LUBBOCK, Texas
– Six
former Red Raider athletes and one coach are slated for induction into the Texas
Tech Athletic Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor during the Texas Tech-Texas
football weekend Oct. 31- Nov 1.
Comprising the Hall of
Fame class are women’s basketball player Alicia Thompson, golfer Robert
McKinney, baseball players Mark Brandenburg and Joe Dillon and football players
Robert Hall and Don King. The Hall of Honor class consists of a single member,
former football coach Jim Carlen.
The Athletic Hall of
Honor has been the single entity used to honor letterwinners and
non-letterwinners for their accomplishments and contributions to Red Raider
athletics since 1961. This year’s induction marks the separation of the Texas
Tech Athletic Hall of Honor and the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 2004, the Hall of
Legacy was created by the Red Raider Athletic Department to honor individuals
and corporations who have made extraordinary and special financial contributions
to Texas Tech athletics. The Athletic Hall of Fame will honor those athletes who
earned entry through outstanding athletic performances. The Athletic Hall of
Honor will reward those who make significant non-financial contributions to Tech
athletics.
This year marks the
fourth year that the Double T Association, the athletic letterwinners
organization at Texas Tech, is handling the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of
Fame/Hall of Honor voting and induction ceremony. An organization for all
varsity letterwinners, the DTA’s current membership conducted the 2008 Hall of
Fame/Hall of Honor nominations and voting.
The Hall of Fame/Hall
of Honor Banquet will be held Fri., Oct. 31, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the
Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Banquet Hall. The seven will be officially
recognized prior to the football game the next day. Banquet tickets are $50 each
and $500 for a reserved table of eight. Contact the Double T Association at
(806) 771-4000 for tickets.
Thompson left Tech
second only to Carolyn Thompson in all-time scoring and rebounding. She was
named first-team All-American by four different agencies and Big 12 Player of
the Year as a senior in 1998. She was also a repeat first team All-Big 12
performer in ’97 and ‘98. Twice named MVP of the post-season conference
tournament, her performances came in the final SWC tournament as a sophomore in
’96 and as a senior in the second-ever Big 12 Tournament in ‘98. She was named
team MVP three consecutive years and her single-season scoring totals remain
2nd, 7th and 17th in school history, while her single-season points per game
averages remain 2nd and 4th in school history. A 1999 graduate of Texas Tech,
Thompson is retired from professional basketball and lives in Phoenix.
McKinney captured the
1967 Southwest Conference individual championship by ten strokes over the
nearest competitor. He is one of only four Red Raiders in school history to win
an individual conference golf championship and was a three-year letterwinner,
who played as Tech’s number one golfer throughout most of his career. A 1970
graduate of Texas Tech, McKinney is an architect in Houston.
Brandenburg was a
third-team All-American in 1991, twice named consensus All-Southwest Conference
and twice All-Region VI. As a junior in ’91, he led the SWC in wins and finished
second in strikeouts. As a senior in ’92, he finished third in the SWC in wins
and strikeouts. In his career, he set single-season records for wins, innings
pitched and complete games. He left Tech the career record-holder in wins (22)
and complete games (24), and was only the second pitcher in school history to
twice be named All-SWC. Brandenburg played in the big leagues with both the
Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox between 1995 and 1998. A 1992 graduate of Texas
Tech, he lives in Coppell, Texas.
Dillon was a 1997
first-team All-American (Sporting News, NCBWA) and second team All-American
(Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America). The 1997 Big 12 Player of the Year, he
was also named to the All-Midwest Region team. He capped his stellar senior
season by being named to the All-Big 12 tourney team. His single-season total of
33 homeruns set a school record and remains 7th in the NCAA single-season record
book. He also set single-season school records for total bases and slugging
percentage. A 2004 graduate of Texas Tech, Dillon is currently playing in the
big leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Hall was the unanimous
first-team All-SWC as a senior in 1993. He led the SWC in total offense, passing
yards and passing TDs as a senior and led Tech to an appearance in John Hancock
Bowl. He left Tech as the single season and career leader in completions,
passing yards and touchdowns and finished in the top five in the history of the
SWC in career total yards and passing yards. A 1995 graduate of Texas Tech, Hall
is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Lubbock Renegades indoor
football team.
King was named
second-team All-American and first-team All-SWC as a senior in 1968. A team
captain as a senior, he was the recipient of the Pete Cawthon Award as team MVP.
He was named a member of Lubbock Avalanche-Journal All-time Tech Team and to
Dave Campbell’s Texas Tech Dream Team (1960-1994). A three-year starter at
guard, his position coach, John Conley, referred to him following his senior
year as “pound-for-pound, he’s the best offensive lineman we’ve ever had here”.
A 1969 graduate of Texas Tech, he lives in Fort Worth.
Carlen was named SWC
Coach of the Year in 1970 and 1973. He was also named District VI Coach of the
Year in ’73 after leading Tech to 11-1 record, the most wins ever in a
single-season for a Red Raider team. He led Tech to four bowl games in five
seasons as head coach and finished with a .644 winning percentage. He had 21
players named to All-SWC teams under his watch. Carlen is retired and living in
Hilton Head, S.C.
The seven will bring
the number to 150 people who have been inducted into the Athletic Hall of
Fame/Hall of Honor since its inception in 1961.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech)
