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ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 65
BY REPRESENTATIVE LACOMBE
A RESOLUTION
To express the condolences of the House of Representatives on the death of former
Northwestern State University football coach Sam Goodwin.
WHEREAS, it is with immense sadness and profound regret that the House of
Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana has learned of the passing, on March 20,
2026, of former Northwestern State University football coach Sam Goodwin; and
WHEREAS, Sam Goodwin was a native of Pineville, Louisiana, and an alumnus of
Pineville High School; he was a standout two-way football player who helped lead Pineville
to the Class 2A state championship during his senior year; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin played collegiate football and threw the discus at
Henderson State University; in 1965, he was an NAIA All-American selection and served
as the captain of the football team; outside of football, he was a three-time conference discus
champion and set the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference record in the event; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin enjoyed a stellar nine-season coaching run at Parkview
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he won seventy-two percent of his games and
led the team to five state championships; and
WHEREAS, following his outstanding high school coaching career, Coach Goodwin
spent two seasons as an assistant on Lou Holtz's coaching staff at the University of Arkansas
and then moved on to serve for two seasons as head coach of Southern Arkansas University;
and
WHEREAS, after his two-year head coaching tenure at Southern Arkansas, he was
named head coach at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin was the architect of Northwestern State University's
golden-era of football; he won a school-record one hundred two games over seventeen
seasons at the helm of the Demons football program, developed the team into a perennial
Southland Conference Championship contender, and set the Southland Conference wins
record; and
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HR NO. 65 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin led the Demons to four conference championships,
including the 1984 Gulf Star title and the 1988, 1997, and 1998 Southland Conference titles;
he was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year on two occasions; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin coached twenty-two All-Americans, two Academic
All-Americans, a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, forty-two All-Southland
Conference selections, and thirty-eight future NFL players; and
WHEREAS, after retiring from his coaching role at Northwestern State in 2000,
Coach Goodwin served as the athletic director of Henderson State University; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin was inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame,
Northwestern State's highest honor for student-athletes and athletic staff, in 1999, and he is
a member of the Southland Conference Hall of Honor; and
WHEREAS, Coach Goodwin was named to the AIC All-Decade Team chosen by
Dave Campbell's Arkansas Football magazine, and he was enshrined in the Arkansas Sports
Hall of Fame in 2007 for both his playing career and success at the helm of Parkview; and
WHEREAS, Coach Sam Goodwin was an outstanding leader who established
himself as a Louisiana and Arkansas football legend, and while he will be deeply missed,
his coaching and playing legacy shall live in perpetuity in the hearts and minds of those who
were privileged to have known him.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express heartfelt condolences on the death of former
Northwestern State University football coach Sam Goodwin and does hereby extend sincere
wishes that his family, friends, former players, and colleagues find comfort in their shared
memories of his inspiring life.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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