By Joice M. Dunn
Lincoln Prep will hold The Michael Lyons Classic Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at the Preparatory Basketball Gymnasium in Grambling.
The Lyons Classic started during the 2023 – 2024 season as an annual celebration of Coach Michael Lyons Legacy with Grambling Laboratory School.
“It’s a day where some of the best teams along the I-20 Interstate matchup for a good day of basketball,” said Antonio Hudson, Lincoln Prep basketball coach. Hudson was also a former player of Lyons.
Coach Lyons spent his early years in Monroe, Louisiana where he attended Swayze Elementary and Richwood High Schools. He later moved to Ruston, where he graduated from Lincoln High School in 1969. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 1973. Also, he received a master’s degree in education administration from Louisiana Tech University and a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Grambling State University.
In 1979, he was hired as the Girls and Boys Basketball Coach at Grambling Laboratory High School. Along with coaching, Lyons became assistant principal in 1996 and director of athletics in 2001. His career spanned thirty years, all of which were at Grambling Laboratory High School.
During his tenure as a coach, he was able to instill in his players and students a willingness to work hard, to learn and to succeed. His positive attitude and love for the game and kids was evident throughout the school and community.
“Only the strongest team will survive after the classic is over,” said Hudson.
The 14 teams facing off in the classic will be Lincoln Prep, Calvary, Gibsland, Union, Huntington, Sterlington, Richwood, Arcadia, Denham Springs, Ruston, Peabody, Bossier, Catholic-BR and Red River.