By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Sports Information Director
Centenary head football coach Byron Dawson is a 2025 nominee for Top Business Professional of the Year as part of the Minority Business Opportunity Awards, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce has announced.
Dawson and the other nominees will be recognized at the annual Minority Business Opportunity Awards Dinner on June 26 at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino.
The Centenary football program completed its historic 2024 season 4-6 overall and 4-4 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play as the sport returned to campus for the first time in over a half-century under the leadership of the Shreveport native Dawson.
Dawson is one of the most recognizable names in local football at any level. He put together an impressive high school career at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, where he was selected as the USA Today High School All American Defensive MVP for Louisiana, named Class 3A All-State and Defensive MVP, and helped lead Evangel to a 15-0 record in 1997, three state championships, and a No. 17 national ranking, among other accolades. Dawson was also the back to back state champion in the shot put his junior and senior year.
Dawson is a graduate of LSU where he was a four-year letterman on the Tigers’ defensive line, recording 86 tackles and four sacks while playing for Nick Saban, Pete Jenkins, Will Muschamp, Karl Dunbar, and Bo Davis. Dawson was part of LSU’s nationally-ranked defense during the 2001 season, during which the Tigers upset Tennessee to win the SEC championship and then defeated Illinois in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The Gents will open their season on Sept. 6 against Westgate Christian at Atkins Field and are scheduled to play nine regular-season games – five at home and four on the road. Centenary will play Millsaps on Sept. 13 in Jackson, Miss. and return home to face East Texas Baptist on Sept. 20. The Gents will have a bye week on Sept. 27 and then open conference play at Austin College on Oct. 4 in Sherman, Texas.
Centenary’s first league home game is Oct. 11 versus Texas Lutheran, on Oct. 18 the Gents are at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark., and they close the month of October at home versus McMurry for a conference contest on Oct. 25. Centenary will visit Hendrix on Nov. 1 in Conway, Ark. and are back home on Nov. 8 to face the ‘Roos of Austin College again to close the regular season.
ACADEMIC HONORS: The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference announced its Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll for the 2024-25 winter term and 16 Centenary student-athletes earned the honor among 352 student-athletes who made the list conference wide. The 352 honorees is the most during the winter season since 359 student-athletes earned recognition in 2019-20.
To qualify, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.25 for the term and be a regular member of a varsity athletic team in a sport sponsored by the conference.
Centenary’s honorees were Andre Kanu, Jalen Ned, and Kyron Williams of the Gents’ basketball team; women’s basketball players Alisha Green, Shyanne Phillips, Savannah Stowers, and Anaya Yunusah; men’s swimming and dive team members Bailey Allemeier, Jameson Feeney, Hunter Hedges, Daniel Lewis and Trey White; and Adriana de la Fuente, Isabela Vasquez, Ella Walton and Sydney Welch of the women’s team.
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu