Coleman Dupre was an all-round star athlete at Eunice High School playing football, basketball, and running track. Playing for the legendary Joe Nagata, Dupre started on defense as a freshman. Seeing his great potential, Nagata moved Dupre to tailback. The decision proved to be a good one as Dupre finished the season with 131 yards on 23 carries and four touchdowns. In addition, Coleman had four receptions for 69 yards. In his junior year, Dupre averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Gaining 285 yards on the ground and 140 yards from 19 passes, Dupre’s senior year proved to be a great one. He also had four punt returns for 27 yards and six kickoff returns for 98 yards. Dupre was named to the all-district team on both offense as a halfback and on defensive as a defensive halfback and in 1969 was chosen to play in the East-West All-Star Game.
Coleman Dupre excelled as well in both basketball and track. Triple jump proved to be his best event earning him the regional title in 1967 as well as fourth in the state meet. Two years later, Dupre finished second with a 44-9 1/4 triple jump. He earned the Outstanding Track Award in his junior year.
In 1970, Coleman Dupre signed with Tulane University and played safety on the freshman team. At Tulane, he led the team in kickoff returns in both 1971 and 1972. He had a record setting 100 yard kickoff in 1971 against North Carolina and holds the single game kickoff return with 143 yards against LSU. He is currently fourth on Tulane’s all-time career list for kickoff returns with 619 yards. Playing wide receiver during his junior year, Dupre ranked third catching 14 passes for 197 yards. He finished his football career at Tulane with 266 receiving yards and 706 yards on returns.
Coleman Dupre is a successful member of the Baton Rouge community and will be remembered as a “TRUE” Bobcat.