SLS 23RS-137 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 13
BY SENATOR BERNARD
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Coach Paul Mainieri on being inducted into the 2023
class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Coach Paul Mainieri on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana
3 Sports Hall of Fame.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana, each year
5 collaborates with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in selecting a limited number of
6 sports figures who embody the character, skill, and talent worthy of being named to the Hall
7 of Fame; and
8 WHEREAS, the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class includes Coach
9 Paul Mainieri; and
10 WHEREAS, Paul Mainieri was born August 29, 1957, in Morgantown, West
11 Virginia to Demie and Rosetta Mainieri; and
12 WHEREAS, as the son of a Baseball Hall of Fame coach, Coach Mainieri grew up
13 around the game of baseball and had the good fortune to be exposed to several outstanding
14 coaches in his formative years; and
15 WHEREAS, a four-year letter winner in college, Paul Mainieri played one season
16 at Louisiana State University (LSU), one season at Miami-Dade College playing for his
17 father, Coach Demie "Doc" Mainieri, and two seasons at the University of New Orleans
18 (UNO); and
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SLS 23RS-137 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, as the second baseman with the UNO Privateers, he helped the team win
2 two Sun Belt Conference titles and advance to the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic
3 Association (NCAA) tournament; and
4 WHEREAS, after completing his undergraduate degree requirements at Florida
5 International University in 1980, Paul Mainieri played two minor league seasons with the
6 Chicago White Sox organization before earning a master's degree in sports administration
7 from St. Thomas University in 1982; and
8 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri's career began at his alma mater, Columbus High
9 School in Miami, Florida, where he served as an assistant baseball and football coach for
10 three years; and
11 WHEREAS, in 1983, Coach Mainieri took over the St. Thomas University baseball
12 program that had yet to post a winning season; and
13 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri coached six seasons at St. Thomas University where
14 his St. Thomas teams averaged 30 wins per season and ended four seasons ranked in the
15 final NCAA Division II poll; and
16 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri was named the 1984 Sunshine State Conference Coach
17 of the Year and spent the final three years of his time at St. Thomas as director of athletics;
18 and
19 WHEREAS, in 1989, Coach Mainieri became the first civilian baseball coach at the
20 United States Air Force Academy (Air Force) and he is the only Air Force baseball coach
21 to post six straight 20-win seasons, averaging 26 wins in six seasons from 1989 to 1994; and
22 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri guided his 1993 team to its first winning season in
23 nearly a decade (28-22), with a school record of 21 wins at home, and the 1994 squad led
24 the nation in hitting (.360), slugging (.623), and triples (0.76 per game); and
25 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri's next coaching opportunity was at the University of
26 Notre Dame where he spent 12 seasons as the head coach from 1995 to 2006, compiling a
27 record of 533-213-3, and 23 post season tournament appearances including 12 conference
28 tournaments, 9 NCAA Regional series, one NCAA Super Regional series, and an appearance
29 in the 2002 NCAA College World Series; and
30 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri was named the 2000 College Baseball Insider National
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1 Coach of the Year, the 2001 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, and the American Baseball
2 Coaches Association Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 2001, 2002, and 2006; and
3 WHEREAS, it was Coach Paul Mainieri's goal to finish his collegiate baseball career
4 in the same place it began 45 years earlier and, in 2007, he became the head baseball coach
5 at LSU; and
6 WHEREAS, spanning 15 seasons at LSU, Coach Mainieri's baseball teams
7 experienced tremendous success winning the 2009 NCAA National Championship, nine
8 NCAA Regional championships, five NCAA Super Regional championships, four
9 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, six SEC Tournament titles, and six SEC
10 Western Division Crowns; and
11 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri is a four-time National Coach of the Year (2000, 2008,
12 2009, 2015), a two-time SEC Coach of the Year (2009, 2015), and the 2018 United States
13 Collegiate National Team Head Coach; and
14 WHEREAS, Coach Mainieri completed his career No. 1 on the all-time wins list for
15 active NCAA coaches, No. 7 in all-time NCAA Division I Baseball wins, and one of only
16 five Division I coaches in NCAA history to have won more than 1,500 games and a national
17 championship; and
18 WHEREAS, Coach Paul Mainieri has been honored for his tremendous success
19 throughout his career including St. Thomas University naming its baseball field the "Paul
20 Demie Mainieri Field", and joining his father as an inductee into the American Baseball
21 Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame, and becoming the only father-son combination
22 in the ABCA Hall of Fame.
23 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
24 does hereby commend Coach Paul Mainieri on being inducted into the 2023 class of the
25 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
27 Coach Paul Mainieri.
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SLS 23RS-137 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 13 Original 2023 Regular Session Bernard
Commends Coach Paul Mainieri on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame.
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