NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Department of Athletics will honor a group of five outstanding individuals with induction into its Percy Family Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 3-4, 2014.
The 2014 class of the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes Char Govan Bond (women's basketball), Tarise Bryson (men's basketball), Dion Simmons (men's track & field) and Amber (Smith) Coppola (softball), as well as Larry Quane, who has been supporting Illinois State Athletics in various volunteer roles for close to three decades and will be honored with the Campbell "Stretch" Miller Award.
The official induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 4, in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center on the Illinois State University campus. The event will begin at 8 a.m. The five inductees and the Stretch Miller Award winner will also be recognized during halftime of the Illinois State-South Dakota State football game later that day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The class is the 42nd in the history of the ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame, which began with the charter class in 1972. Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony are $25 per person and can be purchased through the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund office by calling Jennifer Watson at 309/438-3639. Tickets for the event must be ordered by Monday, Sept. 29.
2014 ILLINOIS STATE HALL OF FAME CLASS
Char Govan Bond, Women's Basketball (1986-1990) – West Bloomfield, Michigan
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A 1990 Kodak All-District V Team selection … 1990 All-Gateway Conference First-Team pick … runner-up for Gateway Conference Player of the Year during the 1989-90 season … a two-time Gateway Conference Player of the Week … played on the 1988 and 1990 WNIT-qualifying teams and was a standout on the 1989 NCAA Tournament-qualifying squad … was the first fifth-year player in the history of the Illinois State women's basketball program, after having to miss the 1987 season with a foot injury … one of only seven players in Valley history with 1500 points and 700 rebounds … ranks No. 4 in Illinois State history in career points scored (1,589) and is tied for fifth in career rebounds (765) … is No. 20 and No. 17, respectively, in those same categories in the Missouri Valley Conference record books … her 630 points scored in 1990 rank third on the ISU single-season scoring list … also ranks second in single-season field goals made with 258 that same season … stands fourth in career free throws made (296), fifth in career field goals made (641) and third in career field goal percentage (.535) … scored a career-best 36 points in a game in her final season of 1999 … played professional basketball in Luxembourg following her Redbird career.
Tarise Bryson, Men's Basketball (1998-2002) – Decatur, Illinois
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Earned All-America Honorable Mention recognition in 2001 from the Associated Press … named the 2001 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year … named an All-MVC First-Team selection in 2000 and 2001, after garnering second-team accolades while earning MVC Newcomer of the Year recognition in 1999 … ranks No. 7 on the Illinois State career-scoring list with 1,736 points … joined Doug Collins and Rick Lamb as one of three players to lead the team in scoring for three-consecutive seasons … ranks No. 3 in single-season points with 685 during the 2000-01 campaign … led the league in scoring (22.8 points per game) and ranked fourth nationally during the 2000-01 season … holds the ISU record for made-free throws in a career (468), in a season (207 in 2000-01) and in a game (17 versus Central Michigan, Dec. 3, 2000, tied with John Cruser) … tied for first in single-game 3-pointers with eight on two different occasions … ranks No. 3 on the career 3-pointers list with 214 … scored a career-high 41 points versus Central Michigan, Dec. 3, 2000 … netted 30 or more points in 10 different games … ranks No. 5 in single-season steals with 56 in 2000-01 … tied for No. 8 on the career-steals list with 219 … began the 2001-02 season as the nation's No. 1 returning scorer, but had his senior year cut short after sustaining a broken wrist in the season-opener.
Amber (Smith) Coppola, Softball (2006-09) – Fairfield, California
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Four-time All-Missouri Valley First-Team selection … one of only eight players in MVC history to achieve that feat … three-time NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First-Team pick … named a 2006 Easton/Bell Sports Second-Team All-American and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Third-Team All-American … earned 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year honors after her historic freshman season … first player in ISU history to record 40 hits, 40 runs and 40 RBI in a season (2006) … ended her career with a .328 batting average, 202 hits, 47 home runs, 150 RBI and a .988 fielding percentage … ranks second all-time at Illinois State in home runs (47), first in walks (111), third in total bases (369) and fourth in slugging percentage (.599) and RBI (150) … was a six-time MVC Player of the Week during her four-year career … fell just one home run shy of tying the MVC/ISU single-season record (18) in 2006 … was one RBI short of the then-Redbird single-season RBI record of 51 in 2006 … established new ISU freshmen records for home runs, RBI, total bases and walks … named to the ASA's Top-50 Watch List in 2007 … broke the then-Redbird home run record with her 26th career blast in April 2007 … broke the MVC career home run record in 2008 with 40th home run … led ISU and was fifth-best in the Valley with a 2.10 ERA in 2008 … recorded a string of 12-straight appearances in the circle without a loss during the 2008 season … named a team captain in her final two seasons.
Dion Simmons, Men's Track and Field (1990-94) – Decatur, Illinois
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A 1992 All-American in the triple jump, after placing sixth with a jump of 53-11.75 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships … holds the all-time record in the outdoor triple jump at ISU with that mark … five-time Missouri Valley Conference champion … three-time MVC triple jump outdoor champion (1992-94) and two-time MVC triple jump indoor champion (1993-94)… eight-time All-MVC selection (four indoor, four outdoor) … two-time USA Olympic Trials qualifier (1992, 1996) … was the first freshman in the 82-year history of the Drake Relays to ever win the triple jump title … a repeat performance in 1992 made him only the fifth athlete to ever win back-to-back triple jump titles and qualified him for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships … his performance in the triple jump at the 1992 Kansas Relays earned him an invitation to the USA Olympic Trials in New Orleans … named the Illinois State Male Athlete of the Year in 1992 … named MVC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 1994 … two-time NCAA qualifier (1992, 1994) … ranks No. 2 all time at ISU in the indoor triple jump with a mark of 52-04.75 … member of the Valley All-Centennial Track and Field Team.
Larry Quane, 2014 Campbell "Stretch" Miller Award Recipient
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Involvement with Illinois State Athletics spans three decades … has been a member of the official bench crew for women's basketball and volleyball for 30 years and has assisted with home tournaments for men's and women's golf hosted at the Weibring Golf Club for 20 years … a student-athlete at ISU from 1964-66 as a member of the golf team … his career at Illinois State began in 1967 as a professor in the Department of Industrial Technology and lasted until his retirement in 2009 … named the Distinguished Administrative/Professional at Illinois State University in 1991 … during his illustrious academic career, was the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Instruction (1979-90), during which he provided administrative leadership for Student Academic Support Services including the Academic Advisement Center and the Karin L. Bone Athletics Study Center … served in academic department leadership roles (1990-95) and as the Acting Dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology (1995-97), the Director of University College (1998-2001) and the Acting University Registrar (2004-05) … he has written 45 articles, booklets, etc., which were published in state and national publications, wrote 18 papers that were presented at state, regional and national meetings, and most recently he published two books … also directed 22 research and training projects that totaled more than $600,000.
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