Commending the Louisiana State University Tigers football team for winning the 2003 Bowl Championship Series national championship game, and commending the Southern University Jaguars football team for winning the 2003 SBN Black College National Football Championship.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time for the majority leader or his designee to call up House Resolution 496; the resolution be considered as read; and the previous question be considered as ordered on the resolution to final adoption without intervening motion except (1) one hour of debate and (2) one motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House, and as the designee of the majority leader, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 496) commending the Louisiana State University Tigers football team for winning the 2003 Bowl Championship Series national championship game, and commending the Southern University Jaguars football team for winning the 2003 SBN Black College National Football championship, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. John), for purposes of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 496.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a particular note of pride to speak on behalf of two fine athletic achievements from institutions both domiciled within the great city of Baton Rouge.

It began last fall when LSU set eight school records during the 2003 season. They won 13 games during that season, more games than in any other season in Louisiana State University history. They won the Southeastern Conference championship, defeating the University of Georgia by a score of 34 to 13 in the Southeastern Conference championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on December 6, 2003. This was followed by a terrific game and a victory in the 2003 Bowl Championship Series for the national championship, defeating Oklahoma University by a score of 21 to 14 in the Nokia Sugar Bowl on January 4, 2004.

Let me say a word about the excellent Oklahoma team and the manner in which their athletes competed. There was no giving up until the final whistle blew. It was a terrific game to watch.

But I want to express great appreciation to the young men of the LSU football team for their commitment to excellence and their hard work in pursuit of this championship. As a result of this effort, they were first in the Nation in total defense, allowing only 252 yards per game, and scoring defense, allowing only one team in a game to score more than 20 points. As a result of this outstanding effort, Coach Nick Saban was named the National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America, and Chad Lavalais, Corey Webster, Skyler Green and Stephen Peterman were all named first- team All-Americans.

At the same time, as amazing as this accomplishment was for any athletic program, located just across the city is the great Southern University, also within the Sixth Congressional District of Louisiana.

They ended their football season, finishing with a 12 and 1 record, defeating Grambling State University in an exciting game, 44 to 41, to win the 2003 State Farm Bayou Classic and the right to go to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

On December 13, 2003, in front of 31,617 fans in Birmingham, Alabama, the Southern University team defeated Alabama State by a score of 20 to 9 to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game and Southern University's 19th Southwestern Athletic Conference title, consequently were named the 2003 SBN Black College National Football Champions.

This is an extraordinary occurrence, when two programs of such excellence achieve national prominence and bring home the national championship.

Although there has been some discussion about the manner in which this championship was arrived at, I would be quick to point out that this resolution is the first such resolution to be considered on the House floor, and appropriately so, because I believe, without doubt, LSU and Southern University are first in the Nation in football excellence.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from North Louisiana (Mr. McCrery).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I wish to read into the Record additional commendations that are certainly appropriate. I recognize that Coach Saban was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year. I would like to also recognize the Southern University Coach, Pete Richardson, who was named Coach of the Year by the Southwestern Athletic Conference, as well as having young men named to the SBN Black College All American Team, including quarterback Quincy Richard, offensive linemen Arnold Sims and Miniya Smith, and defensive back Lenny Williams. So the achievements and recognition coming to both universities, their football leadership, and the members of the team have been extraordinary.

It is with great pleasure that I participate in this discussion this afternoon and note, as I did a few moments ago to the gentleman from Louisiana, that this is also the first resolution to be considered in the House on this matter. Although there appeared to be controversy, I do not consider it so. There was merely discussion about the efficacy of Louisiana State University being named number one as a result of some expressed concerns about the BCS. Those concerns only became apparent when the calculations turned out the way they did at the end of the day. Many people were quite happy to abide by the BCS scientific analysis as long as LSU remained in third position.

So I just wanted to enter into the Record that once again, with the consideration of this resolution, LSU is moving forward in first place through the legislative process.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that when we start a political campaign as hopeful candidates to be elected to Congress, we set up a standard of rules, we conduct the campaign, and we finalize the campaign based on those pre-determined sets of rules. Rarely do we get engaged in a discussion about changing the rules during the course of the campaign.

I think, although I had some differences myself with the way the BCS calculations were to ultimately be determined, once the BCS was put in place, win or lose, we had to abide by those rules until that season was over.

Now next season may bring us new opportunities to talk about perhaps playoff opportunities. Some were interested in seeing a playoff game between LSU and USC. I would personally have enjoyed that to a great extent.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer this resolution for consideration by the House. I look forward to its final adoption and, more importantly, next season.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first let me thank my good friend and colleague from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for introducing this resolution, and, of course, thank him for extending me the time.

I am very proud to stand up here today to congratulate two national

championships from the same city. I think that is an accomplishment that we all in Louisiana, and certainly the Congressman from Baton Rouge, should be very proud of.

As the gentleman mentioned, on January 4, down in the Louisiana Superdome in the Sugar Bowl, which was the BCS national championship, the LSU Fighting Tigers, my alma mater, defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the Bowl Championship Series national title. The Tigers did the State proud by bringing home the first national championship in 45 years, Mr. Speaker; and I think that is a proud accomplishment.

However, LSU, as the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker) has mentioned, is not the only collegiate football team to excel this year. The Southern University Jaguars gave the fans throughout the country something to cheer about when they were recognized in the Sheraton Poll as the 2004 Historical Black College National Championship, completing the dual national championships from two universities from the same town.

The Southern Jaguars completed an impressive 12 and 1 season, including a very exciting football game in the Superdome in the Bayou Classic and also the Southwest Athletic Conference title championship game.

Mr. Speaker, but this was more than just about two football games. I am very proud to stand up here and congratulate the athletic programs of both universities, but this was also an opportunity to showcase the academic excellence of both of those universities. I am very proud of that.

LSU chancellor, Mark Emmert; Southern University chancellor, Ed Jackson; the LSU football coach, Nick Saban; the Southern football coach, Peter Richardson; all the students; the great fans from Louisiana should all be proud and join us in recognizing this wonderful accomplishment of the two national championships from my home State. I am very proud to stand here and congratulate them.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I have the gentleman from New Orleans, Louisiana, (Mr. Jefferson) who is on his way to also join in this celebration of two national championships.

Of course, I am very proud of being not only an alumnus of that great institution but also for being present at the game. It was an incredible game. It was a defensive game. Of course, Coach Saban always said, and borrowed a line from many famous coaches, that defense wins national championships. Of course, the 21-to-14 score at the end of the game I think reiterated the fact that the defense indeed did win this national championship.

I am actually looking forward to the 2004 season with the BCS to ending up very similar to this year, but the only difference is it will happen in Miami and not New Orleans.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As the gentleman mentioned, I happen to be, I guess notwithstanding anything else, a big fan of the BCS. I believe that it is a system that is maybe far from perfect, but I am very supportive of the theory of what it is all about. It puts to strength the schedule and also puts the games, who you play, and not just how many points you score. And I think that, in the end, it was very close. It was in the decimal points.

But I also want to congratulate the University of Southern California, who had a very excellent season and ended on a very positive note. But the BCS, I think we will hear lots of controversy about it, but I think it worked. I think it was something that is far from perfect, as I mentioned before, but it is something that is needed in college football, and we are moving towards that.

I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it is also just interesting to note that all of the conferences across the NCAA signed off on those rules before the season started, so we must play by those rules.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Orleans (Mr. Jefferson), my friend and colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important resolution, because it recognizes a most unusual event in our Nation's sports history, when two college teams in the same town, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, not a big metropolitan town like Los Angeles or New York or what have you, but a small southern capital city, when two universities in that town achieve the ranking of number one in the Nation, national championships, both the Black College National Championship with Southern and the NCAA championship with the LSU Tigers, that is a remarkable event.

I missed the LSU game, by the way. My friend from Crowley should know the fact I spent the night in Crowley Hospital in fact attending to a problem I was having that night and missed the game, and my wife had to tell me who won the next morning.

But I did watch the replay, and the gentleman is absolutely right, it was an amazing game. Unfortunately, I stayed there with my two tickets, knocked out for the evening, and did not see the game. But when I saw the replay, I realized how tough a game it was.

Oklahoma was a great team. The Oklahoma Sooners were supposed to be the ``team of the century'' as they began their season, stumbled with Kansas State, and again faced an incredibly improving LSU team under Nick Saban. Coach Richardson with the Southern team had an amazing run of great victories to a national championship as well. What an outstanding year Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had and our State of Louisiana had in these two national championships.

The most remarkable thing, of course, is the way these two coaches have brought these players along. If you watched the season of these two teams, you saw coaches really working with young men and bringing them along, both athletically and in many other ways, making great men of them as they proceeded through their schedule. When the end of the season came, they were all much better than when they started, both academically, athletically and in so many other ways.

I should also tell you one of my best friends in this world is a former Member, Bill Brewster. You should know that last Friday Bill Brewster went through open heart surgery here in Washington, D.C. He had five bypasses, and he is back at his desk today. He is doing great; he has recovered.

But I called him up when I knew he was going into that surgery, since he is from Oklahoma and he was a Congressman from Oklahoma, to offer him some LSU surgeons, since we had learned to cut up on Oklahoma pretty good in the stadium in New Orleans. He had a good laugh and said, ``You are going to break my stitches. Don't do that, please.''

The bottom line is we had a great year. The coaches and players at LSU, my son is an LSU senior right now, as you and I, all of us are LSU graduates, he is a senior now at LSU, and the thrill of those students, I know at LSU and Southern, to watch their team achieve such great heights is an inspiration for all those young people. They are going to be better students. They are going to be better people because they went through a great year, and they saw what hard work, determination and just gutting it out means in terms of winning a great victory the way the teams won those victories.

So, again, our great congratulations to the LSU Tigers and the Southern Jaguars, our great appreciation to the coaches and their staffs and the students and those folks who run those two great institutions, and our congratulations to the fans of our great State, who stuck with our teams through some hard times until this great year we experienced.

So, again, thank you for bringing this resolution forward, Richard, and again congratulations at Mardi Gras time to the State of Louisiana.

``Laissez les bon temps rouler,'' let the good times roll.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman bringing this resolution to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I am a graduate of LSU Law School, so, of course, I am very proud of the LSU Tigers and their national championship this year. But I have to tell you not only LSU graduates are proud of the LSU Tigers. LSU is an institution in Louisiana that exceeds just the confines of the campus and the student body and the alumni. Everybody in Louisiana takes great pride in watching the LSU Tigers play, so, of course, the State is just very excited still about the national championship.

Southern University, the Jaguars, have a long history of great football teams, this year, of course, winning the national championship for Black Colleges. So Baton Rouge, as the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) pointed out, is the home of two national champions, and we all of us in Louisiana, north Louisiana and south Louisiana alike, are very proud of those two schools and our capital of Baton Rouge.

I took my two boys and my wife to the Sugar Bowl; and just to give you some idea of the excitement that was generated by LSU, my two boys, who are 10 and 8, I have never seen them get so excited about anything, whether it is Christmas morning or birthday presents. These guys were excited. Just throughout the stadium, people were excited about what was going on in our State and with our football team, the LSU Tigers.

So it was a great victory not only for LSU but for everybody who lives in Louisiana and who enjoys watching the LSU Tigers play football. The same thing I am sure for the alumni fans, children of graduates of Southern University. So, all in all, this year we just could not have asked for a better ending to the football season at both Southern and LSU.

So I thank the gentleman for bringing this resolution to the floor.

I commend the coaches of both schools and the players. I want to particularly point out Nick Saban's performance not only on the football field and not only on the sideline but before the cameras. In every interview leading up to the Sugar Bowl, I think Coach Saban was extremely gracious in his

comments about the BCS and who might be the eventual champion, who should be and what game. He never, ever got cross-wise with the press. He never stuck his nose up and said LSU ought to be here or there. He just said, look, we are just going to play the game and see what happens; and whatever game they tell us to go to and play, that is where we will go and play. I thought he exhibited a great deal of character and class in that whole time period leading up to the game.

So congratulations to Coach Saban for a fine performance on the field and off the field.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to today to congratulate the Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers football team for winning the 2003 National Championship and the Southern University Jaguars for being named the 2003 SBN Black College Football championship. Both of these schools brought great excitement to the people of Louisiana, including myself, and undoubtedly deserving champions.

As I watched the game in the Superdome I knew I was watching something special, a part of history that folks in Louisiana would be proud of for a long time. LSU defensively dominated Oklahoma on its way to a 21-14 victory over the heavily favored Sooners to bring the national title back to Baton Rouge for first time since the ``Chinese Bandits'' secured it in 1958. Led by coach of the year Nick Saban, the Tigers won a school record 12 games this year and their 9th Southeastern Conference Championship beating arch rivals Ole Miss, Auburn, Alabama, and Arkansas by a combined score of 130-48.

The Tigers got outstanding performances from several players during the season. True Freshman Justin Vincent was named the most valuable player of the Southeastern Conference Championship game against Georgia, where he rushed for 201 yards and the Sugar Bowl where he ran for 117 yards with 1 touchdown.

LSU's defense led by first team all-American Chad Lavlais ranked number 1 in the Nation this season in scoring defense allowing only an average of 11 points per game and only yielding more that 20 points in 1 game. The defense was the difference in the National Championship game as Defensive End Marcus Spears intercepted a Jason White pass and ran it back for what turned out to be the go ahead touchdown.

But this is not the only title that now resides in Louisiana. The Southern University Jaguars defeated Alabama State University 20-9 to win their 19th Southwestern Athletic Conference title and become the SBN Black College Football National Champions.

Under the guidance of Pete Richardson, this year's Southwestern Conference coach of the year, the Jaguars earned their 5th conference title in Coach Richarson's 11 year tenure and defeated Grambling State University in a 44-41 shootout to win the annual Bayou Classic held in the New Orleans Superdome.

Southern Quarterback Quincy Richard was named the Offensive Player of the year and was named to the SBN Black College All American Team, along with offensive lineman Arnold Sims, Miniya Smith, and defensive back Lenny Williams.

It is an honor to congratulate both these teams on a memorable and historic season that will forever bring great pride to each University and the people to Louisiana.