The University of Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Lafayette will induct four former athletes into the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette S Club Hall of Fame this year. Those athletes are Alyson Habetz, softball; Gerald Landry, football; Garrett O’Connor, baseball; and Ndabe Mdhlongwa, track and field.
Alyson Habetz (softball - 1992-94) received a bachelor of arts degree in 1995 and was the outstanding graduate for the College of Liberal Arts at Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette that same year. During her college career, she was a four-year letterman in softball and basketball. She received All-South Region honors all four years and was named All-American in 1994 and Academic All-American two years. Habetz helped to lead the Lady Cajuns to their first ever World Series appearance.
Gerald Landry (football - 1963-66) received a B.S. in Marketing and an M.A. in Education from Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette. He was a four-year letterman on the football squad, receiving All-Conference honors two of those years. Landry holds Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette records in most extra points and consecutive field goals as well as leading scorer and receiver.
Garret O’Connor (baseball – 1982-86) graduated from Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette in 1985 with a degree in Business Administration. O’Connor, a four-year letterman, received All-Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ and All-American honors during his career.
Ndabe Mdhlongwa (track and field – 1993-96) graduated from Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette in 1996 with a degree in General Studies and then received his MBA from Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette in 1998. Mdhlongwa was a four-year letterman for the track and field team. He received All-American honors three times and was an eight-time Sun Belt Conference Champion in the triple jump.
The purpose of the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette Hall of Fame is to give recognition to those athletes who have made a significant contribution to the good name of the university by demonstrating exceptional ability and sportsmanship on the playing fields, commendable scholarship in the classroom, high quality leadership on the campus, and who after leaving the university established a personal reputation for character and citizenship in the community which they reside.
"Our goal is to remind each new generation of athletes of the tradition they must uphold and the ideals that they should strive for while they are wearing the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette uniforms," said S Club President Dwight Prudhomme (football – 1979-82).
The S Club Alumni Chapter is comprised of men and women who lettered in athletics while they were students at SLI/USL/Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette. The S Club is a constituent chapter of the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Lafayette Alumni Association and it retains close ties to the Athletic Department.