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Trinity Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Class
San Antonio – Trinity University Athletic Director Bob King announces the seventh Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 8, during the school’s Alumni Weekend.
The ceremony will be held at halftime of the Trinity Tigers football game with Sewanee: University of the South (Tenn.). Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Central Time at the Trinity University Football Stadium. An open reception will be held in the lobby of the William H. Bell Athletic Center following the game.
King, the chair of the Hall of Fame selection committee, and University President Dennis Ahlburg will introduce the nine honorees:
Baseball
Jerry Grote played for Trinity in 1962, and led the Tigers
in batting average (.413), home runs (five), RBI (19), runs (29),
and hits (31). A member of the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame,
Grote spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, including 12 with
the New York Mets. He was a key member of the 1969 World Series
Championship year. Grote led the Mets in games played by a catcher
(1,176), and was a two-time All-Star (1969 and 1974).
Tennis
Erick Iskersky (played for Trinity from 1977-1980) is a
member of the Intercollegiate Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. The
three-time All-American captured the 1979 NCAA Division I Doubles
Championship (with Ben McKown), and was singles runner-up the same
year. On the pro circuit, he was ranked as high as No. 65 in the
world. Iskersky went on to become a USTA National Coach. He coached
collegiately at the University of Toledo and Southwestern
Louisiana.
John Newman (1960 Trinity graduate) was a key member of the initial Trinity scholarship men’s tennis team in 1957, organized by Clarence Mabry. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Trinity men’s 1972 NCAA Championship team. Newman led the Tiger women’s team to USTA Collegiate National Championships in 1973 and 1975, and later coached the men’s teams at Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The brother of Trinity’s Director of Tennis Butch Newman, he is the current coach of the University of the Incarnate Word.
Bill Scanlon (played at Trinity in 1975 and 1976) was a two-time All-American. He won the NCAA Division I Singles Championship in 1976. He was ranked as high as No. 9 in the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour from 1976-1989. Scanlon captured nine singles and two doubles titles. He advanced to the U.S. Open singles and mixed doubles semifinals, and to the Wimbledon and Australian Open singles quarterfinals. Scanlon was also a U.S. Davis Cup Team member in 1976.
Stephanie Tolleson (played at Trinity in 1975 and 1976) won the 1975 USTA National Collegiate Singles Championship. A two-time All-American, Tolleson was a key member of the 1975 and 1976 USTA National Championship Teams. Tolleson played World TeamTennis and the pro circuit, and reached the round of 32 in singles and doubles of the U.S. Open in 1978. As a senior official at International Management Group, Tolleson managed some of the top players in the world. Tolleson represented the Women’s Tennis Association worldwide, and was ranked fourth on the list of the Most Influential Women in Sports (2005) by Sports Business Journal.
Football
Truman Franks (1968 Trinity
graduate) was a Third Team Little All-American in 1965. He set
school records in career receiving yards (1,336) and receptions
(112). Franks signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s San
Diego Chargers, and also played with the San Antonio
Toros.
Men’s
Basketball
Felix Thruston (1971 Trinity graduate) ranks second in
Tiger men’s basketball career points (1,563), and fourth in
rebounds (897). He was ranked 18th in NCAA scoring in
1971, and led the Southland Conference. Thruston was drafted by the
Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA in 1971. He was offered a scholarship to
Kentucky under the legendary Adolph Rupp, but chose to attend
Trinity. As a high school player in Kentucky, Thruston scored over
1,400 points.
Women’s
Soccer
Tanya Zwick Rinebarger (1996 Trinity graduate), was a
two-time All-American (1994 and 1995), and was the Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the
Year (1995). She became the first SCAC soccer player –
men’s or women’s – to earn All-America honors.
Rinebarger set Trinity records with 36 career assists. She helped
lead the Tigers to the NCAA Division III playoffs (1992, 1993, and
1995).
Administration and
Coaching
The late Libby Johnson coached and was director of
women’s intercollegiate athletics at Trinity from 1972-1980.
She is regarded as a pioneer of Trinity women’s sports.
Johnson coached volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and
field, and was an assistant professor in health and physical
education. Johnson, a strong advocate for women’s sports,
helped to greatly increase the budgets for the Trinity
women’s teams during her tenure.
A special plaque of each 2011 honoree will be mounted on the Athletic Hall of Fame wall in the Bell Center, along with the other classes. Recent photos, along with photos of the honorees during their collegiate competition or coaching days, are included on the plaques, as well as athletic accomplishments.
Nominations were received from throughout the nation, and a selection committee chose the finalists.
The Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1999, and selections are made every two years.
