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