SLS 17RS-2170 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 151
BY SENATOR DONAHUE
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Barry Wilson, Athletic Director of Holy Cross School
of New Orleans, upon the occasion of his retirement.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Barry Wilson, Athletic Director of Holy Cross School of New Orleans, upon
3 the occasion of his retirement.
4 WHEREAS, Holy Cross School of New Orleans has been an integral part of Barry
5 Wilson's life, personally and professionally, and was and remains a primary influence in the
6 man he ultimately became; and
7 WHEREAS, Barry Wilson, while a student and athlete at Holy Cross School, was
8 a member of the basketball team, a two-time state wrestling champion, played center on the
9 football team, was a member of the school's 1963 state championship football team, and who
10 was named All-District, All-Catholic, All-State, and a high school All-American; and
11 WHEREAS, after graduating from Holy Cross in 1964, Barry enrolled in Louisiana
12 State University, where he was widely known for his exemplary performance and leadership
13 on the gridiron, playing center for Charlie Mac's Fighting Tigers; and
14 WHEREAS, Barry was a member of the LSU football teams that competed in the
15 1966 Cotton Bowl and the 1968 Sugar Bowl, served as team captain of the 1967 LSU
16 football team, and was named an All-SEC lineman, later serving as a student coach; and
17 WHEREAS, after earning a bachelor of science degree from LSU, Barry worked for
18 Coach Charles McClendon first as a graduate assistant in 1968 and then as an assistant coach
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SLS 17RS-2170 ORIGINAL
1 for the freshman team and the offensive line from 1969 to 1978; and
2 WHEREAS, Barry Wilson has devoted his life to football, first as a player at the high
3 school and collegiate levels, and then in the coaching profession for forty-six years,
4 thirty-two of those years at the college level, including LSU, Mississippi State University,
5 Oregon State University, the University of Wyoming, the University of Southwestern
6 Louisiana, and Arkansas State University; and
7 WHEREAS, there came a time in his professional career that Barry felt a pull to go
8 back to the high school level, heard a call to help form young student athletes, and responded
9 to an offer to return home to Holy Cross in 2002, where he served as head football coach for
10 twelve years; and
11 WHEREAS, the hallmark of Barry Wilson's Holy Cross coaching career is not
12 measured by the statistics of the games played or titles won, but in realizing that the key to
13 rebuilding his high school alma mater following the school's physical devastation and
14 temporary relocation to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina lay in resurrecting the football
15 team and reviving the school's spirit; and
16 WHEREAS, while Coach Wilson ALWAYS played to win, exhorting his players to
17 "play hard, play tough, and keep it fair", he was ever cognizant of the over-arching purpose
18 of athletics – to mold young people into disciplined, responsible adults prepared to commit
19 to family, community, and faith; and
20 WHEREAS, in 2014, Coach Wilson decided it was time to yield to the next
21 generation of coaches and became director of athletics at his beloved Holy Cross School; and
22 WHEREAS, Barry Wilson has clearly lived a life that proves him to be a true Holy
23 Cross Man, as he exemplifies these words from the Holy Cross Man School Code, ". . . he
24 is a man of faith and honesty, of strength of character through self-mastery, of respect for
25 the Christian family and lawful authority, of leadership in the pursuit of the true, the good,
26 and the beautiful . . .".
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby most highly and sincerely commend Barry Wilson, Athletic Director of Holy
29 Cross School of New Orleans, upon the occasion of his retirement.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
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SLS 17RS-2170 ORIGINAL
1 Mr. Barry Wilson.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jeanne C. Johnston.
DIGEST
SR 151 Original 2017 Regular Session Donahue
Commends Barry Wilson, Athletic Director of Holy Cross School of New Orleans, upon the
occasion of his retirement.
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