NEW ORLEANS (July 29, 2025) – The Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Banquet presented by LCMC Health is scheduled for this Saturday, August 2, at the Caesars Superdome. In addition to welcoming four inductees to its New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, the Sugar Bowl will also recognize its annual James J. Corbett Award winners, the top coaches, athletes, and teams from New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month for 2024-25. Overall, 30 individuals and two teams will be honored. The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, a group of current and former media members, selects all of the honorees.
 
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025:
Shan Foster, Basketball, Bonnabel HS/Vanderbilt/NBA, 2001-13
Temeka Johnson, Basketball, Bonnabel HS/LSU/WNBA, 1997-2018
Joe McKnight, Football, John Curtis Christian School/USC/NFL, 2004-16
Andy Russo, Basketball, Fortier HS/USL/Brother Martin HS, 1956-78

Annual Awards:
Corbett Award – Male: Kade Anderson, LSU Baseball
Corbett Award – Female: Aneesah Morrow, LSU Basketball
Eddie Robinson Award – Burzis Kanga, UNO Tennis
Jimmy Collins Awards: Noah Confident, Brother Martin Wrestling; Brian Marelo, Hahnville
Outstanding Collegiate Coach, Louisiana: Brad Neffendorf, LSU Shreveport Baseball
Outstanding Boys' Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Hank Tierney, Archbishop Shaw Football
Outstanding Girls' Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Courtney Ward, Sacred Heart Basketball
Outstanding Female Athlete, New Orleans: My-Anh Holmes, Willow Tennis
Outstanding Male Athlete, New Orleans: Kade Anderson, LSU Baseball
Outstanding Boys' Prep Team, New Orleans: Edna Karr Football
Outstanding Girls' Prep Team, New Orleans: Slidell Volleyball
 
Women in Sport Scholarship Honorees (presented by LCMC Health):
Jenna Eaton (Riverdale High School)
Elizabeth Hamilton (Archbishop Chapelle High School)
Jaime Harper (Thomas Jefferson Academy)
Julia Jenkins (Covington High School)
Reagan Robinson (Slidell High School)
Kasia Rodriguez (Pope John Paul II High School)
 
Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month, 2024-25
July, 2024: Brayden Bertucci (Gibbs Construction Cardinals Baseball)
August, 2024: Tanner Schexnaydre (Eastbank Little League Baseball)
September, 2024: Nate Sheppard (Mandeville High School Football)
October, 2024: Makhi Hughes (Tulane University Football)
November, 2024: John Johnson (Edna Karr High School Football)
December, 2024: Jy'Heim Williams (South Plaquemines High School Football)
January, 2025: Cherie Spencer (Northshore High School Basketball)
February, 2025: Richie Clementi (Brother Martin High School Wrestling)
March, 2025: Drew Timmons (Archbishop Hannan High School Basketball)
April, 2025: Elizabeth Hamilton (Archbishop Chapelle High School Bowling)
May, 2025: Kade Anderson (LSU Baseball)
June, 2025: Jade Neves (Academy of the Sacred Heart Golf)
 
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together 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 and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the 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 athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 69th year in 2025.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.