Clarkson headlines Class of 2006
Track and field standouts, Felkins and Pursley will also be inducted
ABILENE -- Jennifer Clarkson-Fraizer, the two-time NCAA Division II women's basketball Player of the Year in the mid-1990s, leads a group of five Abilene Christian University legends who will be inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in February.
Others set for induction are former track and field standouts Cliff Felkins and Brad Pursley and former quarterback John Mayes. Bill Hart, a 1952 ACU graduate and longtime sportswriter at the Abilene Reporter-News, will be inducted as the 15th recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Class of 2005-06 will be officially inducted into the hall during the 20th annual Hall of Fame festivities, Feb. 18, 2006, at 11:30 a.m. in the Hilton Room of the McGlothlin Campus Center. Tickets to the luncheon are $15 and can be purchased by calling 325-674-2353. With the addition of the five members of this year's class, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame now includes 117 men and women.
Clarkson-Frazier was the undisputed leader of the 1995-96 ACU women's basketball team that reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national tournament where it finished third. She led the Wildcats to a 31-2 record that season, along the way earning her second straight award as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year. She is the fifth all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division II history, and she and former football standout Wilbert Montgomery are the only two ACU student-athletes to have their jerseys retired.
Felkins is still considered one of the most dominant throwers in the history of NCAA Division II track and field. In 1987, Felkins won the NCAA Division II national title in the discus and then won the NCAA Division I title in the event. Felkins, a 1998 inductee into the NCAA Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame, won five individual national titles and two Lone Star Conference titles during his ACU career.
Pursley, a Merkel native, was part of one of the greatest pole vault duos in collegiate history 25 years ago as he and teammate Billy Olson dueled week after week. Pursley quickly became one of the top collegiate vaulters in the United States as a student-athlete at ACU. He was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 eight times (each year from 1980-87), and he was an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team in 1984. He won two NAIA national championships in the pole vault, and in 1981 after winning the NAIA indoor title he moved outdoors to win a "triple crown" with victories in the Texas, Kansas and Drake Relays. He still holds the Lone Star Conference's best-ever mark with a vault of 18-10.25 in 1983.
Mayes is one of the greatest -- and perhaps most underrated -- passers in ACU football history. He led the Wildcats to the 1977 NAIA Division I national championship, and by the time his career ended after the 1979 season, Mayes had thrown for 7,810 yards, which is still fourth on ACU's career passing list. Mayes, in facts, ranks in the top four in every major statistical category in school history, including passing yards, completions, attempts, touchdowns and total offense. In three years as the starting quarterback, Mayes led the Wildcats to a combined 25-8-1 record.
Hart spent 27 years of his 47-year professional sportswriting career writing about the Wildcats as a staff writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and senior staff writer at the Abilene Reporter-News. He covered ACU football, basketball and track and field during those years, telling the story of ACU student-athletes and its coaches to audiences all over West Texas. A legend in his field, Hart was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1990, and last year he was inducted into the Big Country Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990 he was just the sixth sportswriter inducted into the THSF Hall of Fame. He was named the Lone Star Conference Sports Writer of the Year twice, and he has also been honored by both the Texas Relays and the Border Olympics for his coverage of both of those track and field meets.
Here's a brief bio on each of each of this year's inductees:
JENNIFER CLARKSON-FRAZIER (Women's Basketball): Jennifer Frazier graduated from ACU in 1996 and is considered one of the toughest, most competitive players in ACU's basketball history. She was the undisputed leader of the 1995-96 Wildcat team that finished third in the nation with a 31-2 record. Frazier finished her career as the second-leading scorer (2,463 points) and rebounder (1,144 rebounds) in school history while making more than 62 percent of her shots from the field. She is the fifth all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division II history, and she is one of only two ACU student-athletes to have their jersey retired. Her No. 25 jersey was retired following her final regular-season home appearance in February 1996. Frazier, a 1996 ACU graduate, was twice selected as the NCAA Division II Player-of-the-Year (1994-95 and 1995-96). She led the Wildcats in scoring in all four of her seasons, and led the club in rebounding her first three seasons. Her average of 20.9 points per game is third in ACU history, and her average of 9.7 rebounds per game is second in school history. A four-time team MVP, Frazier was a three-time team captain who led the Wildcats to a combined 93-27 mark, two conference titles and one South Central region championship. She also played a large role in ACU's 49-game home court winning streak that stretched from Jan. 23, 1995, through Nov. 28, 1998. In 2001, she was elected to the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor.
CLIFF FELKINS (Men's Track and Field): Although just a Wildcat for two seasons, Felkins certainly made his mark in ACU track and field history, winning five individual national championships, including the 1987 NCAA Division I title in the discus. A two-time Lone Star Conference champion (hammer and discus in 1987), Felkins was a four-time NCAA Division II individual champion (hammer and discus in 1987 and 1988). He was inducted into the NCAA Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1998. A 1983 graduate of Odessa High School, Felkins was a two-time all-America thrower at Odessa College in the hammer and the discus where he was the national runner-up in both events. Felkins then transferred to the University of Texas-El Paso where he was the Western Athletic Conference champion in the weight throw before again earning all-America status. After UTEP was placed on probation, he then transferred to ACU for his final two years of eligibility. Felkins competed at Olympic trials, Olympic festivals and U.S. National Championships before retiring in 1996. He joined the ACU track and field coaching staff in 1992 and from 1992-99 he coached Wildcat throwers to 36 all-America performances, five national championships, four Olympic Trials and one Olympic team berth.
BRAD PURSLEY (Men's Track and Field): After a redshirt season in 1979, Brad Pursley quickly became one of the top collegiate vaulters in the United States as a student-athlete at ACU. He was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 eight times (each year from 1980-87), and he was an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team in 1984. He won two NAIA national championships in the pole vault, and in 1981 after winning the NAIA indoor title he moved outdoors to win a "triple crown" with victories in the Texas, Kansas and Drake Relays. He qualified for and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1980, 1984 and 1988 with a best finish of fourth in 1984. He was ranked first in the U.S. for the 1981 indoor season after wins at NAIA, Knights of Columbus, Millrose Games, Toronto Star Maple Leaf Games and Ottawa Citizen Games. He matched the existing American record of 5.75 meters (18-10.25) as a senior on March 29, 1983, at a dual meet in Abilene. He was a member of several U.S. National teams, including the national junior team and the U.S. Team for a dual meet against the former Soviet Union. He cleared 18 feet in the pole vault eight times as a Wildcat. Pursley was inducted into the NAIA-Gill National Track and Field Hall of Fame on May 22, 1991. Pursley graduated from ACU in 1984 with a B.S. in physical education. An outstanding all-around athlete at Merkel High School, Pursley won the 1978 Class 3A state championship in the pole vault.
JOHN MAYES (Football): One of the greatest passers in ACU history, Mayes led the Wildcats to the 1977 NAIA Division I national championship and along the way earned second team all-LSC honors. He is fourth on the school's all-time passing chart, fourth in completions, fourth in attempts, third in touchdown passes and third in career total offense (7,448 yards). In three years as the starter, Mayes led the Wildcats to a combined 25-8-1 record. In four seasons (three as a starter), Mayes completed 494 of 948 passes for 7,810 yards and 44 touchdowns. Second team NAIA Division I all-America, honorable mention Associated Press all-America and first team all-Lone Star Conference in 1978 after throwing for 2,535 yards. Mayes, a second team all-LSC pick in 1977 and 1979, is perhaps best known for his role in the Wildcats' 1977 comeback win over Southwest Texas State that saw him throw for 300 second-half yards after entering the game late in the first half with the Wildcats trailing 20-9. Mayes had missed the two previous games with a bad thumb, but he engineered a second-half rally that culminated on his short touchdown run with 42 seconds left to give ACU a 36-30 win.
BILL HART (Lifetime Achievement Award): Bill Hart, a 1952 ACU graduate, spent 27 years of his 47-year professional sportswriting career writing about the Wildcats as a staff writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and senior staff writer at the Abilene Reporter-News. He covered ACU football, basketball and track and field during those years, telling the story of ACU student-athletes and its coaches to audiences all over West Texas. A legend in his field, Hart was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1990, and last year he was inducted into the Big Country Sports Hall of Fame. In 1990 he was just the sixth sportswriter inducted into the THSF Hall of Fame. He was named the Lone Star Conference Sports Writer of the Year twice, and he has also been honored by both the Texas Relays and the Border Olympics for his coverage of both of those track and field meets. He was the Texas High School Coaches' Association Sportswriter of the Year in 1991, and he was the Texas Girls Coaches' Association Sportswriter of the Year in 1996. During his career, Hart worked at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, San Angelo Standard-Times, Temple Telegram, and the Binghamton (N.Y.) Evening Press before returning to West Texas in 1973 to join the staff of the Abilene Reporter-News. He retired in June 1999 after covering the Wildcats at the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships in Emporia, Kan.
