Robin Roberts’ jersey retired
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Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America and 1983 Southeastern graduate, beams with pride as she celebrates with students,
fellow alumni and friends following the retirement of her jersey at Southeastern.
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Robin addresses the crowd after her jersey was unfurled |
As she gazed at the rafters of Southeastern’s University Center, one could see the joy in her eyes as Robin Roberts one of Southeastern’s most recognizable alumnae watched as her jersey was unfurled in ceremonies in early February.
Roberts, anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America, returned to her Southeastern roots
to see her jersey, No. 21, officially retired in a ceremony held on Lady Lions Alumnae
Day.
“It’s good to be home,” Roberts said, as she was presented with a framed jersey.
“This is truly my sports moment, and to share it with my Southeastern family means
everything.”
In her remarks, she recalled as a senior in high school how she was returning home
to Pass Christian, Miss., with her coach and feeling somewhat uncomfortable after
visiting another Louisiana university. Passing through Hammond on I-12, she saw the
sign “Southeastern Louisiana University Next Right,” and urged her coach to take a
detour and visit Southeastern.
“We took that exit and I fell in love right away, and I’m so glad,” she said. “The
foundation that was laid here for me has been everything that I have built upon the
quality education first and foremost, the faculty who stressed the importance of being
a student first and then an athlete, and this tremendous, tremendous community of
Hammond, Louisiana. I am so proud to say that I am a Southeastern Louisiana University
Lady Lion.”
“We welcome the opportunity to recognize Robin, who has served as such a great ambassador
for Southeastern,” said President John L. Crain. “Her personal and professional achievements
make her a true role model for young women everywhere and an inspiration to us all.
We are proud to welcome her back to Southeastern and honor her with the retirement
of her Lady Lion jersey.
Athletics Director Bart Bellairs said he has never known of another person who speaks
so highly of their school as Roberts does of Southeastern.
A 1983 graduate in mass communications who played as a power forward and center,
Roberts is only the second Lady Lion to see her jersey retired, the other being Queen
Brumfield in 2003. Nearly 50 Lady Lion basketball alumnae assembled in the University
Center for the ceremony and were individually introduced. In addition, former Lady
Lions coaches the late Linda Puckett, Ace Bryant, and Frank Schneider were all recognized
along with current coach Lori Davis Jones.
Interacting with her fellow alumnae, Roberts said, “I feel like I’m in my 20s again.
It’s so nice to go back in time. All of us, we have a common bond, a love for Southeastern.”
In a press conference following the ceremony, Roberts was asked for her advice to
the young women of today.
“To be a student first and then an athlete,” she responded. “I think that’s very
important, even though there are more opportunities now for women in athletics beyond
college. I didn’t have that opportunity, so it made me excel in the classroom. I tell
them to stay in the moment, to enjoy this moment and don’t be in such a hurry, but
enjoy what they are doing right now.
“I tell them to dream big and focus small,” she added. “The things they are learning
now are going to help them later in life. There are little things about sports that
I apply to my everyday life. I know that the level of success that people say I have
reached in my career is because I played sports. I think I would have been successful
in anything I pursued because of my athletic background.”
Roberts starred for the Lady Lions from 1979-83. She currently ranks among the program’s
career leaders in points (1,446, 6th), rebounds (1,034, 5th), games played (114, 4th),
field goals made (507, 5th), free throws made (432, 4th) and free throw percentage
(72.0). A member of the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame, in 2006 she was named
one of the NCAA’s “100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” in conjunction with the
NCAA Centennial Celebration.
Roberts got her start in broadcasting while still at Southeastern, working at the
university radio station KSLU and at WHMD/WFPR in Hammond, where she was sports director.
Later she held various broadcasting jobs in Atlanta, Nashville, Biloxi and Hattiesburg,
Miss. From 1990-2005, she was a contributor to ESPN, where her assignments included
hosting SportsCenter and contributing to NFL PrimeTime.
Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007. Her public battle has been
recognized with awards and honors from organizations around the country, including
the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program.
In 2005, Roberts found her personal and professional lives collide when Hurricane
Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast a part of
the country she called home for most of her life. Following the storm, she traveled
to the hurricane zone and reported on the devastation. She also launched “GMA Gets
It Done,” a year-long effort to rebuild Roberts’ hometown of Pass Christian, Miss.
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