Jay Roth
2025 Finalist
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Football, 1977-2018
Archbishop Rummel HS/Nicholls State
Photo by Michael DeMocker, Nola.com.
Jay Roth didn’t just ascend to the top of the Archbishop Rummel High School head football coach’s record book, he rewrote it. A four-year starter at quarterback for the Raiders as a player, Roth led the Raiders to their first ever undefeated season, going 10-0 in 1980 as a senior. After his graduation from Rummel, Roth attended Nicholls State, lettering in football for four years and serving as a team captain in 1984.
He returned to his alma mater as head football coach in 1995 and left a legacy that will be hard pressed to challenge. Roth’s teams made the playoffs an incredible 23 of the 24 years he was in charge. He coached the 2009 squad to the program’s first-ever appearance in the state championship game, where it fell to West Monroe. Roth returned to the Superdome with his undefeated 2012 team and won the school’s first-ever football state championship, beating Barbe of Lake Charles in a convincing fashion, 35-21. The win gave the Raiders the 5A State Title while putting the finishing touches on a 14-0 record for Rummel’s first perfect season.
His Raiders went back-to-back, returning to The Dome in 2013 to win the state title again by besting C.E. Byrd of Shreveport, 23-22. In 2015, Roth again coached the Raiders to the state finals, falling to Catholic of Baton Rouge on a field goal on the game’s final play.
The Raiders won an impressive 12 Catholic League Championships during his tenure and finished the regular season undefeated seven times. He was named The Catholic League’s Coach of the Year a record 12 times. Along with the state championships, Roth’s teams made it to the state semifinals 10 times and tallied a record 42 playoff victories while he was at the helm. His accolades include being named the Catholic League’s District Coach of The Year 12 times, Louisiana State Coach of the Year twice, and twice being named Sugar Bowl Coach of the Year. Fifteen of Roth’s teams finished the regular season ranked in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Top 10.
Roth’s overall record as head coach of the Raiders was 228-62, a career winning percentage of 79 percent, eighth best all-time among Louisiana high school football coaches who made the legendary 200-win club. He is the winningest coach in the history of the New Orleans Catholic League.
Prior to returning to coach at Rummel, he was an assistant for three years each at Jesuit and Archbishop Shaw and also spent single years at East Ascension and East Jefferson.
He was inducted into Archbishop Rummel’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023 and into the Louisiana High School Hall of Fame in 2024.
