Kansas State Sports Hall
of Fame Induction Class of 2003 Announced
Six individuals have been named to the Kansas State University Sports
Hall of Fame, the athletic department announced Wednesday. The six will
make up the 2003 Hall of Fame Class.
The class will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 10,
2003 in ceremonies at the K-State Student Union. The inductees will also
be honored as part of ceremonies during Wildcat home basketball games on
Saturday, Jan. 11.
JUDY AKERS (Women’s Basketball Coach, 1968-79)
Finished her 11 seasons at K-State with a 206-94 career record (.687)
as coach of the women’s basketball team from 1968-79...Stands as the winningest
coach in women’s basketball history for Wildcats... Won two Big Eight championships
(1975-76, 1976-77)... Had six 20-win seasons in her 11 years and her teams
never finished below .500...
Led the Wildcats to the AIAW National Tournament in 1973, 1974, 1975,
1977 and 1979, picking up two sixth-place finishes... Won the AIAW Region
VI title twice (1973, 1977)... Helped establish women’s basketball as an
intercollegiate sport at K-State, winning the first 11 games played in
Wildcat history... Earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kansas
State.
DICK KNOSTMAN (Men’s Basketball, 1951-53)
One of three Wildcats to earn All-America honors twice (1952, 1953)...
Also earned All-Big Seven Conference honors in the same seasons... Finished
career with 1,083 points to rank 12th on all-time scoring list and is fifth
on Wildcat career rebounding list with 774 boards... Career-best 42-point
game against Oklahoma in 1953 still ranks fifth on K-State single-game
list... Had career-best 23 rebounds in the same game.
His 22.7 ppg average in 1953 is the second-best scoring season in history...
Led Wildcats in scoring as junior (16.3 points per game) and senior (22.7
ppg)... Wildcats were ranked third by AP and sixth by UPI after 1951-52
season in which K-State went 19-5... 1952-53 ‘Cats finished 17-4, won the
Big Seven Tournament and finished the year ranked ninth by UPI and 12th
by AP... One of three Wildcats to score in double figures with 11 points
as sophomore in 1951 NCAA West Region Final win over Oklahoma A&M...
Drafted by Syracuse in 1953.
LON KRUGER (Men’s Basketball, 1972-74; Men’s Basketball Coach, 1986-90)
Big Eight Conference Player of the Year twice, winning the award both
his junior (1973) and senior (1974) seasons... Was Big Eight Newcomer of
the Year as a sophomore... Academic All-American in 1973 and 1974 and was
a three-time Academic All-Big Eight honoree... Three-time winner of Porky
Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award at K-State...
Helped K-State to back-to-back Big Eight titles as a guard in 1972
and 1973... Finished with 1,063 points in his three seasons, scoring 17.6
points per game as a senior and averaging 13.3 ppg over his career... Ranks
fourth in K-State history with an .826 career free-throw percentage...
Best single game was a 37-point outing against Colorado in the Big Eight
Holiday Tournament... Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the ninth round of
the 1974 NBA Draft.
Returned to his alma mater to become the 17th head coach in school
history, directing the Wildcats to an 81-47 record and four straight trips
to the NCAA Tournament in the 1986-90 seasons...
Recognized as National Association of Basketball Coaches District Coach
of the Year following the 1988 season... Also coached at Pan American,
Florida and Illinois, and is currently the head coach of the NBA’s Atlanta
Hawks.
FRED MERRILL, SR. (Contributor)
Merrill has always been ready to support his alma mater when asked
to assist with Wildcat athletics. He has been part of facility improvement
and projects all over the athletic venues at Kansas State, including the
Dev Nelson Press Box at the football stadium, the indoor football facility,
Colbert Hills Golf Course, Frank Myers Field at Tointon Family Stadium
and the addition to the Vanier Football Complex...
In addition to his involvement with Wildcat athletics, he has been
involved in a wide variety of campus projects... A member of the KSU Foundation
Board of Trustees, Merrill has contributed to several academic programs
and colleges throughout the university... He was instrumental in the success
of the Essential Edge campaign...
Merrill, a 1949 graduate of K-State with a degree in milling science,
is chairman and CEO of Cereal Food Processors and lives in Leawood, Kan...
His son, Fred Merrill, Jr., was a track and field athlete at Kansas State.
CLARENCE SCOTT (Football, 1968-70)
All-American in his senior season at Kansas State as voted by The Sporting
News and Look magazine... Also earned first team All-Big Eight Conference
honors... Played in the Coaches’ All-America Game, the College All-Star
Game, Senior Bowl and North-South Shrine Bowl postseason all-star events...
Played three seasons at cornerback for Kansas State... Had five interceptions
as a sophomore, three as a junior and four as a senior... Led or tied for
the team-lead in all three seasons... His 12 career interceptions rank
fourth all-time at K-State... Finished his career with 173 tackles, including
101 solos... Had 71 tackles as a sophomore with 13 pass breakups... Credited
with 29 pass breakups in his three seasons...
First-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1971 NFL Draft, the
14th pick overall... Ranks second behind K-State Hall of Famer Veryl Switzer
as the earliest Wildcat ever taken in the NFL Draft... Played 13 seasons
for the Browns (1971-83), starting as a defensive back in the 1974 Pro
Bowl.
OREN STONER (Men’s Basketball, 1932-35; Football, 1933-34; Men’s Track
& Field, 1932-35)
Earned eight letters combined in three different sports at Kansas State...
First team All-Big Six Conference selection... Key member for K-State
in 1934 run to the Big Six Championship, serving as halfback, defensive
back, kick returner and punt returner... Scored a pair of touchdowns in
the second half to lead K-State to a 19-7 Thanksgiving Day win over Nebraska
that sealed the Wildcats’ first league title...
Honorable mention All-Big Six performer in basketball in 1935... Served
as team captain for the 1934-35 squad... Legendary
Kansas head coach Phog Allen put Stoner on an all-defensive team for
players who had faced the Jayhawks during Allen’s time in Lawrence.
Member of shuttle hurdle relay team that set world record at Kansas
Relays in 1934... Participated as a hurdler on Wildcats’ 1935 track and
field team that won Big Six Conference indoor team title...
Coffeyville High School gymnasium has been named in his honor...
Retired in 1972 from Coffeyville High, where he was a teacher, administrator
and coach.
JACQUE STRUCKHOFF (Women’s Track & Cross Country, 1984-88)
Four-time All-American as a distance runner for the Wildcats... Earned
All-America status in cross country twice (1984, 1985)... Placed second
individually at 1985 Big Eight Championships... Was sixth as a senior...
As freshman in 1985, won Big Eight outdoor title and league indoor
championship at 3,000 meters... Captured 2-mile and 3-mile indoor titles
at Big Eight Championships in 1986...Was indoor All-American as sophomore
with seventh-place finish at 3,000 meters at NCAA Nationals...
Swept the distance events at 1987 Big Eight outdoor meet, winning at
3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters... Earned All-America status with fourth-place
finish at 1987 NCAA Outdoor Nationals at 10,000 meters...
Captured Big Eight outdoor title at 10,000 meters as a senior at the
1988 championships...
Held both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter school records at K-State until
Amy Mortimer broke the 5K mark last season...
Struckhoff’s 10K record still stands at 33:22.64 set at the Penn Relays
in 1987 and is 27 seconds faster than the woman in second on that list...
Her time of 15:54.12 at 5,000 meters stood as the school record for 16
years... Has school record with 9:52.75 indoors for women’s 2-mile run...
Ranks on K-State all-time indoor lists in mile (8th), 3,000 meters
(3rd) and 5,000 meters (4th)...
Three-time first team Verizon Academic All-American (1986, 1987, 1988)
as voted by the College Sports Information Directors of America... Named
a finalist for the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2002.