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Regular Session, 2013
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 89
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
A RESOLUTION
To commend Mike McConathy for his outstanding accomplishments as head coach of the
Northwestern State University basketball team and to commend him on another
historic season of Demon basketball.
WHEREAS, Mike McConathy has engineered many of the greatest accomplishments
in the Demon basketball program's one hundred year history, and it is appropriate to
commend and celebrate this beloved and legendary basketball coach who is a widely
respected and admired citizen of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Mike McConathy was chosen for the 1970s All-Decade Team for his
outstanding play as a guard at Louisiana Tech and received 1975-76 Southland Player of the
Year honors as the Bulldogs won the conference title; and
WHEREAS, the 2012-2013 season was one of the Demons' best in school history,
the team finished with a 23-9 overall record and ranked among the nation's top one hundred
teams in eleven NCAA statistical categories, including finishing second nationally in scoring
and sixth in steals per game; and
WHEREAS, during the 2012-2013 season, Coach McConathy became the winningest
men's college basketball coach in Louisiana history with a combined three hundred fifty-two
career victories at Bossier Parish Community College and Northwestern State University;
and
WHEREAS, in tribute to Coach McConathy's outstanding accomplishments, a
banner has been hung in Prather Coliseum to honor his legacy, and the banner hangs near
the No. 14 banner commemorating the number retired to honor his father, John McConathy,
who is one of the Demons' all-time greatest players; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 89
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WHEREAS, this past season also saw the Demons record a twenty-plus win season
for the third time under Coach McConathy, and it was the tenth twenty-win season in school
history and the third in NSU's Division I history; and
WHEREAS, the 2012-2013 season also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the creation
of the Southland Conference and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the NCAA Tournament,
and it was the one hundredth year of Demon basketball, which was commemorated by a
Centennial Celebration at Northwestern on March 9, 2013; and
WHEREAS, throughout the fourteen seasons that Coach McConathy has been at
Northwestern, he has increased the number of players recruited from Louisiana from twenty-
three percent of the roster in the 1999 season to an all-time high of eighty-six percent in
2010; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Coach McConathy, the Demons have recorded
two wins in the NCAA Tournament, over Winthrop in 2001 and over Iowa in 2006; three
Southland Conference Tournament Championships; seven appearances in the Southland
Conference Tournament championship game; three twenty-win seasons in the last nine
years; and two hundred twenty-three wins overall; and
WHEREAS, those who have worked closely with Coach McConathy throughout his
exemplary career respect and admire him for the indelible mark he has made on the
Northwestern State University basketball program and for the legacy of excellence he
continues to uphold; and
WHEREAS, Coach McConathy has been a mentor to countless players over the
years, has given guidance to them both on and off the court, and challenges them to succeed
not only as athletes but as well-rounded human beings; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting to recognize Coach McConathy for his outstanding
achievements, dedication, and contributions during his tenure at Northwestern State
University, to express enduring gratitude for his monumental achievements during a truly
transformative period in the history of the basketball program, and to extend appreciation
for the tremendous pride and honor that he will forever bring to Northwestern State
University and the state of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate that special acknowledgment be extended in celebration
of Coach McConathy, a distinguished gentleman who will forever be an inspiration to the ENROLLEDHR NO. 89
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countless students, athletes, colleagues, friends, relatives, and citizens whose lives he has
touched.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby acknowledge and record for posterity the extraordinary
accomplishments and singular contributions of Mike McConathy, head basketball coach at
Northwestern State University, does hereby commend and congratulate him for his success
and triumph in coaching the great sport of basketball, does hereby commemorate his
distinction as the winningest men's college basketball coach in Louisiana history, does
hereby recognize and record for posterity his outstanding accomplishments and his
incredible legacy of excellence, does hereby express enduring gratitude for the pride and
honor he brings to Northwestern State University and to the state of Louisiana, and does
extend to him every good wish for continued success and happiness at the helm of Demon
basketball.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Mike McConathy, head coach of the Northwestern State men's basketball program.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES