USL to honor McDonald, Perrin

LOUISIANA La. - Three time All-Gulf States Conference football standout Mike McDonald and former All-American weightlifter Warren Perrin have been awarded Southwestern Louisiana's highest athletic honor with their election to the "S" Club Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Ragin' Cajun standouts from the late 1960s and early 1970s, will be inducted into the USL shrine during halftime activities of next Saturday's homecoming football contest against Memphis State. That contest is set for 4 p.m. at Cajun Field as the culmination of a week-long series of activities.

The announcement of the induction of McDonald and Perrin was made last weekend by the "S" Club Hall of Fame selection committee. Their induction will bring the total to 64 former USL athletes that have been honored with the school's highest award for athletic achievement.

McDonald, a standout defensive back for the Cajuns' football team, and Perrin, a member of four USL national champion weightlifting teams, will have their pictures permanently enshrined in the USL Athletic Complex and will receive several special presentations during the halftime ceremonies as well as at an earlier Saturday "S" Club reception.

McDonald, a record-setting defensive back as well as a kickoff and punt return specialist, was a four-year letterman for the Cajuns football squad and helped lead USL to a pair of Gulf States Conference Championships during his career.

He was a two-time All-GSC pick in his freshman and junior year in 1968 and 1970 and earned honorable mention All-American honors in each of those seasons. He was also a second-team all-league choice as a senior in 1971.

During his career, McDonald set virtually every school record for interceptions, including most pass thefts in one game (four), in one season (nine) and in a career (21). He still ranks sixth on the state's all-time interception list with his 21 pass thefts. He also set a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return against Pensacola Navy in his freshman year in 1968, a year that he helped lead the Cajuns to the GSC crown.

McDonald was hampered by injuries most of his sophomore season, but came back as a junior for his second All-GSC honor and was also honored as the league's Defensive Player of the Year that season in leading the Cajuns to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Grantland Rice Bowl. His teams compiled a 27-14-1 record in four seasons.

McDonald, an active member of the Alumni Association and the Alumni "S" Club, currently lives in Lake Charles and is employed by Stuart Pharmaceuticals. He had previously served for eight years on the staff of IBM where he won numerous awards for outstanding sales performance.

Perrin was a three-year letterman and a leader of USL's nationally-known weightlifting program. A native of Lafayette, he helped lead the Cajuns to four national weightlifting team championships as well as four undefeated seasons in dual competition.

Perrin placed third in the individual portion of the national collegiate championships in 1966 and improved to a second-place finish individually in 1967. He was team captain of the squad those two years. Perrin also won numerous state and regional titles, and placed among the top three in every major event entered during his collegiate career, including national competition.

Perrin was also known as one of the top student-athletes of his time, having made the Dean's List 10 times during his career and graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1969. He also served as vice-president of Blue Key National Honor Fraternity, served on the Student Government Association and as a student representative of the Faculty Athletic Committee, was twice an office holder with Gamma Beta Phi honor and service fraternity, was president of Kappa Alpha Order and was a member of Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.

Perrin later graduated with honors from the LSU Law School in 1972 and won the American Jurisprudence Award for Achievement while at LSU. He currently serves as a senior partner in the law firm of Perrin, Landry, deLaunay and Durand in Lafayette. He serves USL on several boards and groups, including the Alumni Association.


The Advocate
November 1, 1987