It was a banner day for Xavier's outgoing president

NEW ORLEANS — During Xavier University of Louisiana's 2009 athletic awards banquet, longtime XU president Dr. Norman C. Francis received a framed basketball jersey with the number 1. The sequel to that event occurred Saturday at the Convocation Center on a much bigger stage.

Before a facility-record crowd of 3,267 during halftime of the XU-Dillard Crosstown Classic men's basketball game, XU Director of Athletics and Recreation Jason Horn unveiled an 8-foot banner honoring Francis for his 47 years as president and his continued commitment to XU's athletics program.

Xavier University of Louisiana's Dr. Norman C. Francis stands next to the banner honoring his years of presidential service to XU and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. With him, from left, are Faculty Athletics Representative Sister Grace Mary Flickinger, Vice President for Student Services Joseph Byrd and Director of Athletics and Recreation Jason Horn. Francis will retire June 30, 2015, after 47 years as Xavier's president.

photo by Yamlak Tsega, Xavier Athletics  

The banner will hang from the rafters of the Convocation Center along with numerous other new banners which spotlight Xavier's championships won and national-tournament appearances.

Francis, who will celebrate his 84th birthday in about three weeks, will retire June 30, 2015.

Before he ascended to Xavier's presidency in 1968, Francis was one of XU's leading proponents in the 1967 reinstatement of intercollegiate athletics after a 7-year absence. Six years later, in 1973, Xavier's men's basketball team led by Donald "Slick" Watts and Bruce Seals upset top-ranked Sam Houston State 67-60 in the second round of the NAIA National Championship at Kansas City, Mo. That was the second of 78 team or individual appearances by XU athletes at NAIA National Championship events during Francis' presidency.

Also during Francis' tenure, Xavier's more than 700 student-athletes have received 79 All-America awards and 67 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar awards. They have won 94 conference, regional or district championships. In 2014, Xavier earned its fourth consecutive Thomas Howell Cup, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference's all-sports award. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets have produced 32 unbeaten conference seasons.

"Dr. Francis is our No. 1, our MVP," Horn said. "None of our success in athletics has been possible without his leadership and support."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director  XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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