The Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Committee will commemorate Women's History Month in March by highlighting the accomplishments of four female sports legends who established themselves as the best athletes in Louisiana during their college careers. The four women were each selected as the winner of the
James J. Corbett Award, presented by the Sugar Bowl to the top non-professional athletes (male and female) in the state.
The Sugar Bowl will recap their memorable seasons on its website and will share via its social media channels throughout the month of March.
Seimone Augustus, LSU Basketball, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Pam Kelly, Louisiana Tech Basketball, 1981
Julie Smekodub, Tulane Tennis, 2002
Lauri Young, Northeast Louisiana Track & Field, 1985
Seimone Augustus, LSU Basketball, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
If the Corbett Award was ever to be renamed, the first name to come to mind would be that of Seimone Augustus, the only four-time winner of the honor. In redefining women's basketball at LSU, Augustus was the two-time Consensus National Player of the Year, attendance at women's basketball games increased by 700 percent, and LSU appeared in three straight NCAA Women's Final Fours. In her four seasons in Baton Rouge, Augustus scored 2,702 points, the second all-time leading scorer in LSU history, while also pulling down 728 rebounds (5.2 per game). She had 72 games in which she scored 20 points or more and scored double figures in a school-record 97 straight games. After a 15-year professional career, that included four WNBA Championships, she returned to LSU where she now serves as an assistant coach. She also earned three Olympic gold medals as a player.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played on January 15, 2027. 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.
