The Legendary Fred Hobdy was named to Grambling State University Alumni Hall of Fame in 1981. This image of the late Coach Hobdy is showcased in its Gallery of Distinction.
By Nick Deriso, Monroe News Star
GRAMBLING — State legislators have joined a rising tide of sentiment behind naming Grambling State's new basketball facility after its late former basketball coach Fred Hobdy.
Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, joined Sen. Robert Kostelka, R-Monroe, in announcing a concurrent resolution encouraging the move on Wednesday at Grambling's City Hall. The non-binding measure, written by Gallot, was approved unanimously by both the Louisiana House and Senate during the last legislative session.
"It's a great day, and it means so much to me," said Mary Hobdy, the coach's widow. "It would have meant the world to 'Hob.'"
Kostelka, a named co-sponsor along with state Sen. Charles Jones, D-Monroe, read the measure in its entirety to Hobdy and daughter Nan. Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, and Grambling Mayor Martha Andrus also attended the emotional ceremony.
"This is a unanimous public statement about what Coach Hobdy means to us," Gallot said. "Naming the assembly center for him would be a great tribute to everything he meant to Grambling — not just in basketball but in life."
Hobdy coached the GSU men to nine league titles over a 30-year tenure beginning in 1956, topping the Southwestern Athletic Conference seven times. He later served as athletics director at Grambling from 1989-96 before passing away in 1998.
Hobdy's National Athletic Intercollegiate Association championship in 1961 remains the last men's title won by a Louisiana team. Even 20 seasons after he retired, Hobdy is still the winningest coach in state history.
"I accept this resolution with profound gratitude," Mary Hobdy said. "When one of our three great-grandchildren asks 'What did Grandpa do?,' we can show them this resolution. And maybe by then, there will be a building bearing his name."
Grambling's assembly center, which houses the basketball court, was first proposed in the late 1970s but didn't open until April of this year for the funeral of longtime former football coach Eddie Robinson. GSU's basketball teams are scheduled to play their first games in the new facility this season.
The ongoing construction project sparked several petition and e-mail campaigns in support of naming the gym in Hobdy's honor.
"I hope the university will follow through with this resolution," Andrus said. "That would be a wonderful tribute and a great legacy."
Copies of this new resolution were mailed to GSU President Horace Judson as well as Sally Clausen, president of the University of Louisiana System board, which oversees the university. Both GSU and the ULS system must approve the change.
"It's a small token of our appreciation for all Coach Hobdy meant and continues to mean," said Gallot, a Grambling product who attended the coach's summer basketball camps as a youngster. "Coach Hobdy stands among the Grambling greats."
A veteran of World War II, Hobdy played a key role in GSU's well-known "un" team of 1942 — they went unscored upon and undefeated — before leaving for combat duty.
Hobdy returned and finished his education at Grambling, then began a long coaching association with the school. He initially worked as an assistant to Robinson, coaching the ends on GSU's only other undefeated football squad in 1955, then took over a year later as the men's basketball coach.
"He's not as well known as Coach Robinson," Kostelka said, "but he was every bit as good a coach."
In three decades at Grambling, the Winnfield native would oversee 26 All-America players. Sixteen of his charges moved into the professional ranks.
Hobdy has already been recognized with induction into the Grambling, SWAC, Louisiana Sports, Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and NAIA halls of fame
GRAMBLING — State legislators have joined a rising tide of sentiment behind naming Grambling State's new basketball facility after its late former basketball coach Fred Hobdy.
Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, joined Sen. Robert Kostelka, R-Monroe, in announcing a concurrent resolution encouraging the move on Wednesday at Grambling's City Hall. The non-binding measure, written by Gallot, was approved unanimously by both the Louisiana House and Senate during the last legislative session.
"It's a great day, and it means so much to me," said Mary Hobdy, the coach's widow. "It would have meant the world to 'Hob.'"
Kostelka, a named co-sponsor along with state Sen. Charles Jones, D-Monroe, read the measure in its entirety to Hobdy and daughter Nan. Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, and Grambling Mayor Martha Andrus also attended the emotional ceremony.
"This is a unanimous public statement about what Coach Hobdy means to us," Gallot said. "Naming the assembly center for him would be a great tribute to everything he meant to Grambling — not just in basketball but in life."
Hobdy coached the GSU men to nine league titles over a 30-year tenure beginning in 1956, topping the Southwestern Athletic Conference seven times. He later served as athletics director at Grambling from 1989-96 before passing away in 1998.
Hobdy's National Athletic Intercollegiate Association championship in 1961 remains the last men's title won by a Louisiana team. Even 20 seasons after he retired, Hobdy is still the winningest coach in state history.
"I accept this resolution with profound gratitude," Mary Hobdy said. "When one of our three great-grandchildren asks 'What did Grandpa do?,' we can show them this resolution. And maybe by then, there will be a building bearing his name."
Grambling's assembly center, which houses the basketball court, was first proposed in the late 1970s but didn't open until April of this year for the funeral of longtime former football coach Eddie Robinson. GSU's basketball teams are scheduled to play their first games in the new facility this season.
The ongoing construction project sparked several petition and e-mail campaigns in support of naming the gym in Hobdy's honor.
"I hope the university will follow through with this resolution," Andrus said. "That would be a wonderful tribute and a great legacy."
Copies of this new resolution were mailed to GSU President Horace Judson as well as Sally Clausen, president of the University of Louisiana System board, which oversees the university. Both GSU and the ULS system must approve the change.
"It's a small token of our appreciation for all Coach Hobdy meant and continues to mean," said Gallot, a Grambling product who attended the coach's summer basketball camps as a youngster. "Coach Hobdy stands among the Grambling greats."
A veteran of World War II, Hobdy played a key role in GSU's well-known "un" team of 1942 — they went unscored upon and undefeated — before leaving for combat duty.
Hobdy returned and finished his education at Grambling, then began a long coaching association with the school. He initially worked as an assistant to Robinson, coaching the ends on GSU's only other undefeated football squad in 1955, then took over a year later as the men's basketball coach.
"He's not as well known as Coach Robinson," Kostelka said, "but he was every bit as good a coach."
In three decades at Grambling, the Winnfield native would oversee 26 All-America players. Sixteen of his charges moved into the professional ranks.
Hobdy has already been recognized with induction into the Grambling, SWAC, Louisiana Sports, Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and NAIA halls of fame
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