Photo by Ron Brocato
April Hagadone, the head coach of the Mount Carmel Academy volleyball team, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Girls’ Prep Coach of the Year for 2018-19.
Hagadone guided Mount Carmel to a straight-set victory in the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Division I Volleyball Championship – it was the fifth consecutive state title for Hagadone and Mount Carmel. The Cub’s dominant championship performance capped a memorable season in which they lost just twice all season.
“The leadership on this team was outstanding,” Hagadone told Nola.com. “I couldn’t be more proud of all my players. They led from the bench or on the court. What an amazing group of young ladies. Their focus was unbelievable. Everyone contributed, and it’s an amazing feeling watching it all come together.”
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 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. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater 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 amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 64th year in 2020. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 96 Hall of Fame players, 50 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 86-year history. The 87th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2021. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors over 100,000 student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.7 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
