Bringing Carnival to Cleveland

When the Denver Broncos captured the 2016 Super Bowl title in January, Tulane fans also had something to celebrate: Former Green Wave football players Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon would receive rings alongside quarterback Peyton Manning.

Fast forward a few months, and another member of the Tulane Athletics family is getting time to shine in former women’s basketball player Shelly Cayette, who works for the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. The Cavs won their first ever NBA title in June.

Since she works so closely with the team as the vice president of corporate partnerships, Cayette was there when the Cavs clinched the title in Game 7 over the highly favored Golden State Warriors.

“I attribute a lot of my success to my time at Tulane, both from a professional and athletic standpoint. I’ve been very lucky, and I’m in a great place.”

Shelly Cayette

“It was amazing to see, to run on the court and be a part of that,” Cayette said. “There were more tears and emotions than I ever thought I would see from a basketball game. You understood the hard work and the dedication that was put in to be there. To beat the odds, down 3-1, which has only been done three other times in history, was an amazing experience to be a part of.”

Who better to help plan a victory parade than a Louisiana native?

“We flew back that night, and there was a parade two days later that we had to prepare for,” Cayette said. “That was a quick turnaround. I would say that it was like Mardi Gras multiplied by 10 – 1.3 million people came out for that parade, and they weren’t waiting for any beads or throws. They were just there to see the team and to celebrate and support them.”

Cayette played at Tulane from 2001-04, followed by a professional career overseas. She also worked with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Read about Cayette’s experience in full on tulanegreenwave.com.