NEW ORLEANS – Just weeks after being voted into the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association (LBCA) Hall of Fame, former Tulane baseball head coach Rick Jones has been selected for induction into the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020.
It will be Jones’ eighth career Hall of Fame induction, as he has already been enshrined by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, LBCA, the American Baseball Coaches Association and Tulane Athletics. He was also induced by UNC Wilmington, Elon and Sand Hills Community College.
Jones, who is also a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame, was the head coach at Tulane for 21 seasons (1994-2014), leading the Green Wave baseball program to 12 NCAA appearances, three NCAA Super Regional appearances and to the College World Series twice. Jones became one of the most decorated collegiate baseball coaches in the sport as well as the winningest coach in Tulane history. In 21 years at Tulane, Jones compiled a record of 818-445-2.
A staple of Tulane athletics, Jones’ resume is filled with accomplishments during his time on the Uptown campus. In 2005, he was named the National Coach of the Year by Baseball America after leading the Green Wave to a 56-12 season that culminated with the program’s second appearance in the College World Series, arguably the best season ever by a Green Wave baseball squad.
He was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year on three different occasions (1997, 2001, and 2005) while also being named the Coach of the Decade in 2005. He is still the winningest coach in C-USA history. Ten of his Tulane teams posted 40 or more victories, and his squads averaged 40 wins a season during his 20 full years at the helm of the program.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 64th year in 2020. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.
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{Courtesy: Press release from Tulane Athletics}