NATCHITOCHES – The far-reaching impact of one of Northwestern State's greatest football standouts, John Wayne Odom, has resonated through the years and has recently been commemorated by the creation of the John Wayne Odom Football Scholarship for NSU Athletics.
 
Odom was a four-year letterman at tackle from 1960-63 who went on to play for the Houston Oilers in the American Football League before it merged with the NFL. An All-Gulf States Conference performer, he was selected in 2007 for the Top 100 Demon Football Players of All-Time roster chosen as part of the Demons' football centennial year.
 
He became the head football coach at St. Mary's High School in Natchitoches and turned a fledgling program into a Louisiana prep powerhouse, highlighted by an undefeated 1977 state championship team and an amazing 90 consecutive district victories, along with 10 district championships.
 
Odom left SMHS in 1982 with a 100-24-2 record and also a 1981 state track and field team championship.
 
His brother and sister-in-law, Lewis and Carol Ann Odom, recently established an endowed athletic scholarship in his memory. 
 
They donated $10,000 and an additional $1,100 was donated by former teammates and friends at a recent reception held to commemorate the scholarship endowment's creation.  Additional donations are welcomed to the Odom Football Scholarship through the Demons Unlimited Foundation.
 
"Sincerest gratitude is extended to Lewis and Carol Ann Odom for this generous contribution in honor of former Demon great John Wayne Odom, who also touched so many lives as a successful high school football coach," said NSU director of athletics Greg Burke. "Scholarship endowments provide immediate athletic and academic opportunities for deserving student-athletes while also further securing the foundation of the NSU athletic program."
 
After briefly leaving coaching, Odom became head coach at Claiborne Academy near Homer, his hometown. He guided a struggling, undermanned team to three state finals appearances, including a 1987 state championship, and finished his career with an overall 157-52-2 record.
 
Odom, who helped the Demons win back-to-back GSC championships as a player under coach Jack Clayton, was a 2000 inductee in the Graduate N Club Hall of Fame at NSU, the school's highest athletic honor.
 
He was a member of the fabled Homer Iron Men team of 1957, a group of 18 boys who captured the state's imagination by bucking the odds in an 11-2-1 season. Twelve of the "Iron Men" received college scholarships, including Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame defensive tackle Fred Miller.
 
The Odom Scholarship is the 57^th endowed scholarship for NSU Athletics and enhances a fund for athletic scholarships that exceeds $1.5 million.
 
About 250 of NSU's nearly 400 student-athletes benefit from some level of scholarship support, said Burke.
 
The Northwestern State athletic program excels competitively in 14 NCAA Division I sports while the student-athletes achieve at a high level academically and learn life lessons through thousands of hours of community service.
 
Assistant athletic director Haley Blount, who along with NSU Foundation staff member Jill Bankston was involved in helping establish the scholarship endowment, had a personal tie to Odom through another scholarship that she received as an NSU competitor.
"When I was a student-athlete at NSU, I was named the recipient of the Walter Ledet Scholarship -- who by the way, coached John Wayne Odom in college. As that recipient, I had the opportunity to meet and have dinner with Walter and his wife Betty at the NSU Academic Awards Banquet, and we established a friendship that lasted until his death," she said. "I will never forget the impact that the Ledets and my scholarship had on my life.
"Contributors to this new scholarship endowment and their family members, while paying tribute to John Wayne Odom, will make that same impact on a countless number of student-athletes for decades to come," said Blount. 
Admirers of Odom and other NSU supporters are invited to visit the www.nsudemons.com/odom link online to learn more about the scholarship and to contribute to it.