RUSTON – Louisiana Tech announced the 20th Hall of Fame Class in history on Friday with the 2023 inductees including two-time Ray Guy Award winner Ryan Allen, three-time All-Sun Belt Conference performer Lonnie Cooper, seven-time All-American sprinter Trey Hadnot, Kodak All-American Tamicha Jackson, All-American lineman Chris Richardson, two-time Southland Coach of the Year Andy Russo, and three-time All-American linebacker Glenell Sanders.
 
The Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony will take place this fall prior to a home football game.  The seven-person class will bring the total number of LA Tech Hall of Famers to 120 with the first ever class being honored almost 40 years ago in 1984.
 
Allen (Football, 2010-12) was originally part of the Class of 2021 but could not make the ceremony due to health reasons.  He became the first player ever to win back-to-back Ray Guy Awards as the nation's top punter in 2011 and 2012.  A member of the 2011 Western Athletic Conference champions and 2011 Poinsettia Bowl team, Allen was a two-time All-American and two-time All-WAC performer.  The Salem, Oregon native holds the record for longest career punt and the highest career punting average in program history.  The eight-year NFL veteran won three Super Bowls (XLIX, LI, LIII) with the New England Patriots and was selected as a member of the 50 greatest players in Joe Aillet Stadium history.
 
Cooper (Men's Basketball, 1995-99) was a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference guard, leading the Bulldogs to the 1998-99 SBC regular season title while earning LSWA Louisiana Player of the Year honors.  A top-50 high school recruit out of McCall High School in Tallulah, Louisiana, he ranks No. 21 in program history in career scoring (1,451), No. 3 in career assists (523), No. 7 in career steals (153), No. 3 in career three-pointers made (219), and still holds the single-season program record for highest free throw percentage (92.1%).  Cooper went on to play professionally for 11 years.
 
 Hadnot (Men's Track and Field, 2011-14) becomes the sixth track and field athlete in enter the Hall of Fame.  He was a seven-time All-American (most in program history) and a 16-time conference champion as a sprinter for the Bulldogs.  The Ruston native was named WAC Outstanding Track Performer of the Year three times, helping LA Tech to four top-three finishes as a team at the conference championships.  He ranks in the top 10 in program history in several categories and still holds all 10 of the top-10 indoor 200m records, including his program record time of 20.48.
 
 Jackson (Women's Basketball, 1996-2000) was named Kodak All-American and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2000.  The four-time All-SBC selection and three-time SBC All-Tournament team selection led the Lady Techsters to a 123-14 record as well as four SBC regular season and tournament titles.  The Dallas, Texas native helped LA Tech advance to four NCAA Tournaments (four Sweet 16s, three Elite 8s, two Final Fours, and a 1998 National runner-up finish).  Jackson ranks No. 12 in program history in career points (1,822), No. 2 in career steals (361), No. 1 in career three-point field-goals made (187), and No. 8 in career assists (474).  She was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock, playing seven years professionally.
 
 Richardson (Football, 1969-71) lettered three years for the Bulldogs as a defensive lineman, voted as a member of the 50 greatest players in Joe Aillet Stadium history.  He was a member of the 1969 Southland Conference champions, playing in the Grantland Rice Bowl as part of the NCAA DII Mideast Region championship, the program's second ever postseason appearance.  He was an All-Gulf States Conference selection in 1970 after totaling 100 tackles.  He followed that up with an All-American campaign in 1971, serving as a team captain for the Southland Conference champions who went on to claim the NCAA College Division Midwest Region title with a win over Eastern Michigan in the Pioneer Bowl.  
 
 Russo (Men's Basketball, 1979-85) registered an all-time record of 122-55 at the helm of the Bulldogs, including three 20-win seasons.  The two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year, two-time LSWA Louisiana Coach of the Year, and two-time LABC Coach of the Year owns the second-highest winning percentage in LA Tech history (68.9%).  He guided the Bulldogs to consecutive Southland Conference Tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1985.  The 1985 team went 29-3, tied for the most wins ever in a single season. 
 
Sanders (Football, 1986-89) is a member of the LA Tech Football 100-year anniversary team and 50 Greatest Players in Joe Aillet Stadium history team.  The three-time All-American and three-time LSWA Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year totaled 548 tackles during his Bulldog career, a record that still stands to this day.  He also still holds the program record for most tackles in a single game (24) and in a single season (183 done twice in 1987 and 1988).  The Clinton, Louisiana native played four seasons in the NFL, one season apiece for the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts.