[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING TULANE UNIVERSITY'S FOOTBALL TEAM AMERICAN ATHLETIC 
                  CONFERENCE AND COTTON BOWL CHAMPIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE SCALISE

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 18, 2023

  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Tulane 
University football team for winning the American Athletic Conference 
championship, and for then winning the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic! The 
Tulane football team, under the leadership of Coach Willie Fritz, just 
completed the greatest turnaround in NCAA football history with a 
commanding 12-2 record after finishing 2-10 in their 2021-2022 season. 
This magical turnaround season was crystallized on Monday, January 2, 
2023, when No. 14 ranked Tulane faced off against the No. 8 University 
of Southern California in the Cotton Bowl and won a thrilling instant-
classic by a score of 46-45, with sixteen of Tulane's points scored in 
the final four minutes.
  Tulane finished the season ranked No. 9 in all of college football, 
which is their highest national ranking since 1998. Tulane's march to 
victory included: defeating three top 25 teams in the nation; defeating 
the three teams leaving the American Athletic Conference for the Big 
12; and defeating Kansas State who went on to be the Big 12 champion. 
Prior to winning the Cotton Bowl, Tulane defeated the No. 22 University 
of Central Florida in a rematch for the AAC championship to capture the 
university's first-ever AAC title.
  Tulane's electric championship season also included individual 
honors. Tyjae Spears, a native of Ponchatoula, LA, was named AAC 
Offensive Player of the Year, and Coach Willie Fritz won the AAC Coach 
of the Year award, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award, and was a 
finalist for both the Bear Bryant and George Munger Coach of the Year 
awards. This is the fourth time in the last five years that Coach Fritz 
has led his team to a bowl game, and I commend him for his continued 
leadership of these talented young men. Roll Wave.

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