ABILENE, Texas – The winningest baseball coach in ACU history, along with seven other Wildcat standouts and a pair of Lifetime Achievement Award winners, will take their place among the university's athletics greats later this fall when they are inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame.
This year's inductees are Britt Bonneau (baseball coach), Alex Carpenter (men's golf), Ashley (Holton) Dabbs (women's soccer), Clyde Gates (football), Julia Mongin (women's tennis), Andrea (Carpenter) Petty (women's soccer), and Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Ed and Barbara Bonneau. Two other inductees are from the 1973 NAIA Division I national championship football team, which will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its championship at homecoming. Wide receiver Richard Williams and defensive back Jan Brown will join the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in October.
The Class of 2023 will be celebrated during the hall's 40th induction ceremony, set for Friday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. in ACU's McCaleb Conference Center in the Hunter Welcome Center. With the addition of the 10 members of this year's class, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame now includes 250 men and women. Ticket information will be made public later this summer.
Here's a look at each of the honorees:
Britt Bonneau
Bonneau carried the Wildcats through the early stages of the move from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I affiliation and resigned after the 2018 season. He led the Wildcats for 22 seasons, compiling a record of 756-511-1 while in charge of the Wildcats. The third-longest-serving head coach in ACU history, Bonneau coached 17 different All-American players, including six first-team selections. His teams won nine Lone Star Conference South Division titles from 1998-2013 and five LSC Post-Season Tournament championships. He led the Wildcats to nine NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament appearances, and in 2003 he and the Wildcats won the regional tournament and earned the program's lone appearance in the Division II National Tournament. He coached nine different ACU players who were voted LSC MVP from 2000-10 and six different pitchers who were voted LSC Pitcher of the Year from 1998-2008. He was the six-time LSC Coach of the Year and a nine-time Louisville Slugger LSC Coach of the Year. In ACU's Division I era, he coached five All-Southland Conference players, and he led ACU to three wins over Power-5 programs: Arizona in 2014 and 2015 and TCU in 2018.
Alex Carpenter
Carpenter set the NCAA all-divisions record for career victories with an astounding 20 from 2009-13, including an unthinkable 14 as a sophomore in 2010-11. After his record 20th victory, he appeared in the April 22, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated in the "Faces in the Crowd" section. Carpenter was a two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Award winner) and 2009-10 Phil Mickelson Award winner as the Most Outstanding Freshman in NCAA Division II golf. Carpenter was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American selection, including first-team honors in 2011 and 2013, and he was a four-time all-region selection. He was the four-time Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, and in May 2011, he became the first ACU golfer to win the Paul Goad Award as the top male athlete at ACU, an award he won again in 2013. He was the 2012-13 Lone Star Conference Male Athlete of the Year in ACU's final year at the NCAA Division II level. During his career, Carpenter carded 33 rounds in the 60s and won two Lone Star Conference championships. He also qualified for two Palmer Cup teams during his ACU tenure and won the Southern Amateur in 2010.
Ashley (Holton) Dabbs
A transfer from Cuyamaca College in California, Dabbs redshirted in 2009 before taking the field in 2010. In her final two seasons (2010, 2011), she helped the Wildcats to a 37-5-2 overall record. In 2010, ACU finished second in the Lone Star Conference regular season but won the LSC Postseason Tournament championship with 2-0 wins over Angelo State and Midwestern State. She was a first a second-team Daktronics All-American selection, a first-team all-region performer, and a first-team all-LSC selection as a junior, scoring six goals (three game-winners) and assisting on three others. As a senior, Dabbs was a fantastic performer on the greatest ACU women's soccer team of the NCAA Division II era. She helped the 2011 Wildcats to a 20-2-1 overall record, an undefeated regular-season conference record (13-0-1), and a runner-up finish in the LSC Postseason Tournament. One week after losing to Midwestern State, 2-1, in the LSC Postseason Tournament championship game in Abilene, the Wildcats returned the favor, beating Midwestern, 2-1, in overtime at the ACU pitch to win an NCAA Division II second-round match. The Wildcats then advanced to the NCAA Championships Third and Fourth Rounds at Cal State-Los Angeles, where they beat Dallas Baptist, 2-1, in overtime in the third round. The Wildcats' hopes for a national championship ended two days later on a wet, soggy, muddy field with a 1-0 loss to Chico State. Dabbs was a first-team Daktronics All-Region selection and first-team All-LSC pick. As of 2023, he was also a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) first-team all-region pick in 2011. She is the sixth-leading scorer in ACU history with 47 points (20 goals, seven assists), and those 20 goals are tied for the fourth-most in ACU history. Her 32 points in 2010 (14 goals, four assists) are the third-most in a season in ACU history, and her 14 goals that same season are the third-most in ACU history.
Edmond "Clyde" Gates
One of the fastest players to ever don the Purple and White and certainly one of the most electric with the football in his hands, Gates played in the greatest era of offensive football in program history. From 2007-10, Gates caught 158 passes for 2,885 yards and 27 touchdowns, all while helping the Wildcats to a combined record of 41-9, four trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs, two undefeated regular seasons, and two Lone Star Conference championships (2008 and 2010). In those four seasons, the Wildcats had one of the best offenses in all college football, regardless of division. ACU scored 2,163 points and put up 24,280 yards of total offense in those four seasons, averaging 43.26 points and 485.6 yards per game in those 50 games. He is sixth in ACU history in receptions (158), fourth in yards (2,885), and tied for second in touchdown receptions (27). He is ACU's all-time leader in 100-yard receiving games with 13, topping fellow Hall-of-Famers Johnny Perkins, Ronnie Vinson, and
Jerale Badon, who each had 12. Also with 12 is future Hall-of-Famer Taylor Gabriel. Gates' senior season in 2010 was among the greatest by a receiver in school history. He finished with 66 catches for 1,182 yards and 13 touchdowns on his way to earning NCAA Division II first-team All-American and All-Region honors. He was a three-time first-team All-Lone Star Conference selection (2008-10) and an honorable mention pick as a freshman in 2007. Selected to ACU's All-Decade Team for the 2000s, Gates was picked by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played for the Dolphins (2011), New York Jets (2012-13), the Tennessee Titans (2015), and Dallas Cowboys (2015).
Julia Mongin
One of the greatest tennis players in ACU history, four-time All-American Julia Mongin starred for the Wildcats from 2010-13 and was then an assistant coach from 2014-2019 before being named the head coach for men's and women's tennis at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, a position she currently holds. A native of Jaunay-Clan, France, Mongin experienced great success as a player at ACU. Her spring singles record was 70-18, while her doubles record was 95-15. She was on four teams that reached the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament, and in her junior and senior seasons, the Wildcats advanced to the semifinals. She was a three-time Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, a four-time All-Lone Star Conference selection in singles and double, and in 2013 she was the ITA South Central Region Senior Player of the Year. As a freshman in 2010, she was the USTA/ITA South Central Region singles and doubles champion, a feat she repeated as a junior in 2012. As a sophomore in 2011, she won the USTA/ITA South Central Region singles championship.
Andrea (Carpenter) Petty
The greatest goal-scorer and arguably the greatest player in the history of ACU soccer, Petty was twice voted the Paul Goad Award winner (2011 and 2014) as the top female athlete at ACU. She played at the NCAA Division I and II levels, starting her career at NCAA Division II (2010-12) before finishing as a senior in the Southland Conference (2013). She is ACU's all-time leader in points (127), goals scored (56), and game-winning goals (20), and tied for third in assists (15). She led the Wildcats to a 58-20-5 record in her four seasons on The Hill. As a freshman in 2010, she collected several major individual awards at the conference, regional and national levels after setting ACU's single-season and career records for goals (22) and points (48). Petty was voted onto the Daktronics third-team All-American squad, tabbed as its South Central Regional Player of the Year, and made the all-region first team. She also won the Lone Star Conference's Offensive Player and Freshman of the Year Awards. As a sophomore in 2011, she was a first-team NSCAA All-American and All-South Central Region selection. She was the Daktronics South Central Player of the Year for the second straight season and a second-team All-America and first-team All-Region. Petty was a first-team All-LSC, Academic All-LSC, LSC Postseason All-Tournament Team, and Offensive Player of the Year selection. She led the LSC in points, goals, goals per game, and game-winning goals as she led the Wildcats to a 20-2-1 record and a spot in the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals. As a senior in 2013, she was first-team All-Southland Conference, third-team NSCAA All-Central Region, first-team All-Academic, and a member of the league's Commissioner's Honor Roll. She finished the season ranked second in the Southland with 13 goals and 32 points and tied for fourth with six assists and four game-winning goals. She led the Wildcats to a 13-5-1 overall mark and a 7-5 league record in the program's first season at the NCAA Division I level.
Richard Williams
In just three seasons as a Wildcat (1971-73), Richard Williams – who passed away on Nov. 16, 2022, in Sugar Land at 67 – established himself as one of the great wide receivers in program history. Williams, a key offensive cog in the 1973 NAIA Division I national championship team, caught 50 passes for 1,054 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1973 to help the Wildcats win their first of two national titles in five years (1977 being the other). Williams' 1,054-yard season made him only the second player in ACU history to record a 1,000-yard receiving season behind fellow Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Vinson (1,214 in 1969 and 1,042 in 1970), and his 1,054 yards is still the eighth-best single-season performance in ACU history. And his 14 touchdown receptions in 1973 are still the second-best single-season total in ACU history. In the Wildcats' season-opener at Arkansas State (Sep. 8, 1973), he and quarterback Clint Longley hooked up on a 92-yard touchdown that is still the record for the longest touchdown catch-and-run in program history. He earned honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Lone Star Conference honors in 1973. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and spent one season with the Bengals before spending the 1975 and 1976 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Jan Brown
Brown was one of the critical defensive playmakers on the 1973 NAIA Division I national championship team. He led the team with six interceptions as part of a defense that allowed just 146 points in the Wildcats' final 10 games and pitched a pair of shutouts in Lone Star Conference play. The Wildcats held high-flying Langston to just six points in a Dec. 1 win in the national semifinals in Abilene and then held Elon to just two scores in a 42-14 win over Elon in the NAIA Division I Champions Bowl on Dec. 8 in Shreveport, La. Brown earned honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Lone Star Conference honors after the season. He was dangerous when he got the ball in his hands. He had a 76-yard kickoff return vs. Arkansas State in 1971, and then in 1976, he had a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown against Howard Payne on Nov. 17, which is still the third-longest interception return in program history. It stood as the longest interception return for a touchdown until Sept. 20, 2008, when Mike Kern took an interception back 99 yards for a touchdown against Southeastern Oklahoma State. That 98-yard return is still the eighth-longest scoring play in ACU history. Brown also lettered in track and baseball while at ACU. He starred at Brownwood High School and played for legendary Gordon Wood. While at Brownwood, Brown received All-District, All-Area, All-West Texas, and All-State honors. In addition, he played on two Class 3A state championship football teams (1967 and 1969).
Lifetime Achievement Award
Ed and Barbara Bonneau
In their 64-plus years of marriage, Ed and Barbara Bonneau have devoted themselves to God, each other, their family, and ACU. Ed and Barbara Bonneau are the winners of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. Their induction into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame makes them just the third married couple to be inducted together, joining Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher and Victoria Scott in the Class of 1994-1995, and Mr. and Mrs. Al and Dottie Scott in the Class of 2019-20. There are now husband-and-wife duos who have been inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame: the Scotts in 1994-95, the Scotts in 2019-20, the Bonneaus in 2023-24, Clayton (2017) and Amanda (2016-17) Farrell, and A.B. (1986-87) and Rebecca (1997-98) Morris. The Bonneaus – who married Oct. 16, 1958 – have seen four of their six children graduate from ACU – daughter Rene (Bonneau Watten ('81), and sons Shannon Bonneau ('84), Todd Bonneau ('89) and Hunt Bonneau ('92) – and many of their 15 grandchildren have made their way through ACU. Ed served on the ACU Board of Trustees from 1991-2007 and also served as the Chairman of ACU's Board of Development. He has also been an elder at Farmers Branch Church of Christ, where the family has been faithful members for many years. In 1994, Ed, Barbara, and their children received the Integrity Award for Integrity in the Family as part of the 10-year celebration of Marketplace Ministries. And in 1995, ACU gave Ed and Barbara its Christian Service Award in recognition of a lifelong commitment to Christ and other people. Their commitment has also been to ACU athletics, as they have been faithful fans and benefactors over the years. Their sons Todd (golf) and Hunt (football) were student-athletes at ACU, and two of their grandsons – Trey Watten and Cameron Watten – were each standout performers for their uncle, Britt Bonneau, Ed and Barbara's youngest child, who was the head baseball coach at ACU from 1997-2018. During those 22 seasons, Ed and Barbara were a constant presence in the stands at Crutcher Scott Field and at stadiums across the country. Driving their RV all over the Lone Star Conference and other spots on ACU's schedule, they rarely missed a game. When the time came for ACU to build an indoor hitting facility, it was the Bonneau family that stepped up to the plate and was the major financial benefactor of the facility. Completed in the fall of 2006, the 5,600-square-foot building houses three indoor hitting tunnels and two pitcher's mounds and was named the Bonneau Family Indoor Hitting Facility in honor of entire family.
