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Athletic Hall of Fame inductees honored this weekendOct. 1, 2007 KALAMAZOO--The Western Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame has announced this year's inductees, which include five former student-athletes and span four decades of excellence in WMU Bronco athletics. The 2007 inductees will be welcomed into the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame during a public ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo. They also will be honored during halftime at WMU's home football game against the University of Akron. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. "We had a huge pool of nominations submitted from all over the United States," says Bud Donnelly, chair of the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee and a member of the Athletic Board of Control. "It was very difficult selecting candidates as all nominees were either Mid-American Conference champions or had All-American status. "The committee and I are probably most proud of the fact that these five inductees represent such a broad span of WMU athletics. We have representatives from the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s." Six sports are represented in the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2007, including volleyball, women's track and field, field hockey, football, men's diving and men's tennis. Tickets are required for admission to the public ceremony Oct. 5. They are $30 each and include dinner. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Stacy Vallier at stacy.vallier@wmich.edu or (269) 387-3062. WMU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2007 Joanne Bingham Bingham is a member of the 1984-93 WMU All-Decade team and the 1989-90 Canadian National Team. In 1989, she earned MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team, and twice was named First Team All-MAC. She holds the record for most kills in a season with 611 sets in 1989. Bingham was the eighth Bronco to be in the 1,000-kill club with 1,236, and holds the record for most kills per game in a season with 5.27 per game. She also holds WMU kill records for three-game match (24), four-game match (31) and five-game match (36). She is third overall in career attack attempts with 2,883, and holds the WMU record for attack attempts in a season, with 1,356. Marcia Karwas Karwas ranks fifth all-time at WMU in javelin with 138 feet 9 inches. In addition to participating in women's track and field, she also was a member of WMU's field hockey team, where she allowed less than one goal per game (0.93) as the goalkeeper in 1976. Karwas was a three-time Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women National Championship qualifier in javelin in 1975-77 and was a member of the USA Field Hockey Team from 1979-82. She went on to win three national championships at Old Dominion. Karwas received her master's degree in kinesiology from WMU and her Ph.D. from Washington State University-Pullman. She is a faculty member in the Department of Human Performance and Wellness at California State University Monterey Bay. Dale Livingston During his time at WMU, Livingston earned two All-MAC titles and was Second Team All-America as a senior. He is tied for the longest punt in a game (86 yards). He holds the third spot for career punt average (39.9 yards-per-punt), the second highest all-time punt average in a season (43.3 yards-per-punt in 1967), and the third all-time record for punt average in a game (49.8 yards-per-punt in 1967). After graduating from WMU, Livingston was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and spent two seasons (1968-69) with the organization. He became the starting kicker on the inaugural team during his first year. He also played professionally for the Green Bay Packers during the 1970 season. Michael Lyden While at WMU, Lyden was the MAC champion in the three-meter competition in 1977. He was the co-winner of the team's Most Valuable award in 1979. He was the MAC Diver of the Year for victories on the one- and three-meter boards in the MAC Championship, and qualified for the NCAA Championship that same year. He held four diving records at WMU, and was a four-time MAC Champion when he graduated in 1980. He was a nine-time MAC Coach of the Year from 1980-89 at Eastern Michigan University and won eight Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year awards during his years at Louisiana State University and University of Kentucky. Lyden has coached 45 All-Americans and was named National Coach of the Year in 1996. Denny Telder During his time at WMU, Telder helped lead his team to three MAC championships (1955-57). He won the MAC No. 2 singles title and the No. 1 doubles title as a junior in 1956. As a senior, he took first place in MAC doubles and singles. He holds a 73-18 career record at WMU with an 80.2 winning percentage. Telder is only one of three WMU Bronco male tennis players to go undefeated in MAC singles and doubles play throughout their three-year varsity career. Media contact: Mat Kanan, (269) 387-4125, mat.kanan@wmich.edu WMU News |
