Next Hall of Honor slated for Dec. 10, 2011
12/12/2010 9:25:00 AM | Athletics
The 2011 Sam Houston Athletic Hall of Honor banquet will be held in the Lowman Student Center on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Each year outstanding former Bearkat student-athletes are honored by their induction into the Hall of Honor.
Four women and four men were recognized as the 2010 inductees into the Sam Houston Women's Letter Association and the SHSU Lettermen's Association Halls of Honor at the annual Hall of Honor dinner at the Lowman Student Center on Saturday December 11, 2010.
The SHSU Women's Letter Association inducted Sylvia Anderson (basketball), Jody Conradt (basketball), Brenda Wedde Gray (volleyball) and Chris Cribari-Thompson (tennis).
The Sam Houston Lettermen's Association selected the late Jan Jones (football), Victor McKnight (football), Tracy Pearson (basketball) and Mike Stavinoha (baseball) as men's inductees.
"Each year, the Hall of Honor presentation is special," director of athletics Bobby Williams said. "But the 2010 event has been particularly memorable. Just over 40 years after the inception of women's athletics at Sam Houston State, we have the opportunity to honor several of the pioneers who built the foundation for our women's programs."
Jody Conradt coached both the Sam Houston women's basketball and volleyball programs. From 1976 to 2007 she rolled up an incredible record as head women's basketball coach at the University of Texas. She also served as women's athletic director at UT from 1992 to 2001. In her 38-year career (that includes four years at Sam Houston), she won 900 basketball games, the second highest total for an NCAA Division I basketball coach.
Sylvia Anderson, a starter on the Bearkats' 1973 women's basketball team coached by Jody Conradt, was the first black woman to participate in intercollegiate athletics for Sam Houston. She helped lead the 1973 women's team to a 20-7 record, the most victories in season during the first 12 years in the program's history.
Chris Thompson and Brenda Gray have played major roles in women's athletics at Sam Houston both as student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators.
Thompson was "Most Valuable Player" for the 1980 women's tennis team and served 16 seasons as the program's head coach. She now is Sam Houston's associate athletic director for student services, overseeing an academic and student-athlete welfare program that is the model for the Southland Conference.
Gray played volleyball for the late Rebecca Bilsing (a Hall of Honor inductee in 2008) for the 1979 and 1980 teams that rolled up a two-year record of 80-30 and finished as runners-up in the Texas Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (TAIAW). Gray succeeded Bilsing as Bearkat head coach in 1984. In her 26 seasons at the helm of the program she stands as one of only 27 active NCAA Division I women's volleyball head coaches with more than 500 coaching victories.
"Sam Houston State is equally thrilled to welcome four outstanding former athletes on the men's side," Williams said. "I had the opportunity to see three of these gentlemen compete during my tenure here at the university and know what great honors they brought to our program as well."
Jones was quarterback and punter for Sam Houston on the university's football teams in 1941, 1942 and 1946. He earned All-Lone Star Conference first team honors and helped lead the 1942 and 1946 Bearkats to Lone Star Conference runner-up finishes. Jones still holds the school and Lone Star Conference record for most punts in one game with an incredible total of 31 set in a 0-0 tie with East Texas State on a muddy field in 1946.
McKnight was a four-year starter as a center for the Bearkats, earning All-Southland Conference honors in 1997, 1998 and 1999. His senior year, he was part offensive line that blocked for Walter Payton Award finalist Chris Chaloupka as the Kats set school passing and total offense records and started a tradition of nationally-ranked Bearkat aerial attacks.
Pearson stands No. 5 in all-time rebounds and No. 8 in career scoring in the Sam Houston men's basketball record books. He scored 1,406 points and pulled down 733 rebounds as a center for the Kats. Pearson earned first team all-league honors both in the Gulf Star Conference in 1987 and the Southland Conference in 1988 and 1989.
As a pitcher for the Bearkat baseball team, Stavinoha also earned all-conference honors in two leagues. He was an All-Gulf Star Conference in 1986 and all-league in the Southland Conference in 1988. Stavinoha ranks No. 5 in career pitching victories at Sam Houston with a four-year record of 26-8. His .765 winning percentage on the mound is the 10th best in Bearkat history.
The Sam Houston Lettermen's Association initiated its Hall of Honor in 1971 and this year's group will bring the total of inductees to 164.
The first five women were inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2007. This year's inductees bring the number of women in the Hall of Honor to 19.
"Our three previous Hall of Honor dinners have been outstanding and we deeply appreciate the hard work by the officers and members of both the men's and women's organizations to make this event possible," Williams said. "The annual Hall of Honor dinner has become a highlight of our athletic year and we hope Bearkat fans will join in recognizing this outstanding group of former student-athletes who have brought glory and attention to our program through their accomplishments."
Watch for announcements for the 2011 Hall of Honor presentations on www.gobearkats.com .
