2020-2021 TULANE GREEN WAVE ATHLETICS
ANNUAL REPORT
The 2020-21 academic year will certainly be remembered for the pandemic which shut down all intercollegiate athletics on Friday, March 13. But the lasting legacy of the year is how our Tulane athletics community came together to successfully navigate unprecedented times. This document summarizes the 2020-21 academic year and the transformational growth of the Green Wave from an academics, competitive, social and fiscal standpoint. Despite all of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, our student-athletes, coaches and staff focused on our departmental goal of setting a standard of excellence that others should aspire to achieve. Just one sport, football, competed in the fall, and compete they did. We played 11 of our 12 scheduled games, losing just a single non-conference game that was related to the national reshuffling of scheduling amidst the pandemic rather than specific Covid-related game issues. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl marked our third consecutive Bowl game, a first in 127 years of Tulane football history. We also earned our first win over a top 25 program in over 30 years and 2021 marked our fifth consecutive year with at least one player drafted. Sixteen of our 17 teams participated in the spring. Despite being down 18 of our 65 administrative positions, our staff did a remarkable job supporting full, simultaneous competition. Our student-athletes complied with every protocol the institution, the NCAA or health officials threw at them and managed a record level of GPA success. In addition, they led all Division I schools in community service hours. Competitively, sailing led the way with a National Runner-Up finish at the ICSA Women’s Championship in just year four of our varsity program. Less than 18 inches separated us from winning the national championship. Men’s tennis advanced to the NCAA Tournament while women’s basketball and volleyball were both bubble teams and received at-large consideration for NCAA berths. Women’s tennis ranked No. 6 in the region, bowling was a top 20 program throughout the season and men’s basketball’s RPI was the third highest since the year 2000 with a roster predominantly consisting of freshmen and sophomores. Finally in the spring, our baseball team appeared in the Top 25 and earned a second-place finish in the AAC for just the second time since joining the league. In addition, we celebrated two freshmen All-Americans and one All-American. When athletics shut down we told our student-athletes, coaches, staff and our supporters that our goal was to come out of the pandemic running. As we head into the start of the 2021-22 athletics campaign, I have the utmost confidence that we are running forward at full speed, as was our goal. Please know how your support drives and empowers us. Your passion further ignites our passion. Together, we have become a formidable force in the American Athletic Conference. Formidable, however, is not the end game. Formidable is just a spot on the paradigm of competitiveness right after “close” just before “expect.” Our pursuit today is in expectation of success in all endeavors. It is now we roll, Wave.
Troy Dannen Director of Athletics
12 ALL-AMERICANS
7
2 NFL 5 MLB
DRAFT PICKS
BY THE NUMBERS
5
POSTSEASON APPEARANCES
3
1
NO. 1 IN COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
34
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
IN THE CLASSROOM
BY THE NUMBERS
3.261 TULANE ATHLETICS DEPARTMENTAL GPA
238
STUDENT-ATHLETES WHO POSTED A GPA OVER 3.0 IN THE FALL SEMESTER TULANE’S GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE was
five percentage points above the national average. Tulane’s overall GSR was the highest in the state of Louisiana and ranked second in the American Athletic Conference.
239
STUDENT-ATHLETES WHO POSTED A GPA OVER 3.0 IN THE SPRING SEMESTER
NO. 1 IN THE COMMUNITY During the 2020-21 academic year, Tulane Green Wave student-athletes completed over 6,100 hours of community service which led the nation.
COMMITMENT TO SERVICE Each of Tulane’s 17 varsity athletics teams participated in at least one community service endeavor.
HELPER HELPER
Tulane finished in the Top 25 in the NCAA Helper Helper Challenge for the fifth straight year.
NCAA LEADERS
The Green Wave totaled the most community service hours among all Division I athletic departments.
A YEAR LIKE NONE OTHER Tulane establishes itself as a national leader in COVID-19 prevention.
“ The 2020-21 school year will obviously be remembered for the pandemic, and how Green Wave Athletics, like the university, like the city, like all of us…navigated heretofore unimaginable times.” Troy Dannen, Tulane Director of Athletics
COVID-19 TESTING BY THE NUMBERS
36,024 756
Number of conducted PCR COVID-19 tests at Tulane.
Number of different individuals Tulane Athletics conducted COVID-19 tests on throughout the year.
90
Percentage of athletics departmental personnel that has been vaccinated at the end of 2020-21 athletics season.
0.67
Overall positivity rate of student-athletes, coaches and staff members.
Tulane team physician, Dr. Greg Stewart, has established himself as a national leader in the sports medicine field. However, with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, his role became even more pivotal for local sports groups. He quickly established protocols for Tulane University Athletics and was selected to serve as the chairman for the American Athletic Conference’s COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group. With Stewart’s protocols in place, Tulane was one of just 15 FBS teams to play 12 or more games in 2020 (no games were canceled and team activities were never paused during the season).
GRADUATING SENIORS JACK ALDRICH
Baseball
DONOVAN BENOIT
Baseball
JUSTIN CAMPBELL
Baseball
HAYDAN HASTINGS
Baseball
TRENT JOHNSON
Baseball
BRYCE MACKEY
Baseball
JAKE MCDONALD
Baseball
TREVOR MINDER
Baseball
FRANKIE NIEMANN
MORGAN ESTERS
Beach Volleyball
LAURA MASCIULLO
Beach Volleyball
KAYLIE MCHUGH
Beach Volleyball
TARIN MERGENER
Beach Volleyball
ALLISON OLSONOSKI
Beach Volleyball
EVA TORRUELLA
Beach Volleyball
MADISON MCCALL
Bowling
LOGAN AMMONS
Football
SAM BRUCHHAUS
MICHAEL REMONDET
Football
CAM SAMPLE
Football
TORRI SINGLETARY
Football
MATT SMITH
Football
DE’ANDRE WILLIAMS
Football
DAVON WRIGHT
Football
JORDAN WALKER
Men’s Basketball
LUIS ERLENBUSCH
Men’s Tennis
AKOS KOTORMAN
LEXIE DOUGLAS
Volleyball
MAKALA HEIDELBERG
Volleyball
JENNA IBIETA
Volleyball
NICOLE LEVINE
Volleyball
MIA PRIMAVERA
Volleyball
KRISTEN THOMPSON
Volleyball
KAILA ANDERSON
Women’s Basketball
SIERRA CHEATHAM
Women’s Basketball
ARSULA CLARK
Baseball
Football
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Basketball
BRADEN OLTHOFF
COREY DAUPHINE
EWAN MOORE
KRYSTAL FREEMAN
Baseball
ROBBIE PRICE
Baseball
CLIFTON SLAGEL
Baseball
CJ WHELAN
Baseball
GABRIELLE BECERRA
Beach Volleyball
RIO FROHOFF
Beach Volleyball
ADDISON HERMSTAD
Beach Volleyball
KENDYL BRENNAN
Beach Volleyball
ASHLEY DELGADO
Beach Volleyball
Football
KEON HOWARD
Football
STEPHON HUDERSON
Football
CAMERON JACKEL
Football
PATRICK JOHNSON
Football
BEN KNUTSON
Football
WILLIE LANGHAM
Football
DANE LEDFORD
Football
STEPHEN LEWERENZ
Football
Men’s Tennis
HAMISH STEWART
Men’s Tennis
ALANNA AUSTIN
Sailing
KATHERINE BYRNES
Sailing
KATHERINE CARTIGLIA
Sailing
ELIOT ECKHOUSE
Sailing
CAELAN WATTS
Sailing
MARKENZIE BENOIT
Volleyball
YVETTE BURCESCU
Volleyball
Women’s Basketball
ERIN GUTIERREZ
Women’s Basketball
MADDISON WELLS
Women’s Basketball
JENNIFER ROSENBERG
Women’s Golf
COURTNEY BARKER
Women’s Swimming and Diving
JENI GRIFFIN
Women’s Swimming and Diving
KATHERINE MCDONALD
Women’s Swimming and Diving
ELLIE VINCENT
Women’s Swimming and Diving
MARY CATHERINE MEREDITH
Women’s Tennis
REID BELANGER
Women’s Track and Field
MAYA HAREWOOD
Women’s Track and Field
KRISTINA LEGGAS
Women’s Track and Field
JORDYN LESH
Women’s Track and Field
KYAH LOYD
Women’s Track and Field
HANNAH PATRICK
Women’s Track and Field
PAULINE HELM
Women’s Track and Field/ Cross Country
BRIDGID SELFORS
Women’s Track and Field/ Cross Country
DANIELLE WEMBER
Women’s Track and Field/ Cross Country
GREEN WAVE JUSTICE FOR ALL Tulane Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Department of Athletics announced Green Wave Justice for All in 2020-21 The Tulane Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Department of Athletics Announced in the spring of 2020, the creation of Green Wave Justice for All, a blueprint to discuss, promote, and exemplify diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice within Tulane Athletics, Tulane University, the greater New Orleans community, the United States and throughout the world. Green Wave Justice for All was created by Tulane studentathletes and administrators after several discussions within the department, including a Black student-athlete forum for all student-athletes and an open forum with the entire athletics department. Green Wave Justice for All centers around three main pillars: dialogue, education and change. Through department-wide student-athlete led discussions, Tulane served as a leader in the social justice movement during the 2020-21 season. • Tulane provided its 450-plus staff members and student-athletes training in diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the 2020-21 athletics campaign with nationally recognized race and social justice speaker, Jen Fry. • The department created a DEI art piece which proudly hangs inside Yulman Stadium. • Tulane organized an athletics Unity March and a Diversity Book Club. • Athletics provided voter education and registration opportunities for student-athletes and staff members.
Tulane Athletics partnered with Tulane Center for Sport on new name, image and likeness initiatives to enhance student-athletes’ education and personal brand. Tulane University Athletics and the Tulane Center for Sport began execution of the department’s Wave Brand Works iniative during the 2020-21 academic campaign. The cross-departmental program created and oversaw Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) programming for Tulane’s student-athletes. The partnership between the Center for Sport and Tulane Athletics provided Green Wave student-athletes with a comprehensive educational program to help equip each individual with the knowledge and expertise to maximize their NIL opportunities in a way that is compliant with NCAA legislation, as well as with federal and state laws. In year one of the program, Tulane Athletics formed a name, image and likeness working group to prepare Green Wave student-athletes for NIL. In addition, Green Wave athletics worked in conjunction with its partners at the Tulane Center for Sport to present five NIL programs that focused on brand management, social media awareness, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and healthy transitions.
CAMERON SAMPLE PATRICK JOHNSON Football
CONFERENCE CHAMPION KATE MCDONALD Swimming and Diving
MIGLE MURAKAITE Women’s Track and Field
POSTSEASON APPEARANCES WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FOOTBALL SAILING MEN’S TENNIS TRACK AND FIELD
ALL-AMERICANS
BENNETT LEE Baseball
COLLIN BURNS Baseball
MICHAEL PRATT Football
CHASE ENGELHARD Baseball
CAMERON SAMPLE Football
BENNETT LEE Baseball
CAROLINE BENSON Sailing
MADISON MCCALL Bowling
LYDIA BROWN Sailing
NICK ANDERSON Football
CAMERON GIBLIN Sailing
PATRICK JOHNSON Football
CIARA RODRIGUEZ-HORAN Sailing
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION JACK ALDRICH Baseball
MAYA HAREWOOD Women’s Track and Field
MIGLE MURASKAITE Women’s Track and Field
DANIELLE TITUS Swimming and Diving
COURTNEY BARKER Swimming and Diving
SINCERE HAYESWORTH Football
BRADEN OLTHOFF Baseball
CHRISTINA WILLIAMS Swimming and Diving
COLLIN BURNS Baseball
NOA HERON Swimming and Diving
HUNTER ROBINSON Women’s Track and Field
DORIAN WILLIAMS Football
MACKENZIE CLARK Women’s Tennis
STEPHON HUDERSON Football
CAMERON SAMPLE Football
RYAN WRIGHT Football
JOEY CLAYBROOK Football
PATRICK JOHNSON Football
GIANNA SPREMULLO Swimming and Diving
KAYLA DINKINS Volleyball
JERKAILA JORDAN Women’s Basketball
HAMISH STEWART Men’s Tennis
LEXIE DOUGLAS Volleyball
BENNETT LEE Baseball
MYA DROST-PARRA Swimming and Diving
KYAH LOYD Women’s Track and Field
COREY DUBLIN Football
TRINA MALEJ Women’s Track and Field
JESSICA DUCKETT Women’s Track and Field
MADISON MCCALL Bowling
JAYLON FORBES Men’s Basketball
KATE MCDONALD Swimming and Diving
KRYSTAL FREEMAN Women’s Basketball
EWAN MOORE Men’s Tennis
18
MADISON MCCALL Bowling
Former Tulane student-athletes Josh Zeid (Baseball) and Dominik Koepfer (Tennis) took center stage along with current Green Wave swimming and diving head coach Leah Stancil and sophomore swimmer Danielle Titus as they took their talents to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
JACK ALDRICH
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
DONOVAN BENOIT
CINCINNATI REDS
COLLIN BURNS
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
KEAGAN GILLIES
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
TULANE IN
PATRICK JOHNSON
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
BRADEN OLTHOFF
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
THE DRAFT
CAMERON SAMPLE
CINCINNATI BENGALS
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS BASEBALL • Finished the year second in the American Athletic Conference – the nation’s No. 5-ranked RPI league. • Advanced to the Semifinals of the AAC Tournament. • Reeled off 12 straight wins – the most in over 20 years. • Collin Burns and Bennett Lee earned First Team AllAAC; Jack Aldrich and Braden Olthoff earned Second Team All-AAC. • Chase Engelhard and Lee were named freshman AllAmericans, while Burns earned All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL • Tulane advanced to the Quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament. • The Green Wave posted their highest RPI in over 20 years. • Jaylen Forbes earned NABC All-District Second Team honors, All-AAC recognition and AllLouisiana recognition.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL • The fourth-place finish in the American Athletic Conference was the highest since moving to the conference. • Advanced to the second round of the WNIT and finished with an 18-9 record. • Head coach Lisa Stockton picked up her 600th win. • The team’s .667 win percentage last season was the highest since 2014-15. The 12 conference wins were the most by a Tulane team in the American Athletic Conference and the highest mark since the Olive and Blue won 12 conference games in Conference USA in the 2009-10 season. • Krystal Freeman named Third Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Louisiana. Freeman also scored
the 1,000th point of her career to become the 29th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points. • Sierra Cheatham won the American Ambassador Award for the third straight season. First ever to win the award three times. • Arsula Clark named LWSA Third Team. • JerKaila Jordan the first player in program history to be named First Team All-AAC. • Jordan the first player in program history to win Freshman of the Year in the AAC. • Jordan also earned LWSA Freshman of the Year and First Team All-State honors.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL • Earned a final ranking of No. 20 in the CollegeBeachVB.com poll. • Senior Addison Hermstad and sophomore Samantha Mehhlman were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award winners. • Green Wave assistant coach Katie Horton was a recipient of the AVCA Thirty Under 30 Beach award. • Tulane beach volleyball’s graduate student Tarin Mergener was named to the 2021 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) All-Academic Team.
BOWLING • Tulane finished the year ranked 16th in the NTCA poll. • Senior Madison McCall of the Tulane bowling team was named Honorable Mention All-American by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) and the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association. She also earned Second Team All-Southland honors. • Tulane had six athletes earn 2021 Academic Honor Roll from the Southland Bowling League. The group consisted of juniors Crystal Singh and Veronica Petrinec, sophomores Jenica Baron and Amelia Vasquez, and freshmen Morgan Gitlitz and Yarelis Alvarez.
TULANE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH LISA STOCKTON PICKED UP HER
600TH CAREER WIN IN 2021
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK AND FIELD • Migle Muraskaite won the heptathlon at the AAC Championships with a score of 5,478, which established an all-time Tulane record. • Tri Malej ranked as high as 11th in the nation in the triple jump. She also earned a bronze medal at the AAC Championships. • Malej won every triple jump event that she competed in during the regular season. • Tulane’s 4x100-meter relay team of Jessica Duckett, Kyah Loyd, Hunter Robinson and Maya Harewood captured bronze at the AAC Championships. • Tulane had five members from its team earn a spot in the 2021 NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla. The qualifiers were Maya Harewood in the 400m dash, Kyah Loyd in the 100m hurdles, Nastia Modic in the pole vault, Tri Malej in the triple jump, and Hannah Patrick in the javelin.
FOOTBALL • Appeared in a bowl game and won six games for the third straight year. • The Green Wave picked up its first win over a Top 25 team in over 30 years, as it defeated Army in Yulman Stadium. • Placed eight players on the All-AAC team. • Patrick Johnson became the school’s first Walter Camp All-American since 2013. • Johnson, Cameron Sample and Nick Anderson were all selected as All-Americans, while rookie Michael Pratt was tabbed as a freshman All-American by 247Sports.com. • Tulane had two players selected in the NFL Draft, as Sample was taken in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Bengals, while Johnson was picked up in the seventh round by the Philadelphia Eagles. 26
WOMEN’S GOLF
SWIMMING AND DIVING
• Senior Jennifer Rosenberg tied for ninth at Pinehurst No. 6 to lead the Green Wave at the AAC Championship. • Rosenberg finished the year with a team-best 75.29 stroke average. • The Green Wave posted a pair of Top 5 finishes to open the 2021 season, as it placed fifth at the Lake Oconee Invitational and third at the All State Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate. • Carlota Palacios placed second at the All-State Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate. Palacios also broke the school record for the lowest single round in program history, as she carded a 64.
• Senior Kate McDonald captured gold in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and took second in the 200yard IM at the AAC Championships. • Freshman Christiana Williams earned a silver medal in the 100-yard breaststroke at the AAC Championships. • Freshman Danielle Titus placed second in the 100-yard backstroke and took third in the 200-yard backstroke at the AAC Championships. • Freshman Gianna Spremullo took third in the 400yard IM at the AAC Championships. • Junior Noa Heron earned a bronze medal in the 1650-yard freestyle, recording a career-best time of 16:36.75. The third-place finish sent Heron to the AAC Championship podium for the first time in her Tulane career. • Titus competed on the Barbados Olympic team, while Stancil served as the head coach.
SAILING • The Tulane University women’s sailing team finished as the National Runner-Up at the ICSA Women’s Championship Regatta on Thursday, May 20. • The Green Wave closed the regatta with 202 total points, just one point off the champions from College of Charleston. • Won the SEISA Conference Championship. • Won regattas at USF and St. Mary’s this season. • Junior Ciara Rodriguez-Horan was named an InterCollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women’s Skipper All-American, while sophomore Cameron Giblin earned Coed Skipper All-American honors. Sophomores Caroline Benson and Lydia Brown were recognized as honorable mention All-Americans with Benson getting the Women’s Skipper nod and Brown receiving Crew honors.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS MEN’S TENNIS
VOLLEYBALL
• Under the direction of head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras, Tulane closed the year with a 15-8 record and wins in seven of its final eight matches. • Booras continued his record-breaking streak, receiving LSWA Coach of the Year honors for the seventh year in a row. • Tulane strong finish to the 2020-21 campaign propelled the Green Wave to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance where they would earn a first round win over Middle Tennessee. • Tulane’s 4-0 win over Middle Tennessee marked the third trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the last five years. • The Green Wave ranked No. 23 in the final ITA Poll. • Green Wave seniors Hamish Stewart and Ewan Moore both earned spots on the All-AAC Team. • Stewart and Moore also earned at-large bids to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships in singles and doubles competition. • Graduate student Luis Erlenbusch led all Tulane players in singles competition, as he posted 15 wins on the year. • Stewart and Moore paced the team in doubles competition with a 13-7 mark.
• Closed out the year on a high note, as it won five of its last six matches to earn a spot in the American Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinal. • For the third straight year, Tulane placed multiple players on the all-league team, as Lexie Douglas and Kayla Dinkins were named All-AAC. • Tulane placed three players on the All-LSWA team, as Douglas, Dinkins and Sophia Ervanian were all named to the team. • On Jan. 22, Douglas collected her 1000th career kill.
WOMEN’S TENNIS • Finished the year with a 13-9 record. The Green Wave closed out the regular season on a high note as it captured each of their final matches of the year, defeating FGCU, Nicholls State, Wichita State and Memphis. • Ranked No. 6 in the final ITA Regional rankings. • For the second year in a row, the Tulane women’s tennis program had two student-athletes named to the 2021 AllLouisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Team. • Sophomore Mackenzie Clark was voted to the All-Louisiana First Team for the second consecutive season, while junior Adelaide Lavery received recognition as a second-team choice. • Clark also earned All-AAC honors, as she was a unanimous selection to the team. She became the first Green Wave player to be named all-conference since 2019.
LEXIE DOUGLAS Volleyball
MACKENZIE CLARK Women’s Tennis
KAYLA DINKINS Volleyball
DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS BROADCAST • Completed first year of our ESPN Television contract. • The department produced 40 game broadcasts for ESPN+ (over 12 million subscribers). • Tulane football was featured in eight nationally televised games on ESPN platforms, including its first appearance on ABC in 40 years. ESPN also extended its national platform to eight men’s basketball and two women’s basketball games. • The department continued construction on a $5 million production studio that will be ready for the start of the fall in 2021.
DEVELOPMENT The Don and Lora Peters Academic Center will open in the fall of 2021 thanks to a $1 million gift from Don and Lora Peters. The academic center underwent a $2.2 million renovation in total. The Alan H. Rosenbloum Mental Health Endowed Fund was established to expand Tulane Athletics’ mental health support of its student-athletes with a $1.5 million gift from the estate of Alan H. Rosenbloum. Tulane’s Ticket Assurance Plan featured: •2 5 percent of fans donating their ticket payments to the Green Wave Club. •5 7 percent deferring their priority seating donation to the next year. •4 3 percent converting their priority seating donation into a tax-deductible donation.
Give Green Performance: • Tulane received $163,289.37 • 451 Gifts • Green Wave Club claimed the Give Green grand prize for the third consecutive year
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
the 2020-21 campaign, as it coordinated over $6 million in funding for the department’s new academic center, television production studio and lighting upgrades inside Avron B. Fogleman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse and at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. • All projects are set to be complete in the fall of 2021.
• Enhanced and launched a newly designed TulaneGreenWave.com in January of 2021. • Tulane saw over 3 million visitors to its website during the year. • Green Wave student-athletes, coaches and staff were prominently featured in national media outlets across the country which included ESPN.com, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS Sports and Chicago Tribune. • Tulane student-athletes also were regularly featured in local and regional publications, television interviews and on the radio.
MARKETING
TICKETING
FACILITIES/OPERATIONS • Tulane conducted three capital projects during
• Won NACMA Gold Award for Promotional Poster of the Year. • With the limited capacity at athletic venues due to COVID-19, Tulane developed numerous virtual engagement elements that reached fans around the country. • The #NolaBuilt campaign entered its third year which encompassed a full marketing, digital, sale and communication strategy focusing on the connection between Tulane Athletics and the city of New Orleans.
• Tulane Athletics introduced mobile ticketing at all three venues this season and made strides to ensure a contactless ticketing process with educational resources provided to fans. • The Green Wave upgraded their ticketing platform with the implementation of PAC Platform and My Account 2.0 during the summer of 2021, which enhanced fan access.
Tulane welcomed five former student-athletes to the 2021 Hall of Fame class. The class includes: three-time all-conference performer and NCAA College World Series participant J.R. Crowel (2003-07) from the baseball team; one of the most versatile players to ever play at Tulane, Cory Geason (1994-97) from the football team; one of the top scorers in women’s basketball history, Terry Johnson (1978-81); two-time All-American honoree Ana Ruzevic (2008-12) from women’s track and field; and 2012 Lou Groza Award winner and consensus All-American Cairo Santos (2010-13) from the football team. The 1973 Tulane football squad, which finished the year with a 9-3 record and opened the year 6-0, will enter the Hall of Fame as a team. The 1973 team was ranked as high as No. 8 in the UPI poll and posted arguably one of the biggest wins in school history, defeating LSU 14-0 in front of 86,598 fans at Tulane Stadium.
The Billy Slatten Award, given annually to someone who has given extraordinary service, commitment and support to Tulane University and its student-athletes, will be presented to the Greenbackers organization for their long-time commitment to the athletics department. This award was established in 2004 in honor of William A. “Billy” Slatten, a longtime supporter of Tulane Athletics, a member of the Tulane Board of Trustees and the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee.
2020-2021 TULANE GREEN WAVE ATHLETICS
ANNUAL REPORT
TULANEGREENWAVE.COM
JAMES W. WILSON JR. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS CENTER 2950 BEN WEINER DRIVE • NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118