Celebrating Black History Month

Celebrating Black History Month

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Monday, February 27th: Laurie Ann Byrd, Eastern Michigan (1978-82)
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In her four seasons with the Eagles, Laurie Ann Byrd registered 1,899 points, becoming the programs all-time leading scorer for 29 seasons. She is the only player in the program’s history to lead her team in scoring and assists each season in which she competed. Byrd still holds EMU career records for scoring average (19.2 ppg). In 1979, she was a member of the Olympic Team that competed at the National Sports Festival. Byrd went on to play professional basketball in Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and Spain as well as one year in the WNBA. Byrd began her coaching career in 1999 at the University of Detroit and transitioned to the professional level in 2002. She helped lead the Detroit Shock to the WNBA Championship in 2003. Byrd is a member of Eastern Michigan, AAU, Gus Macker and the Greater Flint Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame.


Sunday, February 26th: James Harrison, Kent State (1999-01)
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Harrison was a standout linebacker from 1999-01 for the Flashes. He was named to the 2001 All-MAC first-team while leading the defensive with 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. In 2000, he also led the team with 106 total tackles. The Akron, Ohio native’s 15 career sacks and 42 career tackles for loss rank third and fourth in KSU’s record book, respectively. After his collegiate career, Harrison was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, his professional accomplishments include: two Super Bowl titles with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a pair of Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro selections. 


Saturday, February 25th: Orville Jennings, Central Michigan Associate AD for Facilities & Event Operations
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Orville Jennings joined Central Michigan’s staff as an in tern in 2009 for facilities/event and game management. After earning his master’s degree in sport administration from CMU, Jennings went to Wake Forest University to serve as Director of Event Management and Facilities. He returned to the Chippewas in 2015 as the Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Operations. Earlier this year, Jennings was promoted to Associate AD for Facilities and Event Operations. Jennings earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and sports management from Tiffin University in 2008. During his time at Tiffin, he was an offensive lineman for the football team and a semifinalist for the university’s Student-Athlete of the Year Award. 


Friday, February 24th: Tonia Stubbs, Miami (1981-85)
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Tonia Stubbs led Miami to two MAC Championships (’82 & ’83) and a MAC Tournament title (’82). A three-time All-MAC selection, Stubbs earned Second-Team All-MAC honors in ’85 and honorable mention recognition in ’83 and ’84. She finished as Miami’s career rebounds and field goal percentage record holder and was the first in program history to record 20 double-doubles in a career. Her 815 career rebounds and .529 field goal percentage currently ranks second all-time. She also is one of 19 players to surpass 1,000 career points, recording 1,148. After her days at Miami, Stubbs enlisted in the Army where she was selected as the Army Female Athlete of the Year in 1995. Stubbs was an All-Army selection in basketball and also found success as a handball player, earning a spot on the U.S. National Handball Team – winning a gold medal at the 1994 Pan Am Games and serving as an alternate for the 1996 Olympic team.


Thursday, February 23rd: Khalil Mack, Buffalo (2010-13)
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Drafted fifth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, Khalil Mack was the highest ever UB player and the highest for a defensive player in the MAC selected. During his time at Buffalo, Mack earned first-team All-MAC honors three straight seasons and was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. In his senior season, he also earned the Jack Lambert Award – given to the nation’s top linebacker, while finishing second in the voting for the Butkus Award. The four-year starter broke the NCAA record for career forced fumbles (16) and has tied the NCAA mark for career TFLs with 75. Since joining the NFL, Mack has been named to the Pro Bowl and last season became the first player in NFL History to be named to an All-Pro in multiple positions.


Wednesday, February 22nd: Sean T. Fraizer, NIU Director of Athletics
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Under Frazier’s leadership, NIU Athletics has made advancements competitively, academically and socially while increasing attendance and generating record revenue amounts in support of its more than 450 student-athletes in 17 sports programs. A Long Island, NY native, he played college football at the University of Alabama from 1987-91and was a member of the ’89 SEC Championship team. Fraizer began his administrative career at the University of Maine as an assistant football coach in ’95 and was soon tabbed as the athletic department’s multicultural affairs liaison. He was named Assistant to the Athletic Director in 1996 and became and Assistant Athletic Director in 1998. 


Tuesday, February 21st: Michael Huger, Bowling Green (1989-93)
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A 1994 graduate of BGSU, Michael Huger was named the 17th head men’s basketball coach on April 17, 2015. Huger, who returned to his alma mater where he was a standout player for the Falcons from 1989-93, came to BGSU after four seasons at the University of Miami and eight total seasons as an assistant for head coach Jim Larrañaga, whom he played for at BGSU. Before joining the coaching ranks, Huger played professional basketball in Europe, spending time in Finland (1992-94), two years in Holland (94-96) and nine in Belgium (96-05). He was selected Dutch League MVP in 1996 after averaging 25.3 points and 5.8 assists, and went onto earn first-team All-Belgium honors in 2000 and 2004 after leading his clubs to Belgium Cup championships in both seasons. 


Monday, February 20th: Dr. Lewis Walker, Western Michigan Professor & Booster
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Dr. Lewis Walker joined WMU faculty in 1964 and served as Chair of the Department of Sociology from 1989 to 1999. Walker grew up in Salem and Birmingham, Alabama during the Jim Crow era and has devoted himself to studying race, ethnicity and poverty, and the struggle for justice and civil rights. As WMU’s first African American Ph.D. faculty member, Dr. Walker helped create the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations in 1989. The institute was renamed in his honor in 2000.


Sunday, February 19th: Bonzi Wells, Ball State (1994-98)
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Nearly two decades since he completed his playing career, Ball State star Bonzi Wells continues to rank as the all-time leading scorer in Mid-American Conference history with 2,485 points. The 1998 first-team All-American also owns the MAC record for steals in a career with 347. Wells was a three-time all-conference first-team selection and two-time MAC Player of the Year while playing for his hometown Cardinals. He helped Ball State to the 1995 MAC Tournament championship and appearances in the 1995 NCAA Tournament and 1998 NIT during one of the best eras in MAC men’s basketball history. Well was selected 11th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. He spent 10 seasons in the league, playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets. Well’s No. 42 is one of two retied jerseys in Bal State men’s basketball history.


Saturday, February 18th: Mel Long, Toledo (1969-71)
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Mel Long was a three-time, first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection defensive tackle. In 1971, he was a first-team pick of the AP, UPI, NEA, Football Writers Association and several others, thus becoming the first consensus All-American in MAC history. Long was MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1971and played in the All-America Bowl Game in Tampa. He was tri-captain of the 1971 team that concluded a 35-game unbeaten, untied streak. He helped UT win three consecutive MAC and Tangerine Bowl crowns and earn a top-20 ranking each season. He was drafted by Cleveland in the ’72 NFL Draft and spent four seasons with the Browns. In 1998, Long was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. 


Friday, February 17th: DeAndre Yedlin, Akron (2011-12)
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DeAndre Yedlin is a product of the Seattle soccer scene, signing with his hometown MLS club in 2013 and making his USMNT debut a year later. Yedlin went to college at soccer powerhouse, the University of Akron for two years before leaving early for the MLS. Under a change in rules, the Seattle Sounders were able to claim Yedlin as a Hometown Player, bypassing the SuperDraft. Yedlin made the MLS All-Star Team as a rookie, playing in 31 MLS games for Seattle in 2013. On February 1, 2014, he made his USMNT debut in a friendly against Korea. Yedlin made the move to England's Premier League, signing with Spurs in August 2014. He spent the 2015-16 season on loan to Sunderland, signing with Newcastle for the 2016-17 Championship season.?


Thursday, February 16th: Gary Trent, Ohio (1993-95)
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Gary Trent (the Shaq of the MAC) suited up for the Green and White from 1993-95. Trent is the only three-time MAC Player of the Year in the history of the league. He was a three-time MAC scoring champion, two-time rebounding leader and one of just three players in MAC history with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Trent was selected in the first round as the 11th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. After a successful 11-year NBA career, Trent now works as an Intervention Specialist for the Minneapolis Public Schools.
Wednesday, February 15th: Korinth Patterson & Ricky Stokes (Mid-American Conference) 
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Korinth Patterson joined the Mid-American Conference in November 2009 as the Director of Compliance and Championships before assuming her current position in July 2014. In her role, Patterson serves as the primary conference administrator for cross country, women’s soccer, indoor track & field, men’s swimming & diving, gymnastics, women’s golf and outdoor track & field. She is responsible for overseeing regular season policies and procedures, scheduling, conference championships and management of conference awards and merchandise. Patterson is no stranger to the conference, as she spent her undergraduate career as a track & field student-athlete at Ball State University. After earning her MBA from St. Thomas University, the Ypsilanti, Michigan native served as a Media Relations intern for the MAC before accepting a position with Indiana University as an Academic Advisor and Director of Life Skills and Special Events.

Ricky Stokes joined the Mid-American Conference in 2010 as the Senior Associate Commissioner for Men’s and Women’s Basketball. He serves as the conference liaison to the basketball coaches, oversees the officiating programs and game management issues as well as develops the regular season schedule and facilitating television scheduling. Previously, Stokes held positions at Pennsylvania and Virginia as a Major Gifts Officer. He received his undergrad degree from Virginia in 1984. During his time at UVA, Stokes was a point guard for the men’s basketball team, who qualified for the NCAA tournament each year and received the No. 1 Seed in ’81. Stokes held the UVA record for career games played with 134 until 2014 when he was passed by Joe Harris. Stokes went on to serve as an assistant coach at UVA, Bowling Green, Wake Forest and Texas before taking over the head coaching role at Virginia Tech. 


Tuesday, February 14th: George Gervin, Eastern Michigan (1970-72)
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One of the all-time EMU basketball players, George Gervin led EMU to the 71-72 final four in the NCAA College Division Tournament. In his two-year career, he scored 1,044 points and hauled down 562 rebounds. Gervin was named first-team NCAA-College Division All-America by United Press International and by the National Basketball Coaches Association in 71-72. Gervin went on to star in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his time in the NBA, Gervin scored more than 25,000 points and was named a first-team NBA All-Star six times. He was the Player of the Year for the 77-78 season. In 1996 he was inducted to the NBA Hall of Fame.


Monday, February 13th: Danniel Thomas, Kent State (2013-17)
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Thomas currently holds the best mark in Kent State University history in the indoor and outdoor shot put as well as the outdoor discus. She represented Jamaica at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China and at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada. Thomas also appeared in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics for the shot put. The Westmoreland, Jamaica native is a 4x MAC Champion in the shot put (2-Indoor, 2-Outdoor) and a 2x MAC Discus Champion.


Sunday, February 12th: Antonio Brown, Central Michigan (2007-09)
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In 2010, Antonio Brown was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Brown became the first wide receiver in the history Central Michigan to be selected in the draft. During his three years as a Chippewa, Brown cemented his name in the record book as the all-time leader in receptions. He was named the 2007 MAC Freshman of the Year and was a two-time MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. The five-time NFL Pro Bowl Selection finished the season ranked 2nd in the league in receptions (106) and touchdowns (12). He also ranked 4th in receiving yards per game (85.6) and 5th in yards (1,284). Before entering his 7th season in the NFL, Brown teamed up with Sharna Burgess to compete on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, where he finished 5th overall.


Saturday, February 11th: Charlie Coles, Miami Men's Basketball Head Coach (1994-2012)
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Charlie Coles began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Detroit University in 1982. Coles assumed his first collegiate head coaching role at Central Michigan University from 1985-91. He went back to the high school ranks from 1992-94 at Toledo Central Catholic before returning to his alma mater in 1994, serving as an assistant coach at Miami until 1996 when he was then hired to guide the RedHawk program until his retirement in 2012. During his time at MU, Coles became the winningest coach in Miami history with a record of 263-224. He also amassed more career MAC wins than any other coach in conference history with 218 and finished with a collegiate career record of 355-308. Coles was twice named MAC Coach of the Year and was the 2011 NABC District 14 Coach of the Year. He also was presented with a Guardian of the Game Pillar Award for Education by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 2011. As a MAC head coach, his teams made eight postseason appearances, including advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in ‘99.


Thursday, February 9th: Felisha Legette-Jack, Buffalo Women's Basketball Head Coach
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Just finishing her fourth season at the helm of the Bulls, Legette-Jack led UB to its third straight winning season, the first time UB has had three straight winning seasons since 1998-2001. She led the Bulls to their first ever MAC Championship in 2015-16 and their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. A New York native with 13 years of Division I head coaching experience, Legette-Jack spent six years as head coach at Indiana University before coming to Buffalo. She led the Hoosiers to three postseason appearances, winning 18 or more games in each of those years. Prior to taking the reins at Indiana, Legette-Jack led Hofstra University to unprecedented levels of success. She guided Hofstra to one of its best seasons in school history in 2005-06. A 1989 Syracuse graduate with a double major in child and family studies and psychology, Legette-Jack scored 1,526 points and grabbed 927 rebounds. Legette-Jack graduated as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in program history, and now ranks fifth and third.


Wednesday, February 8th: Connie Teaberry, NIU Director of Track & Field
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Former American Olympian Connie Teaberry enters her 13th season as head coach of the Northern Illinois University track & field program in 2016-17. Teaberry came to NIU after brief stints as an assistant women's track coach at Ohio (’04), Arizona State (’98-’99), Toledo (’95-’98), and Kentucky (’92-’95).  A ‘92 graduate of Kansas State, she developed into a world-class caliber high jumper and participated in the U.S.A./Mobil Track & Field Championships and World Championships (’93-’95), two Olympic Trials (’92 & ‘96), the Olympics (’96), and the World University Games (93). 


Tuesday, February 7th: Nate Thurmond, Bowling Green (1960-63)
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Thurmond was an All-American center on two Mid-American Conference Championship basketball teams at Bowling Green and went on to be named one of the top 50 players in NBA history. In college, Thurmond was a three-time unanimous first-team All-MAC selection and is the only player in history to lead the league in rebounding three times. Following such a successful collegiate career, he was selected by the San Francisco Warriors in the first round of the 1963 NBA Draft. He went on to play 12 seasons with the Warriors, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 15 points and 15 rebounds per game over his 964-game career. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was inducted to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975.


Monday, February 6th: Chuck Ely, Toledo (1969-71)
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An elusive quarterback, Chuck Ealey led the Rockets to three consecutive undefeated seasons, going 35-0 as starting quarterback, a record that still stands to this day. He led the Rockets to three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles as well as three Tangerine Bowl victories. In 1971, Ealey’s senior season, he was named first-team All-American by the Football News, second-team All-American by the United Press International and third-team All-American by the Associated Press. Ealey was the first football player in the MAC history ever to be considered for the Heisman Trophy, finishing eighth in the voting in 1971. Ealey played professional football in the Canadian Football League, leading Hamilton to the Grey Cup in his rookie season in 1972. 

 
Sunday, February 5th: Dr. Karin Lee, Ball State Sr. Associate AD/SWA
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Dr. Karin Lee came to Ball State in 2007 after a decade at the University of Alabama, where she was Assistant AD for Life Skills and Community Outreach. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from UNC Greensboro and her master's in sports administration from the University of North Carolina. While working at Ball State, she completed her doctorate degree in organizational management from Capella University. Lee is in her first year on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association board of directors. She has previously been a member of the NCAA Champs/Life Skills Advisory Team, the NCAA Certification Team, the NCAA Minority and Opportunities Interest Committee and the NCAA Men’s Tennis Committee. She is the chair of the Mid-American Conference senior administrators group and the league’s administrative liaison for women’s tennis.
 
Saturday, February 4th: Pat Charity, Western Michigan (1978-1982)
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Pat Charity is the only Bronco women's basketball player to amass over 1,000 points (1,542) and 1,000 rebounds (1,028) in a career. She still holds the WMU record for career rebounds, as well as the single season mark. Charity was a two-time Honorable Mention All-America selection in ‘78 and ‘80 and one of 15 candidates for the Wade Trophy, honoring the nation's top collegiate player, in ‘77.  Charity was also a member of the U.S. silver medal-winning team at the ‘77 World Games and played in the initial Women's All-American Classic in Philadelphia that same year.  

 
Friday, February 3rd: Jason Taylor, Akron (1993-97)
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Jason Taylor was a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Akron Zips football team. He recorded 279 tackles, 21 sacks, seven fumbles recoveries, and three interceptions in his college career. He was a two-time first-team All-MAC selection as a junior and senior, as well as an All-American pick as a junior. Following his successful college career, Taylor was drafted in the third round of the ‘97 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Over the course of his 15-year career, Taylor played for the Dolphins, the Washington Redskins and New York Jets. He is a six-time Pro Bowl selection and holds the seventh all-time career sacks record with 139.5 sacks. Taylor’s 6 career fumble return touchdowns remains the most in the NFL.

 
Thursday, February 2nd: Roderick J. McDavis, Ohio President
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Roderick J. McDavis, who became Ohio University’s 20th president on July 1, 2004, is no stranger to intercollegiate athletics. Before becoming the president of his alma mater, he ran for the Bobcats’ track & field squad. McDavis graduated from Ohio in 1970 with a bachelor’s in social sciences in secondary education. He will step down as Ohio’s president on Feb. 17, taking a new job as managing principal and chief executive officer of AGB Search, a company that helps universities, state boards, foundations and other higher-education institutions find executives.