NATCHITOCHES – Tioga’s trailblazing high school sports administrator and successful basketball coach Kathy Holloway, who became a national icon in prep sports, is the 2026 winner of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
The first female president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association and of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, Holloway has retired but continues to serve her community, the LHSAA, and national high school athletics in several capacities.
When she takes part in the LSHOF Induction Ceremony in Natchitoches on Saturday, June 27th, she will become the 25th recipient of the Dixon Award since its inception in 2005.
Holloway will also become the fourth female Dixon winner. She joins Pineville native Sue Donohoe (2017), an NCAA basketball administrator; Alexandria native Marie Gagnard (2019), a renowned pro tennis official; and Opelousas native Joan Cronan (2020), the venerable women’s athletic director during the Pat Summitt era at Tennessee.
The Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award has been presented annually by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s 35-member Hall of Fame selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level.
It is named in honor of the 1999 LSHOF inductee, an entrepreneur and innovator who is credited as the key figure in bringing an NFL franchise to New Orleans, and the development of the Caesars Superdome, highlighting an array of sports-related endeavors.
Holloway will be among the 12-member 2026 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class headlined by eight “competitive ballot” inductees announced in September.
This year’s class is headlined by that star-studded group including Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 2025 inductee Sylvia Fowles, NFL stars Joe Horn, Todd McClure, and Pat Williams, Major League Baseball All-Star Jonathan Lucroy, and legendary basketball coaches John Brady, Mike McConathy, and Dewain Strother.
Alexandria native and LSU baseball hero Warren Morris will receive the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, earning enshrinement into the LSHOF. His walk-off home run won the 1996 College World Series for LSU and resulted in the Bolton High School product becoming a lifelong spokesman for college baseball, the CWS and LSU.
LSU graduate and New Orleans native Gil LeBreton and multi-faceted Shreveporter John James Marshall are going into the Hall as the 2026 winners of the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
The 2026 Induction Class will be celebrated June 25-27 in Natchitoches. Opportunities to purchase admission for the four ticketed events are available at the LaSportsHall.com website through the www.LaSportsHall.com/induction26 link.
