NATCHITOCHES – Long before James T. Genovese was named the 21^st president in Northwestern State University history, he was a student-athlete.
 
A four-year tennis letterman for the Demons from 1968-71, Genovese has been named the Exchange Bank and Trust Demon Great of the Game for Saturday's 1 p.m. Military Appreciation game against McNeese.
 
Genovese played both No. 1 singles and doubles for the Demons, often teaming with fellow Long Purple Line inductee Robert "Skeeter" Salim. As a freshman, Genovese reached the championship match of the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
 
Following his undergraduate career at Northwestern, Genovese earned his juris doctorate from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1974. His legal career took him from Opelousas City Court to the 27^th Judicial District Court for St. Landry Parish and the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal before landing on the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2017 as an associate justice.
 
Genovese, a 2018 Long Purple Line inductee, was named the president of his alma mater in July and formally was invested in the position Oct. 25.
 
The Exchange Bank and Trust Demon Great of the Game program is in its second decade of honoring former Northwestern State student-athletes and staff members. Exchange Bank and Trust has been a key supporter of NSU Athletics throughout its long history as the oldest financial institution in Louisiana.