Nicholls athletics loses its “number one fan” after 14 years of service.
Dr. Glenn Antizzo, former associate professor of government and former faculty athletics representative, is leaving the school he “loved to be a part of” to take a job at Mississippi College as an associate professor of political science and advisor for the pre-law program.
Antizzo relates leaving Nicholls to a college graduation.
“Although you are no longer a student at your alma mater, the connection remains because you will always be an alumnus. Likewise, even though I will no longer be a professor at Nicholls, I will always consider myself a Colonel.”
The baseball team showed their appreciation for Antizzo by asking him to throw the first pitch for the senior day game. The pitch was followed by a personal hug from every member on the team. The team also individually signed their names on the ball Antizzo used to throw out the first pitch.
“I was very honored to be asked to throw out the first pitch at the final home game. In a sense, it became “senior day” for me as well as the graduating players. All I could think about was my throw; I wanted the pitch to at least make it to the plate, which it did; however, it went wide right. I was so grateful that Kevin Schlegel, the catcher, was able to catch it.”
Also for this game, dear friends and loyal Colonel fans made “Antizzo faces on a stick” to use throughout the game to honor him and show their appreciation. These fans would often yell out remarks while wearing these life-size faces in front of their own to make it seem as though there were several Antizzo’s yelling from the stand.
A loyal fan and friend who always sits by Antizzo for baseball games asked Antizzo to sign his Nicholls hat, something he has never asked a previous coach or player to do, to show his appreciation for Antizzo. Several other fans also asked Antizzo to sign hats for a keepsake.
“There is nothing more humbling than to discover that people have that level of affection for you. I have felt very bonded to the student-athletes, coaches, fans, the campus, and the larger Thibodaux community for years, but the outpouring of love I have experienced since announcing my impending departure for Mississippi College has been nothing short of overwhelming.”
Antizzo has been deeply involved in Nicholls athletics from being named Nicholls’ “number one fan” by athletes and other fans to starting the tradition of singing the seventh inning stretch.
He began this tradition in 2007 when Ken Berthelot misplaced the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and asked Antizzo to sing it. From then on, it became a “permanent gig,” even to the point where fans and athletes alike would ask where he was when he did not perform or they did not hear him cheering for the school he loved throughout the game.
One of Antizzo’s fondest cheering memories occurred during a Nicholls’ baseball game.
“The first baseman was trying to catch a pop fly hit by a Colonel batter. I was sitting near him and started yelling, ‘I got it, I got it.’ Thinking that one of his teammates was coming to assist, he pulled in his glove. The ball dropped to the ground, and the Nicholls player was safe at first.”
However, the dreaded moment for Antizzo came all too quick: the last baseball game for him as a professor and representative.
“I felt like the team had won one last game for me, and I was very happy that it positioned the Colonels to get to their first Southland Conference Baseball tournament in a decade. My happiness for the team was, however, tempered by a heavy heart as I left the stadium for the last time as a professor.”
While Antizzo is having a hard time leaving the University, faculty and staff are feeling a loss without him here.
“He played a special role in the lives of student-athletes to ensure that their college experience is a rewarding one both in the classroom and on the field of play,” athletics director Rob Bernardi said.
Not only is the void found within the faculty and staff, his leaving also saddens students and athletes.
“He was one of the greatest teachers I have had at Nicholls,” Lauren Dunnam, junior education major from Thibodaux, said. “He truly inspired me to do my best in his class.”
“I think he was really our student section,” senior guard Kellan Carter said. “He kept us excited in the game. He was pretty much the only one I could hear during the game.”
However, all of the athletes, students, faculty and staff agreed on one thing: “Dr. Antizzo, Nicholls’ number one fan and beloved teacher, will truly be missed.”Questions & Answers
Q. What has been your best memory at Nicholls involving athletics?
A. Watching student-athletes, particularly the ones who, for whatever reason, had to work a bit harder, get their degrees on graduation day. If people knew the hardships that these young men and women have to endure in order to balance their studies with their athletic obligations (especially the rigors of the long road trips on a bus), they would be amazed that it was possible to excel simultaneously at both.
Q. Even though you love cheering for every team, what has been your ?favorite sport to cheer for and why?
A. It is hard to identify one single sport as my favorite to cheer for because there are different aspects of each sport at Nicholls, both men’s and women’s, that I richly enjoy. Indeed, when I look at the calendar, I see the seasons of the year as fall sports, winter sports, spring sports, and off-season (summer). I tend to most enjoy the sports that I can, as a fan, have the greatest impact on. As a consequence, I tend to enjoy baseball/softball and men’s/women’s basketball the most since they offer the greatest opportunities for fan participation and good-natured heckling. One of my favorite examples of this was at a baseball game, where the first baseman was trying to catch a pop fly hit by a Colonel batter. I was sitting near him and started yelling, “I got it, I got it.” Thinking that one of his teammates was coming to assist, he pulled in his glove. The ball dropped to the ground and the Nicholls player was safe at first! I must admit, however, that I am a bit more reserved at women’s games; it just doesn’t feel right to give the ladies on the opposing team a rough time, even if it is done in a playful manner.
Q. In the last baseball game of the season, fans made “Antizzo Faces” to ?use throughout the game. How does it feel to know you have had people?back you up and think so highly of you?
A. There is nothing more humbling than to discover that people have that level of affection for you. I have felt very bonded to the student-athletes, coaches, fans, the campus, and the larger Thibodaux community for years, but the outpouring of love I have experienced since announcing my impending departure for Mississippi College has been nothing short of overwhelming.
Athletics Director Rob Bernardi’s speech at the athletics banquet and the reception that the student-athletes, coaches and families gave me when I went up on stage afterward was one of the most emotional moments of my life. I read Rob’s speech to my mom and she started to cry as well. Dr. Hulbert provided another such moment with the generous praise he gave me both at the NSU athletics banquet and the Southland Conference Spring Meetings banquet in Galveston last week. ? ? ?
Q. How did you get started with the singing of the seventh inning stretch?for baseball?
A. Ken Berthelot had asked me to do it one day during the 2007 season, as I recall, because they had misplaced the recording of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” that had been played during the seventh inning stretch. I continued to do it for the rest of the season. When I was asked to reprise my performance at the first game of the next season, I knew it had become a permanent gig. In the years since then, on the rare occasions that I missed a baseball game, people would say, “Where were you? You weren’t here so they didn’t do a seventh inn
ing stretch.” I am proud that people seem to think of it as a tradition at Didier Field. I would love to do it on a guest basis in the future.
Q. Will you plan on being involved in your new schools athletics and if ?so, how?
A. I plan to be the biggest Choctaw fan at Mississippi College and go to as many games as possible. I would like to eventually become involved on the MC Athletics Council and serve as Faculty Athletics Representative as I have here at Nicholls State.
Q. What has being at Nicholls and involved with athletics meant to you?
A. As part of our normal duties, all faculty members have to do a certain amount of service. In my case, I feel particularly blessed that I have been able to work with a program that I love so much. I have tried to be an advocate for student-athletes and have worked to bridge any gaps that may exist between the athletes, faculty, coaches, and administrators. Unlike anything else I have done outside of my teaching and research, I feel that athletics has allowed me to make an impact at Nicholls State.
Especially at a commuter school, athletics gives the campus something to rally around and promotes a sense of community that pulls everyone (students, faculty, and staff) together. When a team makes a run at a Southland Conference title, as football did in 2005 or men’s basketball in 2009, you can feel a sense of electric excitement on the campus. I loved being a part of that.
Q. Do you have any games that have stuck out in your mind? If so, which ?one and why?
A. Actually, there are quite a few that stick out in my mind. Just to mention a few:
Men’s basketball vs. LSU (2009): J.P. Piper’s squad comes within 35 seconds of beating the Tigers, a lucky 3-pointer beats the Colonels.
Baseball vs. Texas State (2010): Nicholls makes it into the Southland Conference Tournament and pummels the regular season champions in game 1, 13-4.
Football vs. McNeese State (2005): Nicholls beats the Cowboys to win the Southland Conference and get a bid to the I-AA playoffs.
The entire 1997-1998 men’s basketball season. Rickey Broussard’s squad goes15-1 to win the regular season, cutting down the nets at Stopher Gym. The team then wins the Southland Conference Tournament and goes to the NCAA championships.
Baseball vs. LSU (2009): Chip Durham’s squad uses a different pitcher every inning to beat the eventual national champions at Alex Box Stadium
Baseball vs. LSU (2006?) The Tigers come to Didier Field and nearly get beaten. Colonels leave two men on base and lose to LSU, 3-1.
Women’s basketball vs. Louisiana Tech (1998?) Do Bonin bring’s what, at the time, was the biggest name opponent to campus until the recent LSU visits for softball baseball . As I recall, the Lady Colonels hung in there, but eventually lost.
Women’s basketball vs. SLU (January 2009): Dobee Plaisance asks me to be her guest assistant coach. I had a blast; would do it again if asked!!!
Track and Field (2010): Two Words: Leslie Bourgeois!!!!
All of the Southland Conference titles won, and post-season play participated in, by the Lady Colonel Softball team.
Any time we play Southeastern Louisiana University in anything. I LOVE that rivalry!!!!
Q. Take me back to the end of the last baseball game at home. How were ?you feeling after the game as you walked around and became emotional?
A. I came to a realization of something that I had been in some denial about for weeks; I wanted to enjoy the game for what it was, but my mind kept wandering back to the thought that this was my last game as a professor and as Faculty Athletics Representative. I have grown very attached to the athletics program and the relationship, at least the formal aspects of it, was drawing to a close. I felt like the team had won one last game for me and I was very happy that it positioned the Colonels to get to their first Southland Conference Baseball Tournament in a decade. My happiness for the team was, however, tempered by a heavy heart as I left the stadium for the last time as a professor. On a lighter note, one of my friends joked that I would now have to start paying for my own tickets! (As part of their duties, members of the Athletics Council get free admission to all sporting events.) ? ?
Q. I know there are really no words to explain, but what does leaving?Nicholls mean?
A. It is the end of a big chapter in my life. I have spent about 30% of my life teaching at Nicholls. As is the case with many people, I derive a great deal of my personal identity from my career, so by leaving Nicholls, a part of me will be gone. In a sense, it is like graduating from college: although you are no longer a student at your alma mater, the connection remains because you will always be an alumnus. Likewise, even though I will no longer be a professor at Nicholls, I will always consider myself a Colonel.
Q. Granted not everyone gets to throw out a first pitch at a baseball game. How did it feel to be asked to throw out the pitch? And what were you thinking throughout it? ?
A. I was very honored to be asked to throw out the first pitch at the final home game of the 2010 season. In a sense it became “senior day” for me as well as the graduating players. All I could think about was my throw; I wanted the pitch to at least make it to the plate, which it did.however, it went wide right; I was so grateful that the catcher (Kevin) was able to catch it. A friend was recording the event on my video camera, so there is now a personal record of how badly I need a pitching coach!! The tremendous show of affection from the baseball team was moving. I got a warm embrace from every single player and coach and they all signed my baseball. I will always cherish that day.
Dr. Glenn Antizzo, former associate professor of government and faculty athletics representative, poses with friends and Colonel fans, who showed their appreciation for him by making “Antizzo faces.” (Katelyn Thibodeaux)
