SLS 182ES-9 ORIGINAL
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 11
BY SENATOR LONG
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Jerry Simmons on being named to the Louisiana Sports
Hall of Fame.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend Jerry Simmons on being named to the 2018 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
3 Induction Class.
4 WHEREAS, it is with great pride that the citizens and Legislature of Louisiana have
5 learned of the prestigious honor bestowed upon Jerry Simmons on his induction in the
6 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame; and
7 WHEREAS, the inductees are chosen after extensive deliberations by an expert panel
8 of Louisiana Sports Writers' Association members from across the state who annually
9 consider more than one hundred nominees for this honor; and
10 WHEREAS, Jerry Simmons began his epochal coaching tenure in San Antonio,
11 Texas, at Longfellow High School where he served as head football and basketball coach
12 and then at MacArthur High School where he took over the reigns as head tennis coach; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1971, Coach Simmons became the men's tennis head coach at the
14 University of Louisiana at Lafayette and at the time was the youngest head coach in the
15 country at the age of twenty-four; and
16 WHEREAS, Coach Simmons built the Ragin' Cajun men's tennis team from scratch
17 to a number fourteen national ranking in 1982 and compiled a record of two hundred
18 fourteen wins, ninety-two losses, and two ties over eleven years; and
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SLS 182ES-9 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, Coach Simmons then became head coach of the LSU men's tennis team
2 where he has the greatest number of victories in LSU history and the second highest number
3 of wins for tennis coaches in modern day SEC history; and
4 WHEREAS, under his leadership, the Tigers played in thirteen NCAA Tournaments
5 in fifteen years, including the 1988 final; and
6 WHEREAS, Coach Simmons compiled an impressive record of two hundred
7 seventy-eight wins with only one hundred five losses, and his teams have ranked in the top
8 twelve nationally thirteen times; and
9 WHEREAS, Coach Simmons has received many deserved accolades and honors
10 including being named Southland Conference Coach of the year in 1977, 1978, and 1979,
11 Louisiana Coach of the Year eight times from 1987 to 1996, and National Coach of the Year
12 in 1988; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1998, Jerry Simmons was the youngest coach ever inducted to the
14 ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, the achievements and stellar career of Jerry Simmons have earned him
17 a place among the many greats in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
19 commend Jerry Simmons on his impressive and successful coaching career and on being
20 named as a 2018 inductee to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
22 Jerry Simmons.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michelle Ridge.
DIGEST
SCR 11 Original 2018 Second Extraordinary Session Long
Commends Jerry Simmons on being named as a 2018 inductee to the Louisiana Sports Hall
of Fame.
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