College Sports Information Directors of America

Keith Prince, a highly-respected sports information director from 1969-1994 at Louisiana Tech who also has been a popular writer and editor for two Monroe newspapers, has been voted the 2004 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

He will be honored during the 2004 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 24-26 in Natchitoches, culminating with the Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 26, at Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State campus.

One of the coaches Prince worked with at Louisiana Tech, women's basketball's Leon Barmore, is among the seven 2004 Hall of Fame inductees.

The class includes baseball All-Star Will Clark, Olympic high jump medalist Hollis Conway, Haynesville High School football coach Alton "Red" Franklin, Grambling product and Mansfield native Albert Lewis, an All-Pro football star with Kansas City; Shreveport native Tony Sardisco, a Tulane All-American and an All-Pro in the old AFL with the Boston Patriots; and New Orleans native Neil Smith, an All-Pro football great who also played for Kansas City along with the Denver Broncos.

The Distinguished Service Award is the most prestigious honor offered to sports media personnel in Louisiana. It is tantamount to election to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame for athletes and coaches. The DSA recipients are commemorated in the Hall of Fame, located in Prather Coliseum, and when the Hall of Fame museum project is completed, they will occupy a "writers and broadcasters wing" similar to the one at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Keith Prince has been the consummate pro as a sports writer and a sports information director for five decades in our state, and he is an extremely deserving recipient of this honor," said LSWA president Bill Bumgarner. "He was sports editor in Monroe while he was still in college, and after what can only be described as an amazing career in sports information at Louisiana Tech, he returned to sports writing and is one of the best in our business today for the News-Star."

Prince's tenure at Louisiana Tech was star-studded as he worked with and publicized eight current Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members: football coaches Joe Aillet and Maxie Lambright, football stars Terry Bradshaw and Fred Dean, basketball coach Scotty Robertson, and basketball players Mike Green, Kim Mulkey and Pam Kelly, along with Barmore, who was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.

Current NBA great Karl Malone, undoubtedly destined for future enshrinement in the state sports hall, picked up his "Mailman" nickname at Tech under Prince's guidance. Prince's staff sent pieces of a backboard shattered by Malone to media members around the country to promote the budding star, Malone's memorable nickname and the Bulldogs' program.

Prince worked 283 consecutive football games in 24 seasons, never missing a game while promoting 24 football All-Americans and future pro stars Bradshaw, Dean, Roger Carr, Pat Tilley, Roland Harper, Mike Barber and Willie Roaf, among others. In all sports, Louisiana Tech had 70 All-America athletes during his tenure.

He was also a mentor to many student assistants who became successful in sports journalism or athletic administration, including current Alabama SID Larry White, current Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett, current Lone Star Conference associate commissioner Don Graham, current Louisiana Tech SID Malcolm Butler and Texas Tech associate SID Chris Cook.

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