CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University Athletics is proud to announce the 2016 class recently inducted into its Hall of Fame.
This year's inductees include a long-time broadcaster of Thunderbird Athletics, a national champion runner and a team that won its way into the national tournament nearly 40 years ago.
Fans, friends, former teammates and family gathered in the SUU Ballroom for the Hall of Fame induction banquet to honor the former student-athletes and current legendary broadcaster.
The first T-Bird to be inducted was Cameron Levins, former long-distance runner at SUU. The two-time national champion was inducted by his former coach Eric Houle. Coach Houle told the audience about a few of the Canadian athlete's accomplishments during his time at SUU.
Levins won countless races, several conference championships, was named All-America multiple times and won the 5K and 10K NCAA national championships. He also won the prestigious Bowerman Award, representing the top athlete in all of NCAA track and field.
Levins is now a member of Nike's professional running team, runs for Canada and is known for having run in the fastest 5,000-meter heat in the history of the Olympics during the Games held in London.
Next up was SUU broadcaster Art Challis, introduced by long-time former SUSC sports information director Jim Robinson. Robinson told the crowd about how Art took over the radio broadcasts of Thunderbird Athletics in 1973. He worked closely with Art for a couple of decades before his retirement.
When Challis started his career in front of the microphone the T-Birds were an NAIA athletics school with seven sports. Over the years Challis has traveled to 48 states following the Thunderbirds. He has broadcast more than 1,500 athletic competitions involving SUSC and SUU teams, primarily football and men's basketball.
Challis also spent many years at the diamond sharing the exploits of the T-Birds baseball teams with listeners on various radio stations. He has only missed a handful of games during the 43 years since he started and they were mostly for family milestone events. Challis has been teaching at SUU since 1982 in the communications department that he now chairs.
Finally, the last inductee of the evening was the 1976-77 men's basketball team and their coach Stan Jack.
Challis introduced the team and told a little bit about each player as he brought the team up onto stage one by one.
The team that won the NAIA District Seven Playoffs and advanced to the national tournament included: Amos James, Bob King, Robert Lee, Pete Rencher, Mike Daniels, Monte Widdison, Dave Petty, Dave Meyer, Quinton Davis, Eric Daniels, Kerry Rupp, Scott Appleby, Steve Hodson and Brad Blackner.
A special presentation was made to head coach Stan Jack by former team manager Kelly Jordan. He talked about what a great coach and teacher Jack was during his tenure with the T-Birds. The team presented coach Jack with a crystal basketball as a token of appreciation for what he did for them.
Rick Phillips was the assistant coach for the team that went 21-7. Once the team advanced to the district playoffs they beat Grand Canyon for the third time that season. They then best Mesa for a chance to advance to the nationals a team that had beat them twice earlier in the year. The team then advanced to the national tournament in Kansas City where they fell to Southwestern Oklahoma, 99-89.
Challis talked about the special chemistry between team members, and the coach and the team. He also mentioned special memories from road trips and during the games in front of full house crowds in old War Memorial Fieldhouse.
The '77 team out-shot, out-rebounded, outscored and outplayed their opponents during their run through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season. Four team members averaged double-figure scoring for the season with a fifth player averaging nine points a game.
The new inductees joined 61 existing members of the Hall at SUU.
