ALEXANDRIA, LA – Louisiana State University of Alexandria has announced its 2026 LSUA Athletics Hall of Fame class to be inducted on February 14 in The Outpost.
 
Among the inductees are Dr. Paul Coreil and Mrs. Arlene Coreil.
 
Dr. Paul and Mrs. Arlene Coreil serve as the 14^th Chancellor and First Lady of LSU Alexandria since 2019. The Coreils also served as the eighth Chancellor and First Lady of LSUA from 2013-14.  During his first stint as Chancellor, he was instrumental in adding Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Basketball and Women's Tennis, expanding the athletic department from its initial two intercollegiate programs to the current seven. Throughout the Coreils' leadership, they have dedicated university and personal resources to the athletic department resulting in conference championships in Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Men's Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Tennis and many trips to NAIA National Tournaments.  Since joining LSUA in 2013, Coreil has been instrumental in boosting enrollment, improving retention, and ensuring the success of all students beyond graduation. His vision has been critical in positioning LSUA as a leader in higher education across central Louisiana through record enrollment numbers and the construction of new athletic and academic buildings. They continue to be avid fans of LSUA Athletics supporting the teams both at home and on the road.



LSUA Generals (LSUA): When you received the call saying you had been inducted into the LSUA Athletics Hall of Fame, what were your reactions?
 
Mrs. Arlene Coreil (AC): I was at my momma's in Ville Platte and Paul called me, it didn't register at first. I thought, I hadn't really done anything, I just love it over there. It's amazing, I was so surprised and touched and humbled.
 
Dr. Paul Coreil (PC): Excitement and astonishment to be recognized by an organization like LSUA and the athletic program which is so crucial to the University. You're not doing it for an award, you're doing it because you like it. People say we like what you did and we want to put you in the Hall of Fame. Are we worthy of that? It's humbling.
 
LSUA: How did you end up at LSUA?
 
PC: I'd been at the AG Center for 34 years and decided I wanted to retire. It was a hard job and I enjoyed it. I announced the retirement four months ahead of actually leaving. I got a call from the president of the university saying, would you consider being interim [at LSUA], the chancellor is leaving. I came home and told Arlene, the first thing she said was "do you know how to be a chancellor?"
 
AC: I did.
 
PC: We came here together and I met the faculty and staff, it was a wonderful experience. We liked it so much for the year I was here – we weren't looking for a second career. We liked the area and university so much we decided to move and this be our retirement home. It was a call from the president and I thought a little diversity in higher ed would be interesting. I lived in The Oaks with the students. Arlene would come in three or four days a week, talk about a different experience. I loved it but I don't want to do it again.
 
LSUA: What were your thoughts when you came here and made that transition?
 
AC: I was excited. I knew I didn't want to stay in Baton Rouge, it was too much traffic – too much everything. The people were so nice when we came here in 2013. I knew we had to go somewhere else and we ended up here and I said "this is it; we are going to stay."
 
 LSUA: Dr. Coreil, you oversaw the expansion of athletics from two teams to seven, what was it like to go through that process?
 
PC: When I got here, they had very limited athletics. They had a pretty thriving baseball and softball program. They were really hoping to expand to other teams and competition. They hadn't hired any coaches or done anything; we weren't in the Red River Athletic Conference – we were independent. It was very much in the infancy of a full-fledged athletic department. I had the good fortune of being here for hiring the coaches and getting the call that we were accepted into the Red River Athletic Conference. It was a big deal. Shreveport was already in and it kind of showed us maturing as a university. To advertise and interview for women's and men's basketball coaches, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, I enjoyed. The LSU brand is pretty powerful so we had some really good candidates.  We saw that again when we hired Dimario Jackson. As a chancellor you get to do a lot of different things, including hiring coaches and expanding teams, getting into the Red River – which runs through Alexandria.
 
LSUA: Dr. Coreil jokes you don't have an office on campus, but everyone asks where your office is, you're here just as much as many of our students are. What advice do you both have for our students?
 
AC: I think I would tell any student to get involved. Not just with class that you're majoring in – get to know as many people as you can, get involved in sports, whether it's e-sports, club, cheer, dance. Just get involved and meet people. We are so different, yet so alike. Later on, it'll come back around and do special things for you.
 
LSUA: Dr. Coreil, how important has it been to have a spouse as supportive as Arlene during your tenure?
 
PC: I couldn't do it without her. These jobs are really hard and Arlene inspires me to continue to do the work because she respects these students and what we are doing at the university. It makes my job more relevant because she's the cheerleader for the work that I do. She's really talented at building relationships with people. It expands my influence because her influence is so substantial with students and the athletes, faculty and staff. I say you get two for one and it's true. You get two people who are dedicated to this campus with Arlene and I. She's not doing it because I tell her to do it, she's doing it because she loves it – it's who she is.
 
AC: We didn't plan on getting so involved and we love it.
 
PC: The evolution of how involved she has gotten; I think it has set a precedent that is going to be hard not to have. I often think when I leave, whatever date that will be, when someone comes in the first question will be do you have a spouse who is going to be here on campus supporting basketball? They have a tough lady to follow.
 
LSUA: Mrs. Arlene, we've seen you at every sport and numerous home games every year, what are some of your favorite memories from athletic events?
 
AC: My favorite memories are watching teams start and they grow so much. The coaches know their players so well, no matter what sport it is, the kids respond and they work so well with each other. It truly is team building. It's a lot more than we see and every year I see more and more. It's very impressive.
 
LSUA: You have built relationships with student-athletes, but also with their parents and families, what have those interactions been like?
 
AC: You get to meet so many people. Grandparents, uncles. They think Laura (Fowler) and I are sisters. It's amazing, you get to know so many people. It makes your world grow.
 
LSUA: Dr. Coreil, from when you began as chancellor to now, the campus looked very different – from various campus projects to enrollment, tell us a little about your vision and how you've managed to accomplish it.
 
PC: The biggest gap I saw when I got here in 2013 and continued to work on in 2019 when I came back, was the university wasn't marketing who it was and why they did what they did and how important it was to the community. I think universities around the country have kind of become silos and expect people to come to them. Those days are over, you have to tell people what you're doing and why you're doing it. You have to have quality programs that are relevant to the needs of your community. We are in economic development and work force development, which means we need to be in the work force and in the economy. Business leaders and government officials need to know you. That was the biggest step I had to take was why aren't we doing this. Being a previous extension service director, that's what I did every day – we had an office in every parish, worked with local government, school boards, police juries, teachers, 4H clubs in the schools. Relevance has to be sold on a daily basis. I brought that spirit of extension here and it's community-faced, being off-campus a lot and asking people what they need and addressing it. Bringing in those degree programs they need and ensuring our students can get jobs here. We've been losing students to Texas forever. Our population has declined. This university to me can be the driving force to turn around the population decline and getting students to live and work here if the jobs are the right jobs and the degrees are the right degrees. That's the thing I'm most proud of and the team we built. You have to have a team that works together, period. We have been able to put together a team here that is amazing, it's second to none. I've been working in higher ed for about forty years, it's the best I've ever seen anywhere in the country. It's been intentional and that's why we are the fastest growing university in Louisiana. That's the team effort, the talent is there, the commitment is there. You get that combination and then you market it, the sky is the limit.
 
LSUA: What role has family played in both of your shared commitment to LSUA?
 
AC: I think of my family at LSUA. I don't even know where to start with that. It's just such a big group of people, the students, the faculty, the staff. I feel like we belong here- they need us and we need them. It's my source of happiness, everything that is going on here makes me happy. I try to acknowledge everyone here, it's what I want to do and what we should do, I think.
 
PC: We spend half our lives here. We have a family at home and we love our family, but half our life is here, let's make it a family too. We did an exercise where we asked faculty what is the one word that defines this university and that word was family. You can't make people say that, they feel it. I said to myself, that's amazing because it's what I've always said. This university is a family and it's brought so much reward, warmth, and a feeling of helping be the best versions of themselves – both me and the people we serve.
 
LSUA: When former students and student-athletes return to campus years later, what are you hoping they are saying about what LSUA gave them?
 
PC: To me, a sense of purpose and a reason to stay in the community because the university was such a good experience. We want to reflect the spirit of the community. Confidence, the ability to find employment to have a life, a family, and build a home. We hope that's the spirit they bring to the community and when they come back, they remember it started here. This is where that commitment to family and community was nurtured and fined tuned to make me want to stay in this area.
 
LSUA: Mrs. Arlene, what does being inducted into the Hall of Fame together mean to you?
 
AC: It's a very proud moment for us. It surprised me and it's amazing. I hope I live up to everything this entails, because it is a responsibility.
 
PC: I will say, this is the most prestigious award we have received together, by far. Arlene was very involved in high school in athletics. She was a cheerleader; I was a football player. We dated and our love for each other started around athletics. I remember after football games; she was cheering for me – I had a really good career in high school football. Made all-state and made it to the state championship and lost. The guy that beat us made it to the NFL and coached in the NFL – my shoulder still hurts from that game. Athletics is so important to the development of a person – I know not everyone can play athletics; they can get involved in other things. But it builds that respect and self-discipline, that sacrifice it takes to be successful. I remember gutting it out in August for football, it wasn't fun, but we were ready for the game. That confidence, discipline, and ability to be successful, athletics does a good job with that.
 
LSUA: Any last stories, thoughts or memories you wanted to share?
 
PC: I'll say this induction, we will never forget this honor. We will carry this into our senior years, when we get there – we aren't there yet, it'll be something we reflect on and such a glorious thought to say we had such a good experience and the icing on the cake if you will.