BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball standout Sylvia Fowles will have a statue erected on campus, making her the second female athlete in the university's history to receive this honor, as announced by the university on Wednesday.

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Fowles will be commemorated alongside four prominent former athletes: Bob Pettit, Shaquille O’Neal, Pete Maravich, and Seimone Augustus, with the statue located outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

In a prepared statement, Fowles expressed her gratitude, saying, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is such a privilege and an honor, and I don't take this recognition from LSU lightly. It says a lot to be recognized for all my hard work, and I wouldn’t appreciate it the way that I do if I didn't accomplish it on LSU’s campus. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”

Fowles, who graduated from LSU in 2009, had her jersey retired in 2017, becoming the 12th athlete at the university to receive this acknowledgment. She was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025 and is celebrated as a two-time All-America center. Fowles led the Tigers to four consecutive Final Four appearances from 2005 to 2008, earned the title of 2008 National Defensive Player of the Year, and was recognized as the SEC Player of the Year. She also garnered All-SEC honors in each of her final three seasons.

In addition to her collegiate achievements, Fowles is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, contributing to Team USA’s victories in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020.

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey acknowledged Fowles' impact, stating, “Sylvia Fowles is one of the greatest players, not only at LSU, but in the history of our game. This honor is something that is extremely well-earned. She is one of the most significant ambassadors that this university has and what she did for this program and LSU deserves to be recognized permanently. I am proud that we can honor Sylvia with a statue on campus, giving our fans a lasting symbol that celebrates her remarkable legacy.”

During her career at LSU, Fowles established school records for rebounds (1,570), blocked shots (321), free throws made (494), and free throws attempted. She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky.