3-time all-America tops Hall of Fame class
Schleyer joined by McCoy, Johnson, Hearne and Sitton in Class of 2001-02
For immediate release Jan. 2, 2002
Claudia Schleyer, the only ACU basketball player -- male or female --
to be named first team all-America three times, along with her coach, Burl
McCoy, have been elected to the Sports Hall of Fame at Abilene Christian
University.
Also elected to the hall are former men's basketball standouts Ronnie
Hearne and Bill Johnson and former all-America football star Chuck Sitton.
The five will be officially inducted into the hall during the 16th annual
Hall of Fame festivities, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2002. With the addition of
these five members of the class of 2000-01, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame
will now include 91 men and women.
Schleyer, a three-time first team all-America selection, is still the
greatest scorer in ACU women's basketball history. Fifteen years after her
playing career ended, she is still the school's all-time leading scorer
(2,770 points) and its third all-time leading rebounder (1,086 rebounds).
When her career ended after the 1985-86 season, she was the all-time leading
scorer in NCAA Division II women's basketball history, a distinction she
held until being eclipsed in 1991.
McCoy coached two of the three greatest players in women's basketball
history -- Schleyer and Bonnie Buchanan before her. He coached men's and
women's track and field and women's basketball before his retirement in
March 1992. He spent 16 seasons as the head women's basketball coach, compiling
a 304-174 record and his teams won five of the first 10 Lone Star Conference
women's championships.
Hearne is still one of the greatest scorers in ACU men's basketball history.
His 20.6-point-per-game career scoring average ranks second in ACU history,
and his 1,547 career points rank eighth. Hearne, a three-time first team
all-Southland Conference selection in 1969, 1970 and 1971, still holds the
Moody Coliseum record for most field goals attempted in one game with 33
in a 1968 game against Southwest Texas State.
Johnson was a standout guard on some of the finest men's basketball teams
of the early 1950s. A three-time all-Texas Conference selection, Johnson
led the Wildcats to a pair of conference championships (1950-51 and 1952-53).
He averaged 13.8 points per game for the Wildcats.
Sitton is still considered to be one of the finest defensive backs in
school history. However, his life was cut short when he died of smoke inhalation
in a house fire on Nov. 9, 1980. The son of former ACU quarterback and head
coach Ted Sitton, Chuck was a star cornerback on the Wildcats' 1977 NAIA
Division I national championship team. He was a first team all-America that
season and also played in the Blue-Gray all-star game in Montgomery, Ala.
Here is a brief biography of each of the five inductees:
- CLAUDIA SCHLEYER (Women's Basketball, 1982-86) --
The leading scorer in ACU women's basketball history
(2,770 points), and second-leading scorer in NCAA Division II history,
a record she held from 1986-1991. Scored 30 points or more in 31 of 114
career games (27 percent of her games, or once every 3.7 games), including
a career-high 44 points in a Jan. 20, 1986, win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.
She is also the school's third-leading rebounder all time (1,086 rebounds;
9.5 rebounds per game). Inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall of
Honor in 1998. Led ACU to four Lone Star Conference championships
losing just six LSC games in those four seasons and three LSC post-season
tournament championships. Three-time first team all-America, three-time
first team all-district and four-time first team all-Lone Star Conference.
Three-time LSC Most Valuable Player. Three-time academic all-conference,
first team academic all-America in 1985-86, and three time LSC post-season
tournament Most Valuable Player. LSC Freshman of the Year in 1982-83. Still
holds LSC records for scoring average in a season (27.5 ppg in 1985-86),
most points (2,770), most field goal attempts (2,006) and most field goals
made (1,074). Winner of NCAA post graduate scholarship in 1986. Winner
of prestigious Olympia award from the U.S. Olympic committee, an award
that recognizes and rewards amateur athletes who combine skill on the court
and excellence in academics with a commitment to their sport. Finalist
for NCAA Division II Player of the Year as a sophomore and senior, and
for College Woman of the Year as a senior.
- BURL McCOY (Coach, 1960-1990s) -- One of the longest-tenured and most successful head coaches in
school history, Burl McCoy coached men's and women's track and field and
women's basketball before his retirement in March 1992. He spent 16 seasons
as the head women's basketball coach, compiling a 304-174 record and led
the Wildcats to five of the first 10 Lone Star Conference women's championships.
He might have done his best coaching job in his final season (1991-92)
when he took a team that finished 9-17 and in eighth place the season before
to a 17-12 record and his fifth and final LSC championship. His best team,
the 1980-81 squad, reached the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals
with a record of 31-7. At the time of his retirement, only eight other
coaches in NCAA Division II women's basketball had won
- at least 300 games. He coached two first team all-America
players (Bonnie Buchanan and Claudia Schleyer), the second-leading scorer
in NCAA Division II women's basketball history (Schleyer), two first team
academic all-America players (Schleyer and Suzanne Johnson) and the first
female member of the ACU Sports Hall of Fame (Buchanan). McCoy also served
as head coach for men's track and field in 1972-73 and women's track and
field from 1980-83. He was LSC Coach of the Year in both women's basketball
and women's track and field. He graduated from Abilene Christian in 1955
with a B.S. In physical education, and then received his master's in education
from Abilene Christian in 1967. He competed in basketball and track and
field for the Wildcats. In track and field, he was NAIA national champion
and AAU national runner-up in the intermediate hurdles, and he was a member
of ACU relay teams which won titles at the Texas, Kansas and Drake Relays.
After making several high school coaching stops, he joined the ACU coaching
staff in 1964 where he served as the assistant track coach under Bill McClure
from 1964-71.
- RONNIE HEARNE, (Men's Basketball, 1967-71) -- One of the greatest scorers in ACU basketball history, his 20.6-points-per-game
career scoring average ranks second all-time in ACU history, and his 1,547
career points rank eighth. Three-time first team all-Southland Conference
selection in 1969, 1970 and 1971. Averaged 22.0 points per game as a junior
in 1969-70 to leads the Southland Conference in scoring. Averaged 21.6
points per game in Southland Conference games during his three-year career.
As a sophomore in 1968-69, he set the Abilene Christian sophomore scoring
record with 497 points, a record that stood for 24 years. As a junior in
1969-70, he set the Southland Conference and Abilene Christian records
for most free throws made in one season with 175. Listed in 1970 and 1971
edition of "Outstanding College Athletes of America." Scored
30 or more points eight times in 75 games as a Wildcat (once every nine
games), and had a career-high 36 points against Texas Arlington on Jan.
25, 1971. Led ACU in scoring in each of his three seasons, one of only
six players in ACU history to lead the Wildcats in scoring in three straight
seasons. Still holds the ACU record for most field goals attempted in one
game with 33 against Southwest Texas State on Dec. 17, 1968. Co-captain
of both 1969-70 and 1970-71 Wildcat basketball teams. After graduating
from Abilene Christian in 1971, he went on to successful high school and
junior college coaching career.
- BILL JOHNSON (Men's Basketball, 1949-53) -- Johnson, a 1953 graduate of ACU, was a standout guard on some
ofthe finest men's basketball teams of the early 1950s. A three-time all-Texas
Conference selection, Johnson led the Wildcats to a pair of conference
championships (1950-51 and 1952-53). He averaged 13.8 points per game for
the Wildcats. Named first team all-Texas Conference as both a junior (1951-52)
and senior (1952-53) after a sophomore season that saw him named second
team all-conference. As a sophomore he averaged 9.7 points per game, followed
by 16.7 ppg as a junior and 14.8 ppg as a senior. The 1950-51 Wildcats
tied for the Texas Conference championship, while the 1952-53 won the Texas
Conference championship behind Johnson, whose 14.8 ppg was third in the
league. Scored a career-high 30 points in a Jan. 11, 1952, win over then-Texas
A&I.
- CHUCK SITTON (Football, 1974-77) -- One of the finest defensive backs in Wildcat football history,
his life was cut short on Nov. 9, 1980, when he died of smoke inhalation
in an Abilene house fire. The son of former ACU quarterback and head coach
Ted Sitton, Chuck was a star cornerback on the Wildcats 1977 NAIA Division
I national championship team. He was a first team all-America that season
and also played in the Blue-Gray all-star game in Montgomery, Ala. Sitton
served as a team captain and was second team all-Lone Star Conference as
a senior in 1977. As a junior in 1976 he started at cornerback for a Wildcat
team that went 9-2 and defeated Harding to win the inaugural Shrine Bowl
in Pasadena, Texas. That season he was first team all-Lone Star Conference,
NAIA all district and honorable mention all-America. He finished his career
with 143 tackles and eight interceptions, including five as a junior. Also
a fine return man, he had a
- 90-yard punt return for a touchdown against Sul Ross
State in 1975 and a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown against Western
New Mexico in 1977. Also returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown
against Cameron in 1976. He was a former all-district football player at
Abilene High where he starred as a defensive back, quarterback and punter.
