Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
Twitter
Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles will receive one of the highest honors from her collegiate basketball team next season.
LSU announced today that it unanimously approved of the retirement of the jersey of Fowles prior to a game during the 2017-18 season at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“Sylvia Fowles is a woman of great influence and compassion who has brought worldwide recognition to our university and to our state,” LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said in a press release sent out by the school. “Her impact has been felt not only through her achievements as a basketball player, but also in her philanthropic work for young people. We are thrilled to honor her legacy by retiring her jersey in the Maravich Center.”
Fowles will join fellow Lynx teammate Seimone Augustus as the only players to have their jerseys retired in the LSU women’s basketball program. Augustus had her No. 33 jersey retired in 2010.
Fowles and Augustus are two of 12 athletes or coaches to have their jersey retired by the university, joining athletes Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Pettit, Pete Maravich, Rudy Macklin, Billy Cannon, Tommy Casanova, Ben McDonald, Eddy Furniss and Todd Walker, along with coach Skip Bertman.
“I was very excited,” Fowles said. “I was too hyped, I actually started dancing in the living room. The first person I called was my mom and she was excited. . . It was very exciting and very humbling at the same time.”
Fowles, who was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame in 2015, played at LSU from 2004-08. During her time at LSU, she recorded school records in rebounds (1,570), blocked shots (321), free throws made (494) and free throws attempted.
Fowles is in her 10th season in the WNBA and in her third year with the Lynx. Some of her career accolades include WNBA Champion (2015), three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2011, 2013, 2016) and three-time Olympic gold medalist.