By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES – The lens through which much of the nation views Louisiana was on full display Saturday night inside the Natchitoches Events Center as the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame welcomed in its 12-person class of 2025.
“A lot of people look at this state through the athletic programs at LSU,” said seven-time national champion college football coach Nick Saban, whose first title came in 2003 at the helm of the Tiger program. “When we were there, we raised the bar and the standard.”
The standard raising and bearing celebrated Saturday night did not begin and end with Saban nor did it end with on-field or competitive accomplishments.
Joining Saban in the induction class was one of his first recruits – West Monroe offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth. Whitworth followed his two national prep titles and three state crowns with a 2003 national championship at LSU and a four-time Pro Bowl, 16-season NFL career that culminated in a Super Bowl victory that came three days after he took home the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.
Saban lauded Whitworth as epitomizing what the coach wanted his players to become in their post-collegiate career.
Whitworth attributed that to his home state’s culture and what it instilled in him during his formative years in northeast Louisiana.
“Culture is shared belief and values,” he said. “When you have that, it makes it special. I always want to make things better than I found them, and I have been given the blessings and ability to do that. Anything I’m a part of, it will be better because I’m there. The people I do it with are what matters most. That’s our way of life.
“When I think of being at West Monroe, I think about my parents and my teammates’ parents. When we were really successful, they were feeding the whole team and the coaches are pouring into us. At LSU, it was the same thing. You’re just further away from home, but it was a new home. Moms were having us over to eat. Dads were taking us to lunch, asking us what we wanted to do after LSU. It was a support system. Once you get to the league, you have to be the support system. Could I share the values I learned from Louisiana? Making others feel valued. Can you spread that love? Making everyone feel special and feel a part of something sets you up to be successful. That’s our way of life in Louisiana.”
Being that support system for others came naturally to Whitworth and was on display long before his 16-year NFL career that saw him help redefine the legacy of left tackles at football highest level.
“He always poured into other guys,” West Monroe strength and conditioning coach Kirk Frantom said. “Whit was always in tune with his body and always wanted to perform at his highest level, but it wasn’t just the competitiveness. It was the servant’s heart he has.”
Whitworth’s legacy extended to his final NFL stop, winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, a franchise that allowed him to lead almost in lock step with head coach Sean McVay. Whitworth’s relationship with McVay has been well documented, and the two remain close after Whitworth’s retirement from the game.
“Whit always said this is a blessing, not a burden, and that’s the approach he took every day,” McVay said. “He’s the only person to wear the Walter Payton Man of the Year patch and go out and win a Super Bowl to go out. He is the epitome of a special one and of a Hall of Famer.”
While at LSU, Whitworth shared campus with another transformative force – one that came in a much smaller package than his hulking, 6-foot-8, 330-pound frame.
For the second straight year, the Hall opened its doors to a female LSU student-athlete who changed the trajectory of program in Baton Rouge. One year after women’s basketball’s Seimone Augustus walked into the Hall, 14-time All-American gymnast April Burkholder gained entry into the state’s sports shrine.
Just as Augustus did, Burkholder’s presence turned the Pete Maravich Assembly Center into the place to be when LSU competed.
“It was the same time that LSU women’s basketball landed Seimone,” said Hall of Fame coach D-D Breaux, who coached Burkholder throughout her LSU career. “There was so much gain and so much reward with April. She brought a real professional, polished look, a style and a self-confidence in the kind of gymnastics she wanted to do. The program continued to grow. The crowds continued to grow. She was the start of that.”
The All-American honors and the 2006 NCAA beam championship almost never happened. Burkholder faced injuries that threatened her career starting at age 2 with a concussion and a fractured skull.
There were two compound fractures and three surgeries on one of her arms. Amputation of that arm nearly happened.
Yet, Burkholder pushed through and became the standard bearer for an ascendant program that reached a national championship peak in 2024.
“My parents said at one point, ‘We’re OK if you don’t want to do gymnastics again,’” Burkholder said. “I said, ‘What would it all be worth? What would it be for?’ That’s what makes it all worth it. Grit, perseverance, it teaches you throughout your entire life. It teaches you life skills you use forever.”
In five seasons, Saban took a 3-8 team and turned it into a national championship, securing LSU’s first national crown in 45 years in 2003.
His first recruiting class included Whitworth with whom he shared induction Saturday. The pair was instrumental in helping broaden the horizons and setting new standards at LSU.
“You can’t recruit the type of players he did without the ability to connect,” said former LSU and Dallas Cowboy standout Marcus Spears. “Moving from tight end to defensive end was difficult at 17, 18 years of age. I trusted him blindly and he turned out to be right. There are hundreds of those stories. He has had consistency in his work and elevated people.”
Saban elevated the LSU program to that 2003 national champion, which he said gave him the best feeling in his professional life to that point.
What has transpired in the 21 seasons since also has made Saban flush with Bayou State pride even as he stood across the gridiron from the purple-and-gold clad Tigers.
“I’m proud of the fact that we contributed to the iconic brand LSU has and the state of Louisiana has,” he said. ‘All of us, when we get rid of the self-imposed limitations and accomplish something of significance, it establishes a new horizon. The next time you accomplish it, it’s a new horizon. Then, it becomes the standard, the example for other people. Transformational leadership helps other people reach those horizons as well. I’m really, really proud every time I see LSU. It was a great rivalry (with Alabama), but I’m always proud because we did something to raise the bar and the program has been outstanding ever since.”
Contact Jason at pughj@nsula.edu