NEW ORLEANS — Richard Tucker, a Xavier University of Louisiana publicist for more than 40 years and the school's sports information director from 1979-97, retired Dec. 23, 2019.
     Tucker said he and his wife, Helene, will move soon to Baton Rouge, La., where two of their children and two grandchildren live. Richard and Helene met in Baton Rouge while students at LSU.
     "Helene and I promised that if we ever had a chance to move to Baton Rouge, we would," Tucker said. "We are close to purchasing a house up there."
     Tucker joined XULA in June 1979 as the assistant to Paul Keith in the university relations department (now known as institutional advancement). Tucker's duties included coverage of non-athletic and athletic events. Back then XULA fielded two intercollegiate teams: men's and women's basketball. Sport expansion began in the mid-1990s, and now there are 11 teams, with two more — baseball and softball — preparing to compete in 2020-21.
     "I enjoyed the trips to the NAIA national tournaments with both basketball teams. That was a highlight," Tucker said. "The men made it to nationals in '81 for the first time in several years, then qualified the following year with a really good team. The women under Janice Joseph qualified several years in a row in the '90s. Janice was a phenomenal coach and had some great teams.
     "Another highlight would be all the Xavier-Dillard basketball games in The Barn, with all those fans packed in and the music so loud I couldn't hear myself think. Xavier won most of the time, so that was enjoyable."
     Tucker's final title at XULA was manager of publications and communications. He was the editor of the official alumni magazine, XAVIER GOLD.
     "When I got to Xavier, we were just 1,800 students on a little-bitty campus," Tucker said. "We grew to 4,100 in 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina, and we're approaching those numbers again since the storm. Xavier became a medical mecca, and it still is. The campus grew — expanding here, expanding there. The students have been great — I can't say enough about them."
     The secret to working for the same employer for four-plus decades? "Doing my job, hard work and not causing a mess," Tucker said.
     Tucker kept detailed records on XULA basketball and donated them to the university archives. Those records were unharmed during Hurricane Katrina.
     "All that basketball data has been a big help to a history nerd like me," said Ed Cassiere, XULA's sports publicist since 2006. "I am grateful Richard preserved that. Richard has always been an excellent resource of Xavier history, and on top of that he's a great guy. I wish him well in his retirement."