Aug. 9, 2002
CAPE GIRARDEAU -- An Athletic Hall of Fame at Southeast Missouri State University will become a reality on Saturday, Nov. 2.
"An Athletic Hall of Fame is long overdue at Southeast where we have such a rich heritage of great athletes and athletic teams," said Don Kaverman, director of athletics at Southeast. "The induction ceremony on Nov. 2 will recognize 14 former athletes and coaches and three national championship teams selected by the Hall of Fame Committee chaired by former Southeast basketball player Rich Eichhorst of St. Louis. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of the Southeast vs. Tennessee Tech football game on Nov. 2."
The Athletic Hall of Fame will be housed in the Show Me Center and is made possible in part by a generous gift from Dr. John Cashion Bierk.
The purpose of the Athletic Hall of Fame is to recognize those individuals who have made exemplary and positive contributions to intercollegiate athletics and related areas and who continue to bring distinction to Southeast Missouri State and the department of athletics. Student-athletes become eligible for admission ten years after their NCAA eligibility has expired.
Anyone may nominate someone for the Hall of Fame by sending a written summary of the achievements that justify the nominee's inclusion in the Hall of Fame. All supporting materials must be submitted to the Sports Information Director by April 1 of each year for consideration during that year.
Charter members of the Hall of Fame will include Laura Byrne (Track and Cross Country), Pat Colon (Women's Basketball), Jayne Creek (Softball), Kenneth Dement (Football), Bill Giessing (Basketball), Ken Iman (Football), Kenneth Knox (Football Coach, Athletic Director), Carl Ritter (Basketball), Marvin Rosengarten (Football, Track Coach, Athletic Director), John Schneider (Football, Athletic Director), Abe Stuber (Coach), Joe Uhls (Baseball Coach), Mike Vanatta (Track and Cross Country) and Mike Wood (Football).
Teams selected for induction include the 1943 NAIA National Basketball Champions, the 1984 NCAA II Men's Cross Country Champions and the 1985 NCAA II Men's Indoor Track Champions.
Byrne, a track and cross country athlete from 1986-1989, won four NCAA II individual titles during the 1988-89 school year when she won the cross country national championship and the indoor 1,500 and 3,000-meters and the outdoor 5,000-meters.
Colon, a basketball player from 1982-1987, was the first female athlete at Southeast to have her number retired. She earned basketball All-America honors in 1984 and still stands as the leading rebounder in Otahkian history. Colon had 2,034 career points and 1,003 career rebounds.
Creek was an All-America softball player who was the first Southeast athlete to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. She played from 1978-1981 and also was on the volleyball team for one season.
Dement, a football lineman from 1951-1954, was an All-American who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. His number 40 was retired in 1989.
Giessing, 1959-1963, ranks as the third leading scorer in Southeast basketball history who earned All-America honors in 1963. He had 1,686 career points.
Iman, 1956-1959, was an outstanding lineman at Southeast who went on to a highly successful career in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. He was the Rams MVP in 1972. Iman's Southeast number was retired in 1974.
Knox was head football coach and athletics director at Southeast from 1952-1967. His football teams won six Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships. Knox' 1955 team was undefeated and untied.
Ritter is the all-time leading scorer in Indian basketball history with 1,916 points from 1959-1963. A member of the Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame, Ritter had his number retired in 1994.
Rosengarten was a football player at Southeast who later served as an assistant football coach, track coach, athletics director and director of athletic development. The Marvin Rosengarten Athletic Complex on the Southeast campus is named in his honor.
Schneider was named to the Associated Press Little All-America team as an end in 1955 and later served Southeast as an assistant football coach, athletic director and chairman of the department of physical education.
Stuber was football and track coach at Southeast from 1932-1946 and also served as basketball coach from 1932-1935 and from 1943-1946. His track teams won seven MIAA championships and his football teams claimed three league titles including the 1937 team that was unbeaten and untied.
Uhls was baseball coach at Southeast from 1960-1984 with a record of 373-257-5. He also served as an assistant basketball coach in the 1960's. The baseball locker room at Houck Field House is named in Uhls honor.
Vanatta, track and cross country from 1981-1984, won four NCAA II individual national championships. He won the steeplechase title in 1982, 1983 and 1984 and claimed the cross country championship in 1984 while leading Southeast to the team title.
Wood established a new NCAA record for career field goals during his senior season in 1977. Wood played in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. His Southeast number 67 was retired in 1978.
"It was difficult to narrow our inaugural class down to 14 individuals and three teams," Eichhorst said. "We feel this is an elite group."
