The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Staff Report - For The Record

BEAUMONT - Hall of Fame coach Gene Stallings will be the guest speaker at the 2016 Lamar University Football Banquet. The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. in the Montagne Center. The banquet will serve as the Golden Triangle’s first opportunity to meet the 2016 LU players and coaches.

Tickets still remain at various price levels. Individual tickets are on sale for $130 and tables can be purchased at gold, red and white levels. A 10-seat gold level table is $5,000, while the 10-seat red level tables are $2,500. An hour prior to the start of the banquet there will be a special VIP reception with Stallings for the gold and red table members. Eight-seat white level tables are $1,000.

A Texas A&M alum where he was one of the “Junction Boys,” Stallings went on to become one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football. A member of the College Football, Alabama Sports, Texas Sports, Texas A&M, Gator Bowl and Cotton Bowl Halls of Fame, Stallings was hired as head coach of his alma mater at age 29.

He later went on to be named head coach at the University of Alabama where he guided the Crimson Tide to the 1992 national title. Alabama posted a perfect 13-0 record that season and defeated Miami in the Sugar Bowl to lay claim to the title.

A two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Stallings’ career expands far beyond the collegiate realm. In 1972, Stallings joined Tom Landry to become secondary coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Stallings remained in Dallas for 14 seasons helping guide the Cowboys to a Super Bowl XII victory. Following his time with the Cowboys, he was named head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals (franchise eventually moved to Phoenix, Ariz.) in 1986.

The banquet will once again consist of a live and silent auction, and fans will be entertained by the LU Spirit squads and the Southeast Texas Showcase Band.

For more information contact Angel Dauphine at (409) 880-7157.