Twenty-six awards to be presented Saturday at Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Banquet

Allstate Sugar Bowl to Sponsor Annual Awards Banquet in the Superdome on Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will feature the presentation of 26 awards, include four inductees into the Hall of Fame and the male and female Corbett Award winners as the top amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana. The sold-out event will be held Saturday, August 4, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Corbett Awards

Male: Armand Duplantis (Lafayette High School Track & Field)

Female: Aleia Hobbs (LSU Track & Field)

Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Tom Benson (Team owner; New Orleans Saints/New Orleans Pelicans, 1985-2018)

A.J. Duhe (Football; Leon Godchaux H.S./LSU/NFL, 1970-1984)

John Fourcade (Football; Archbishop Shaw/Ole Miss/New Orleans Saints, 1974-1990)

Ervin Johnson (Basketball; UNO/NBA, 1989-2006)

Eddie Robinson Award

St. Katharine Drexel Athletics Department

Jimmy Collins Awards

Joe Este (Bonnabel High School)

Brittany Grunberg (50 Legs Foundation)

Annual Award Winners

Outstanding Girls’ Prep Coach, New Orleans: Danny Tullis (Pope John Paul II Volleyball)

Outstanding Boys’ Prep Coach, New Orleans: Jeff Curtis (John Curtis Baseball)

Outstanding Female Amateur, New Orleans: Aleia Hobbs (LSU Track & Field)

Outstanding Male Amateur, New Orleans: Pooka Williams (Hahnville Football)

Outstanding Boys’ Prep Team, New Orleans: John Curtis Baseball

Outstanding Girls’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Pope John Paul II Volleyball

Outstanding College Coach, Louisiana: Tim Rebowe (Nicholls State Football)

Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month

June, 2017: Jared Poché (LSU Baseball)

July, 2017: Cyle Clayton (Pedal Valves Cardinals Baseball)

August, 2017: Christopher Turpin (New Orleans Boosters Baseball)

September, 2017: Julien Gums (De La Salle Football)

October, 2017: Devin Brumfield (Covington Football)

November, 2017: Pooka Williams (Hahnville Football)

December, 2017: Alexis Lavarine (Boxing)

January, 2018: Randi Brown (UNO Basketball) & Jared Butler (Riverside Basketball)

February, 2018: Kourtney Weber (Ursuline Basketball)

March, 2018: Mariia Borodii (Xavier University Tennis)

April, 2017: Erin Burkart (Academy of Our Lady Bowling)

May, 2017: Aleia Hobbs (LSU Track & Field)

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 62nd year in 2018. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 93 Hall of Fame players, 49 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 84-year history. The 85th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, featuring top teams from the Big 12 and the SEC, will be played on January 1, 2019. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors nearly 100,000 student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.