available.
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