CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE TO INDUCT FIFTH HALL OF FAME CLASS

WARRENSBURG, MO (December 18, 1995) -- Six individuals and two teams make up the fifth class of honorees for Central Missouri State University's Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 3, at a 10 a.m. brunch in the University Union Ballroom.

Chosen by the Hall of Fame selection committee to represent the early era (prior to 1945) of Central Missouri State athletics are: Armin Soph--football and basketball--and Charles Dick--football. Selected from the recent era (post-1945) are: Steve Eckinger--football and baseball and Bill Fennelly--basketball. The inductee from the coach/administrator category is former Mules' basketball coach Lynn Nance. Chosen from the special recognition category is Audrey Walton. The teams selected for this induction are the 1980 Mules' basketball team and the 1985 Jennies' basketball team.

Soph, who is being inducted posthumously, was a two-sport standout for the Mules in the 1920s. At 6-2 and 188 pounds, he earned All-MIAA football honors in 1924 and 1925 at tackle. He played basketball all four seasons, earning All-MIAA honors as a junior and as a senior. He was second on the team in scoring in the 1924-25 season, when the Mules were MIAA champions, and led the team in scoring as a senior in the 1925-26 season.

At age 94, Dick is believed to be the oldest living former Mules' letterman. He played football from 1923 through 1926. Although he was only 5-9 and 153 pounds, he played both ways at a guard position. He was on the 1926 MIAA championship team that went 7-0-1 and is the school's only unbeaten football team. That team was an inaugural inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1992, along with team members Vernon Kennedy and Clarence Whiteman. After graduating, Dick was a teacher and school administrator for nearly 30 years at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kan., and Lee's Summit before he retired. Born in Benton County in 1901, he currently resides in Raymore, Mo..

Eckinger is the only Central Missouri State athlete to earn All-America honors in both football and baseball. A three-year starter in football, he was an honorable mention All-America selection in 1970, when he helped lead the Mules to a share of the MIAA title and a berth in the Pecan Bowl. He also was the MIAA MVP that season. In 1968, he helped lead the Mules to a berth in the Mineral Water Bowl. He currently ranks fifth in career passing yards for the Mules with 4,680 and he also threw 37 touchdown passes. The Mules were 21-8-1 during his football career. A four-year starter at third base for the Mules in baseball, Eckinger had a .337 career batting average with 21 home runs and 78 runs batted in. He was an honorable mention All-America selection in 1970 and a first-team All-America selection in 1971. The Mules won the 1971 MIAA championship and received their first NCAA berth that season. Eckinger graduated from Van Horn High School in Independence. He currently resides in Overland Park, Kansas.

Fennelly is the most prolific scorer in Central Missouri and MIAA basketball history. Playing in a period (1977-81) that did not have the three-point shot, Fennelly scored 2,819 points (25.4 average) in his four-year career. That point total still stands as both the MIAA and the Mules' career scoring record. He also holds nine other CMS game, season or career records, including most points in a game -- 54. A graduate of Raytown South High School, he led the Mules in scoring all four years of his career. As a freshman, he averaged 19.7 points per game, improved to 29.7 points as a sophomore, led the nation as a junior with a 30.8 average and finished with a 21.4 average as a senior. He scored in double figures in 106 of the 111 games he played, including a streak of 68 consecutive games in double figures. In addition to his scoring records, he also ranks ninth in career rebounding for the Mules. He had a career field goal percentage of 49.2 and a career free throw percentage of 80.4. He was the first Mules' basketball player to have his jersey number (40) officially retired.

Nance coached the Mules from 1980 through 1985 and led them to their 1984 NCAA Division II national championship. The Mules were 29-3 that season, setting a school record for wins in a season. Two of their losses that season were to Big Eight teams Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. His teams won 20 or more and received an NCAA bid each of his five seasons and captured MIAA co-championships in 1981 and 1985, in addition to the 1984 MIAA title. His career record for the Mules was 114-35, a 76.5 winning percentage. He is the only Mules' basketball coach to win at least 20 games in each season that he coached. During his coaching stint with the Mules, they compiled a school-record 26-game winning streak overall and a school-record 46-game winning streak at home. Now out of coaching, Nance currently resides in Bellevue, Washington.

Mrs. Walton is being recognized for being the primary donor for Central Missouri's stadium project that is nearing completion. A resident of Versailles, she said the idea of making the contribution for the stadium project came to her after learning that the original main grandstand, built in 1928, needed to be replaced. The facility, which includes two levels of luxury suites to be used by major donors and university officials, as well as a new lighting and sound system, was formally dedicated and named Audrey J. Walton Stadium last October.

The 1979-80 Mules' basketball team is considered by many to be the most exciting team to watch in Mules' history. Coached by Tom Smith, now at Missouri Western, and assisted by Dale Martin, now at Missouri-Rolla, the Mules were 26-2, won the MIAA championship and were ranked number one in Division II for much of the season. Their only regular-season loss was an 80-66 setback at Southwest Missouri, which they later avenged before a Multipurpose Building-record crowd of 7,300 with a 92-84 victory. Selected to host the NCAA South Central Regional, the Mules were matched against defending NCAA champion North Alabama in the opening game. After leading for most of the game, the Mules saw their hopes for a national title end in a 98-86 overtime loss. The next night, however, the Mules won the third place game over Jacksonville State 112-91, as Bill Fennelly set the Mules' single-game scoring record with 54 points. Individually, the Mules had three NCAA statistical champions that season. Fennelly led Division II in scoring with a 30.8 average; Ray Strozier led in field goal percentage (72.8) and Grey Giovanine led the nation in free throw percentage (90.4).

The 1984-85 Jennies' basketball team had the year-long pressure of being the defending national champion, and the team responded in outstanding fashion. Coached by Jorja Hoehn, the Jennies put together a 28-4 overall record and won the MIAA championship with a perfect 12-0 mark. Two of their three regular-season losses were to Division I schools Creighton and Iowa State. The highlight of the season came in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the Jennies had won the national title the previous year. Senior center Rosie Jones was named the Division II player of the year and proceeded to lead the Jennies into the championship game, but a tough Cal Poly-Pomona team spoiled the Jennies' hopes for back-to-back titles, beating the Jennies 80-69. Proving her player of the year award was well-deserved, Jones scored 28 points in the semi-final game and in the championship game and made the all-tournament team. For the season, Jones averaged 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds to lead the Jennies in both categories. She was the MIAA MVP and Hoehn was MIAA coach of the year.

The Feb. 3 induction brunch is open to the public. Tickets are $8.00 and can be obtained by contacting the Central Missouri State Athletics office at 543-4250 by Jan. 29. The 1996 inductees also will be introduced and recognized at halftime of the Feb. 3 Mules' basketball game against Northeast Missouri.

To be eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame in the student-athlete, coach/administrator or team categories, nominees must have completed their eligibility, employment or competition at least five years prior to selection. Student-athletes must have earned at least two varsity letters. Qualifications and criteria are based upon accomplishments at Central Missouri, but also may include accomplishments outside the university.