LSU honored four former student-athletes and two former sports administrators Friday with inductions into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Seimone Augustus, Wendell Davis, Suzette Lee, Lloyd Peever, the late former Athletic Director Carl Maddox and Skip Bertman all gained entry.
The night kicked off with Dan Borne’, master of ceremonies, introducing many of the past inductees in the LSU walk of honor to award them with Hall of Fame rings. The rings have only been given out to inductees during the past five years.
Former LSU gymnast Jeanie Beadle, a 1999 inductee who was LSU’s first ever gymnastics All-American and LSU’s first women’s national champion in any sport, gave the welcoming address to a crowd of roughly 450 people in the PMAC.
She was the first inductee of the night. Augustus was unable to attend the induction because her WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx, were playing, but her mother accepted on her behalf. Augustus was a three-time All-American and Naismith Trophy winner during the most successful time in LSU women’s basketball history. She’s also the first woman in LSU history to have her number (33) retired.
The next inductee was Davis, one of the most prolific wide receivers in LSU football history. Davis’ former quarterback and 2005 inductee Tommy Hodson presented the award. Davis recorded 152 catches, 2,237 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in his final two years with the Tigers, earning him All-Southeastern Conference and All-American honors both years.
“I prayed to God for the words to say tonight, and those words are: I am grateful, and I am thankful,” Davis said.
Representing LSU’s prestigious women’s track and field program was Lee, who was a part of possibly the greatest run in women’s track history, as she was a major factor in two of LSU’s 11 straight women’s outdoor track national titles, sweeping both indoor and outdoor titles both years Lee jumped for the Tigers. Lee lost her main event, the triple jump, just once in her LSU career, losing by only one centimeter.
“Let me not forget my teammates who were so talented I had to step up my performances every week just to keep up,” Lee said. “You guys made me who I