Loyola College Prep is proud to announce the 2021 Hall of Honor Inductees: Mark Hart ‘90, Jim Wells ‘73, and Mike Spence (honorary).
All three inductees contributed significantly to the school, its legacy, and students.
“These three men exemplify what it means to be a Flyer with their dedication to our school, students and their community,” said John LeBlanc, Principal and Hall of Honor Inductee. “They are successful in their careers, but more importantly they are men of conscience, character and compassion and are committed to Loyola and its students.”
The Hall of Honor is the highest recognition anyone can receive at Loyola College Prep. Nominations are received each year from alumni and then voted on by past Hall of Honor inductees and the Flyer Alumni Association’s Executive Board.
The Flyer Alumni Association is hosting a banquet to honor these individuals on Oct. 14 at East Ridge Country Club. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased here. The Hall of Honor induction is during halftime at the Flyer football game on Oct. 15 at Messmer Stadium.
Mark Hart ‘90
Mark Hart, PT is the Clinical Director of physical therapy at Tri-State Physical Therapy - Bossier. Mark is a 1990 graduate of Loyola College Prep and a 1995 graduate of LSU Health - Shreveport. He has served the Bossier City community at Tri-State for the past 24 years, and has specialized in orthopedic physical therapy across all patient populations. Mark served as president of the Flyer Alumni Association and as a member of the Loyola College Prep Board of Directors. He is the driving force behind the Snoopy Shootout and has served as the chairman for that Flyer Alumni Association event since its inception. Outside of work, Mark enjoys traveling with his extended family, attending concerts and music festivals, bird hunting, and shooting sporting clays.
Jim Wells ‘73
Jim Wells is one of the most successful coaches in Jesuit/Loyola history and is also one of the most successful coaches in college baseball history. He began baseball coaching career at Loyola from 1983-86 where he took the Flyers to a 75 -28 record (the highest winning percentage among Flyer baseball coaches) with two appearances in the state finals. Jim is a 1973 graduate of Jesuit High School where he played on the football team. He was a graduate assistant under Skip Bertman at LSU before becoming head coach at Northwestern State. In his five seasons as head coach (1990-1994), he transformed the Demon program and went 192-89 winning three conference titles (1991, 1993, 1994) and taking the Demons to NCAA Regionals in 1991 and 1994. He was a 3-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year.
After a school-record 45-win season with an NCAA at-large invitation in 1994, Wells left NSU to become head coach at Alabama, where he took over a moribund program at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference. He led the Crimson Tide to the College World Series in his second year and was national coach of the year in 1997 when he led Alabama to the national championship game.
He departed as the winningest coach in Alabama baseball history. He was 625-322 (.656) in 15 seasons at Alabama, where he became the 7th winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history. He won two SEC regular-season crowns six SEC Tournament titles and took the Crimson Tide to 12 NCAA Regional appearances, four NCAA Regional championships and three College World Series (1997, 1997, 1999).
In 20 seasons overall as a Division I head coach, his record was 817-411 (.665). He took 15 of his 20 teams to the NCAA Regionals.
Mike Spence (honorary)
Mike has been with the Caddo Clerk's Office since 1978. In 1987 Mike became Chief Civil Clerk by Curtis Warren, in 2000, he became the Office Administrator then Chief Deputy under Gary Loftin in 2010. Mike was sworn in as Clerk of Court by Justice Scott Crichton of the Louisiana Supreme Court on July 1, 2016 and again in 2020. Mike was recently honored in 2018 by the Caddo Parish Commission, Shreveport City Counsel, Sheriff Steve Prator and the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association for 40 years of service to the Court and Public. Mike also serves as the Juvenile Clerk of Court and Chief Elections officer of Caddo Parish. Mike has been elevated to the Federal Election Standards Board by Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and tasked with eventually making elections standard throughout the country using Louisiana as a template.
Mike is a certified Clerk of Court obtaining over 300 educational hours with LSU and also an instructor at schools. He is on the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association Board of Directors serving as vice president. Mike is an inaugural member of the Domestic Violence task force and is a facilitator of the Caddo Pathway to Prosperity Second Chance Initiative along with Commissioners Jackson and Watts. Mike previously served on the School Board of St. John Berchman’s Cathedral School where he was honored with the Bishops Medal of Honor by Bishop Friend.
He has been a volunteer American Legion baseball coach for Huntington High School and Southwood High School, Loyola softball assistant and then head coach and finishing as assistant Loyola Baseball coach.