The Oregon State Beavers are adding some impressive teams and individuals to the Hall of Fame.
Here is the official list thanks to the Oregon State Athletics Communications Department!
Back-to-back College World Series championship baseball teams, two of the most successful women's volleyball clubs historically, plus individuals Sylvia Moore, Felicia Ragland and Earnel Durden highlight the 15th Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame class to be inducted this October. Led by current four-time NCAA Coach of the Year Pat Casey, the Beavers won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07 on the heels of OSU's second-ever CWS appearance in 2005. The '06 team was the first from a northern climate to win a CWS in 40 years after six elimination games before beating North Carolina in the best-of-three series. The team ended the year 50-16. Jonah Nickerson, Dallas Buck, Cole Gillespie, and Kevin Gunderson earned All-America honors. Gillespie also was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. The '07 Beavers rallied at the end of the season to make the playoffs and then won 11 of 12 games in the postseason that concluded with back-to-back victories over familiar foe North Carolina to win the title. The Beavers were 49-18 overall with Mitch Canham earning All-America honors. Head coach Sally Hunter led the 1969-70 and 1970-71 women's volleyball teams to the national tournament. The '70 team posted a 21-0 regular season record and advanced to the first ever Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national tournament where they defeated California and Mississippi State advancing to the "Sweet 16." The '71 team went 17-5 in the regular season before advancing to the "Elite Eight" where they went 5-1 with victories over New Mexico, Lamar, Wooster Ohio), Kansas and Central Oklahoma.Moore is considered one of the groundbreaking female athletics administrators in the country, serving at OSU in many capacities. She first arrived at OSU in 1966 as a physical education instructor. In addition, she was appointed the school's women's basketball coach for the 1966-67 season and would serve as the women's gymnastics coach from 1966-75. Moore played a critical role at OSU during Title IX legislation in 1972 as the Director of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics. She would later serve as the Beavers' Deputy Athletic Director from 1982-85 before accepting the role of OSU's interim Athletic Director. Among her many distinguished awards includes the 1990 Beaver Champion Award, a university-wide honor granted annually for "performance of the highest quality" and in 1999 the OSU Women's Center Woman of Achievement Award.Ragland was one of the premier players in the sport during her tenure in which she was a four-year letterman guard from 1999-2002. The Tulare, Calif., native was the 2001 then Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and a two-time Kodak All-America Honorable Mention. She was the third player in school history to ever reach the 1,500-point 600-rebound plateau and would conclude her career with 1,803 points, 739 rebounds and 264 assists. She was the first Beaver to ever be selected in the WNBA Draft being picked by the Seattle Storm in 2002 in the second round. Durden is among the first African American student-athletes in school history lettering from 1956-58 on the football team after being named the 1954 Los Angeles area prep Player of the Year. He helped Oregon State College, as it was then known, to 21 victories, including winning Pacific Coast Conference titles in 1957 and '58. OSC played in the '57 Rose Bowl with the help of Durden, but the team was ineligible the following year due to the PCC's no repeat rule for the New Year's Day contest. The wingback went on to coach in the NFL and college, as well as have a successful career in business. He was among the first African American coaches in the NFL, serving as an assistant to former Oregon State coach and longtime NFL mentor Tommy Prothro. Oregon State Athletics will hold an official induction ceremony Fri., Oct. 19 with subsequent recognition at Saturday's home football game vs California. More information will be available in the near future on ticket availability for the ceremony.