PHOTO GALLERY
Aug. 19, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Despite the rain and wind that stormed through the Illinois State campus on Sunday night, the seventh annual Walk of Champions was held. Although the format was slightly different from years past, the spirit of the event did not change. The Illinois State student-athletes, coaches and administrators welcomed 152 freshmen and transfers into the Redbird family and taught them about the rich tradition of Redbird athletics.
The rainy weather prohibited the walking tour of campus that gives the Walk of Champions its name, but with the hard work of the Illinois State Athletic Department, a memorable event took place. After a dinner in Horton Field House, the event was shifted in its entirety over to Redbird Arena. Once inside, the Class of 2011 was welcomed by Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Life Skills Jane Fulton and the rest of the Redbird Leadership team. Then the torch bearers, student-athletes from various teams who usually guide the evening walking tour, introduced themselves; although the indoor venue kept them from having all of their torches lit.
Rather than have the procession take place in the rain, a video was shown that took the student-athletes on a virtual tour that showed all of the landmarks and told all of the stories that make up the Walk of Champions. The video also included game footage from the past and provided the student-athletes with historical context of the institution they were joining.
A very special presentation took place at the ceremony as longtime softball head coach Melinda Fischer was presented with an honorary medallion. The special award commemorated her 714th career win that she earned against Drake last season, making her the winningest all-time coach in Redbird history.
Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger then presented the 2006-07 Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards. Football quarterback Luke Drone was the recipient of the Milt Weisbecker Male Athlete of the Year Award and softball pitcher Shannon Nicholson was given the Jill Hutchison Female Athlete of the Year Award. The awards are named after Redbird legendary members of the Redbird athletic family and are voted upon by Illinois state head coaches and administrators. Joanne Weisbecker, the widow of the late Milt Weisbecker, and Jill Hutchison were on hand for the presentations.
"It is such an honor to have an award with Dr. Hutchison's name," Nicholson said. "This really is for all of our team's success last year. I know that none of this would be possible without the entire team. We put in a lot of hard work last year and this is a tribute to all of that."
`It is a tremendous accomplishment to be presented with this award," Drone said. "There are so many good athletes at this university. It is a credit to my teammates because without them I wouldn't have this honor. They are a great group of guys.
To conclude the program, a torch was lit at the front of the stage and all 152 new Redbird athletes were called up by their coaches and given half a medallion that they then placed into a chalice. At the senior banquet in 2011, the student-athletes will be given the medallion back, along with the other half, to form a complete commemorative that displays the Redbird logo and a portion of the Redbird fight song, "To his emblem we'll be true."
