Courtesy XULA Athletics
Xavier University of Louisiana announced Thursday five inductees to its 2024 class of the XULA Athletic Hall of Fame:
• Nour Abbes (women’s tennis)
• Shaun Dumas (men’s basketball)
• Eddie Flint (football, basketball and baseball)
• Dannton Jackson (men’s basketball)
• Demetria Lang (women’s basketball)
Inductees will be honored Nov. 7 during a 6 p.m. CST banquet on XULA’s campus. Inductees also will be recognized during XULA’s homecoming basketball doubleheader at the Convocation Center the afternoon of Nov. 9.
Inductees must contact Ed Cassiere — XULA’s associate athletics director for strategic communications — at (504) 520-5707 or ecassier@xula.edu to confirm their participation in the November events.
A committee selected the inductees based on XULA and post-XULA accomplishments.
Abbes was a two-year NAIA first-team All-American. As a sophomore in the fall of 2014, she became the first XULA tennis player to win a title at the ITA National Small College Championships. Abbes helped the Gold Nuggets reach the semifinals of NAIA nationals in both her seasons (2014, 2015).
Dumas is the only XULA men’s basketball player to make NAIA All-America — third team or higher — twice. As a sophomore in 2006-07, he was chosen Louisiana Small College Player of the Year by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches. His XULA career rankings include No. 1 with 380 steals, No. 3 with 599 assists and No. 11 with 1,434 points.
Flint was XULA’s starting football quarterback for four seasons and helped XULA achieve its two winningest seasons: 7-1 in 1950 and 8-1 in 1951. The 1951 Gold Rush won at home 25-7 against Grambling and 22-8 against Southern. As a prep football head coach he won four state championships, three with St. Augustine of New Orleans.
Jackson is XULA’s all-time winningest head coach in men’s basketball. His Gold Rush were 294-130 (.693) in 13 seasons (2002-05, 2006-16) and averaged 22.6 victories per season. Jackson’s teams reached 20 victories 11 times, won five Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships — three in a row from 2011-14 — and qualified for NAIA nationals 10 times, including each of his final six seasons.
Lang played for the Gold Nuggets from 1983-87 and is still the program’s career leader with 19.1 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game and a .546 field-goal percentage. Lang is the only XULA basketball player, female or male, to average a double-double four straight seasons. She is the only XULA basketball player, female or male, to reach 50 points in a game. She scored 50 in a 98-71 victory at city rival SUNO on Feb. 10, 1987, and also had 18 rebounds and nine steals.
Dumas, Flint and Lang are native New Orleanians.
Future nominees can be submitted in two ways:
• Online by clicking here
• A letter of nomination emphasizing a candidate’s qualifications sent to Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation, Xavier University of Louisiana, 1 Drexel Drive, Box 92, New Orleans, LA 70125
XULA honored its first Athletic Hall of Fame class — 20 inductees, including two teams — in 2022.
