A couple of weeks ago, I was present when University of Louisiana President Ray Authement spoke to the UL athletic director search committee and proclaimed that the selection of the university's next athletic director would be one of the most important hirings in the school's history.

The committee, of which I am a part, then decided the person chosen to lead the athletic department must be a visionary who is able to articulate his or her vision throughout various segments of the community and be able to generate unprecedented support from fans and businesses alike.

There have been a few recent UL coaches that come to mind who embodied these qualities, and the national success of their respective programs bear witness to their superb leadership (i.e Yvette Girouard and Tony Robichaux).

But from 1981-88, the UL men's tennis team and the Lafayette tennis community experienced unparalleled, top-level college tennis success under the guidance of its visionary coach, Gary Albertine.

On Sept. 15-17, Albertine and his team will reunite to reminisce about their past glory, share stories about each other and will attempt to compete against the current UL team in a dual doubles match.

I say "attempt to compete" because this group of 40-year-old has-beens have NO chance against the young Ragin' Cajun tennis team, no matter what anyone thinks.

But back to Albertine. Those who knew coach Albertine will remember a quiet man who was, well, not exactly the tallest man in the world, but proved to be a giant of a college tennis coach who developed the Ragin' Cajun program into a top 15-ranked Division I program.

It was Albertine's program that produced the school's only All-American players to date - Tarek El Sakka, Ashley Rhoney and Bret Garnett, as well as a No.1-ranked doubles team (Rhoney and Garnett) and the only tennis team in UL history to qualify for and win a round at the NCAA Team Championships.

His team success was merely a natural extension of Albertine's personal success. As an LSU player, Albertine was named LSU's first-ever Athlete of the Year and was an All-SEC player for two years. And although his professional tennis career was not quite spectacular, he immediately excelled when provided the opportunity to coach the UL team without ever having any prior college coaching experience.

Albertine's vision was clear - he wanted to win with tennis players who were from Southern states, who were accustomed to winning and whose games he could further develop through grueling physical workouts.

His first recruit was Tony Minnis, a young man who Albertine simply describes as "a winner," and for four straight years Tony won nearly every match he played at UL.

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Curtis Hollinger