6 to be inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame
KALAMAZOO—Six former student-athletes across five sports are represented in the 2012 Athletic Hall of Fame Class. This year's class also includes the first-ever women's soccer student-athlete and only the third active coach to be inducted.
They will be honored at an induction ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo and also at halftime at WMU's home football game against Northern Illinois at noon on Saturday, Oct. 27.
WMU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2012
Dan Edwards
Men's soccer, 1991-94
Portage, Mich.
Edwards is the second men's soccer inductee in program history, following Dale Heatherington who was the first to be inducted in 2000. He is WMU's all-time leading scorer, having a record of 34 goals, 14 assists and record 82 points during his career. He also has the second-most game-winning goals in a career at seven points. Edwards was named First Team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC in both years of eligibility and named to MAC All-Tournament Team in 1994. He earned Second Team All-Great Lakes Region in 1992 and Third Team All-Great Lakes Region in 1994.
Katie (Markey) Grisley
Women's soccer, 1996-99
Troy, Mich.
Grisley was the first student-athlete to be recruited to the WMU women's soccer program that began play as a varsity sport in 1996. She is now the first from the sport to be inducted into WMU's Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1997, she led the team in with nine goals, six assists, 88 shots and three game-winning goals. These statistics led her to being selected to the All-MAC team that season. She was the first player in 1998 to convert a penalty kick goal in program's history, and she also was WMU’s all-time leading scorer with 46 points.
Sue (McCarthy) Mussat
Women's gymnastics, 1988-90
Grand Ledge, Mich.
Mussat is the fifth gymnast to be inducted and the first since Bonnie Boggiano in 2006. She is a three-year letterwinner, was named to All-MAC Team in 1989 and named Most Valuable on the team in 1989. Also in 1989, Mussat earned the MAC championships on the balance beam and in all-around—one of only three to ever have that distinction. She was Academic All-MAC in 1990.
Lynda McLean
Volleyball, 1984-87
Thornhill, Ontario
McLean is the 15th former volleyball student-athlete to earn her way into the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame, making the sport the second-best represented behind only women's basketball. She was First Team All-MAC in 1986 and 1987; earned First Team Academic All-MAC in 1985, 1986 and 1987; and GTE Academic All-District in 1986 and 1987. From 1984-93, McLean was named to the WMU All-Decade volleyball team. A recipient of the NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship, she played on teams that won four MAC titles and had a combined record of 106-27. Her efforts helped her capture top female scholar athlete honors at WMU in 1987-88.
Dave Morin
Coach, men's tennis, 1996 to present
White Bear Lake, Minn.
Coach Morin becomes the third active coach to be inducted at WMU. He joins current women's tennis coach Betsy Kuhle, inducted in 2006, and the late Jack Shaw, inducted in 1997, who coached track and cross-country from 1970-2002.
Morin is an eight-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year between 1998 and 2012. His tenure has been highlighted by seven regular-season MAC championships and nine MAC Tournament championships that led to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The only coach to win MAC Coach of the Year honors at two different schools, WMU and Bowling Green, Morin is 318-191 as a collegiate head coach with 276 of his wins at WMU.
Morin’s teams have been especially dominant in the MAC with a 110-36 (77-18 at WMU) record in regular season and tournament play. The Broncos have advanced to the MAC title match 11 times in his 14 seasons as head coach at WMU. Individually, a total of 19 players have earned all-conference accolades during Morin’s tenure, and his list also includes four MAC Rookies of the Year, an ITA Region IV Freshman of the Year, and the 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012 MAC Player of the Year.
WMU's men's tennis team has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team for 10 of the past 11 seasons. The program was one of 11 NCAA Division I teams to earn that honor in 1999 after posting a school record 3.69 team GPA. There also have been 27 players who have been named to the Academic All-MAC roster. WMU players have also earned academic accolades at the national level, including two-time Academic All-America honoree Jeff Brink.
William Pyle
Men's track and field and cross country 1954-57
Elwell, Mich.
Pyle's induction marks the third consecutive year a student-athlete who competed in the 1950s earned a spot in WMU's Athletic Hall of Fame, and the second straight from the men's track program. The other athlete was Jim Oliphant who was inducted in 2011 and competed in 1959-62. Pyle is a four-time MAC Champion, winning the two-mile run three times and becoming only the second athlete to win MAC cross-country at the time. He earned the title of All-America in 1956. He was a member of the 1956 and 1957 distance medley relay championship team at Drake Relays and a three-time Central Collegiate Champion in the one mile, cross-country and two mile.
For more information, contact Stacy Thinnes at (269) 387-3062 or stacy.thinnes@wmich.edu.