INDIANA STATE FOOTBALL ALUMNI NEWSLETTER NUMBER 3

INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Volume One, Number Three
February 12, 2008
Editor: Tom James, TJames1475@aol.com

Editors note -- Email addresses of former ISU players are still needed. Thanks to all those who have already helped in this endeavor!!!!

HICKS, CHESTNUT TO BE INDUCTED INTO INDIANA STATE ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

Five former athletes, including a pair of former football players, will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 16, when they will be inducted into the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Chris Hicks, George Chestnut, Brian Dorsett, Julie Koebcke and John Sherman Williams will become the 16th class inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Ohio Street Building, 670 Ohio Street, in Terre Haute.

A reception to honor the inductees and current members of the Hall of Fame will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a brunch at 11:00 a.m. and the program beginning at 11:45 a.m.

The festivities will then move to the Hulman Center where the class will be introduced during halftime of the Indiana State-Illinois State Missouri Valley Conference game. That game begins at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets for the reception, brunch and program are $28.00 each and can be purchased by contacting Charlene Dabelow at (812) 237-4444. Tickets for the Indiana State-Illinois State basketball game are also available by contacting the ISU Ticket office at (812) 237-3737.

George Chestnut was a three sport athlete at Indiana State from 1930 to 1933. He was the top receiver and top defensive player for the football team during the 1932 season, the leading scorer and top rebounder for the basketball team during the 1932-1933 season, a top pitcher for the baseball team during the 1933 season.

Chestnut played professional basketball for the Indianapolis Kautskys of the National Basketball League along with John Wooden, who would eventually coach at Indiana State. Wooden was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in the Second Class. Chestnut died in Warren, OH, in 1983.

Chris Hicks was one of the best offensive linemen in Indiana State history. Hicks was the starting offensive tackle for three straight seasons (1973, 1974 and 1975), and was a key blocker for All-American Vincent Allen during Allen’s senior season.

Hicks, himself, received All-American status during his senior season. He was named to the American Football Coaches Association first team and the Kodak All-American first team while also being named to the Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American team.

Hicks was a versatile lineman for the Sycamores, being able to play both the guard and tackle positions. He was also a leader on the team, serving as a co-captain during a pivotal period of ISU football successes on the field. Hicks was known for his execution and outstanding ability on the football field.

“I learned by attending ISU as a student-athlete that teamwork, perseverance, dedication, encouraging, mentoring, coaching, caring, and being humble were the attributes for my continued success,” Hicks said. “All of which are a result of my faith in God.”

Hicks is currently a member of the Indiana State University Alumni Association Board of Directors. He is also on several boards in the St. Louis, MO, area including the St. Louis County Economic Council, the St. Louis County Board of Zoning Adjustment, and Wellston Redevelopment Corporation.


INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

FOOTBALL INDUCTEES

RB Vincent Allen, Inducted Feb. 6, 1998
RB Junius Bibbs, Inducted Feb. 6, 1998
RB Jim Brumfield, Inducted Feb. 25, 2006
WR George Chestnut, Inducted Feb. 16, 2008
CB Wayne Davis, Inducted Sept. 7, 2002
QB Stewart “Red” Faught, Inducted Nov. 1, 1985
S Vencie Glenn, Inducted Jan. 22, 1999
DE Gerry Gluscic, Inducted Feb. 25, 2006
OT Chris Hicks, Inducted Feb. 16, 2008
C Del Humphrey*, Inducted Oct. 29, 1982
Coach Jerry Huntsman, Inducted Feb. 23, 2002
C Tunch Ilkin, Inducted Feb. 6, 1998
Coach Wally Marks, Inducted Oct. 29, 1982
QB Jeff Miller, Inducted Sept. 7, 2002
WR John Miklozek, Inducted Oct. 24, 1986
OG Bob Poss, Inducted Feb. 25, 2006
C/Coach Paul Selge, Inducted Oct. 29, 1982
OG Mike Simmonds, Inducted Feb. 3, 2007
Coach Arthur Strum, Inducted Oct. 29, 1982
QB Verbie Walder, Inducted Sept. 21, 1984
1984 ISU I-AA playoff team, Inducted Sept. 7, 2002
*was one of the early developers of the modern day football face mask


FORMER SYCAMORES IN THE NFL

Mike Ornstein – A former student manager and administrative assistant under former Sycamores coach Tom Harp in the mid-and-late 1970s, Ornstein went on to work for the Oakland Raiders and the NFL. He now is employed as an NFL marketing liaison by Reebok as well as owning his own professional sports marketing firm in southern California. Ornstein was in the news recently for his work on behalf of New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.

Alvin Reynolds – “Our Pal Al” was named as the Atlanta Falcons’ new secondary coach late last week. Reynolds, who is the only football player in ISU history to garner Heisman Trophy votes (2), had been the secondary coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Heisman hoopla was a result of a project that was conducted on Alvin’s behalf by an ISU marketing class his senior year.


How to support ISU Football

With the hiring of Ron Prettyman as Indiana State’s new athletic director, there has been some significant (and positive) changes in how former athletes and supporters of the school’s athletic programs can help financially.

As valued members of the ISU football family, you may send donations to the program by contacting Associate Director of Athletics/External Operations Brett M. Burchette at 812-237-3041 or writing him at bburchette@isugw.indstate.edu

If you would prefer sending donations specifically to the football program, that can be worked out by contacting Burchette.

*Other ways of supporting first-year head coach Trent Miles and the Sycamores include taking part in various events that feature the football program. There will be an ISU Football Golf Outing in Terre Haute on Friday, April 18, 2008 and all former players, coaches, student managers and athletic trainers are invited to take part.

Contact John Sherman for further details. It will be a great opportunity to meet the new coaching staff and to have a good time in the process. You may also keep in touch with John, ISU’s Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions, by calling him at 812-237-3047 or emailing him at jsherman1@isugw.indstate.edu

*If you can’t help financially at the present time but still would like to do whatever you can to help ISU football, Coach Miles and his staff are open for any tips regarding potential recruits in your respective areas.

You may relay a name or names to both Miles tmiles6@isugw.indstate.edu and recruiting coordinator Kyle Caskey rcaskey@isugw.indstate.edu along with the name of the high school and the high school head coach. If video of the player is available, so much the better.

Here's a helpful hint. If you have local high school games televised on your cable outlets during the fall, tape them and send them to Coach Miles and Coach Caskey with the information on the player(s) you want them to take a look at.

Coach Miles is committed to returning to the recruiting areas that have served the Sycamores well in the past, such as Indiana, Illinois (particularly the Chicago and East St. Louis regions), Detroit, Cincinnati, Western Pennsylvania, St. Louis, and Louisville, along with selected areas in Texas, Florida and Louisiana.

Trent is planning trips to those areas in the near future to touch base with former players who currently live there. If you would like to host or organize such a meeting, contact Coach Miles.

*For those high school football coaches out there who would like to help out, the program would appreciate any mention of Indiana State to your players as a potential place to play. Also, if you have any qualified student managers who would like to continue doing that on the college level, the need is there at ISU.

*Wear the Blue. Show the Blue. Fly the Blue.

If all of your ISU apparel is beat up and you need some new stuff to wear, click here http://www.gosycamores.com/sell/SellHome.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15200


ISU Football Alumni welcome to attend Spring, Fall Practices

ISU spring football practice will begin at Memorial Stadium on Monday, March 31st. The team will have practices Monday through Saturday for three straight weeks. The Blue-White game is set for Saturday, April 19th. Practice and scrimmage times will be announced later.

Coach Trent Miles has cordially invited all former players, coaches, student managers and athletic trainers to attend the workouts. They are also welcome to sit in on team meetings in order to get to know the players and coaching staff.

For those former players who are currently coaching high school football, he has also extended an open invitation for all coaching staffs to attend practices and to sit in on meetings.

One request though. Before showing up at a practice, make sure you call the ISU Football Office (812-237-4074) for any last minute information on that day’s events. It would also be a good way to give Coach Miles and his coaching staff a heads up that you will be attending a practice session.

NEW ON-CAMPUS MULTI-PURPOSE STADIUM ON THE AGENDA

Indiana State AD Prettyman: ‘Our facilities stink’
ISU considering investing in new outdoor athletics facility

By Sue Loughlin, The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State University has a dilemma.Should it spend up to $10 million on deferred maintenance costs at Memorial Stadium for a facility it doesn’t own that is nearly three miles from campus? Or, should it invest that money in a new, multi-purpose, outdoor athletics facility that would be used for intercollegiate football, soccer and track/field?

Ron Prettyman, ISU athletics director, opts for the latter. On Thursday, he described his vision for a new multi-purpose facility, which would be located on campus and make it much more convenient for ISU students to attend football games. He discussed athletic facility needs during a board of trustees seminar that focused on ISU intercollegiate athletics.

It’s not just Memorial Stadium that has serious deficiencies, he said. The outdoor track at Marks Field is built on unstable ground that must have regular, costly maintenance.

It keeps settling and shifting and gets sinkholes and surface depressions.The ISU soccer field located across First Street has had similar problems, and one player last year stepped in a sinkhole and broke her leg.

Rather than pump an estimated $15 million into repairing/upgrading “three old, dilapidated facilities,” Prettyman proposed that funds instead be directed to a new multi-purpose sports facility that could last 40 to 50 years.“It would create much more visibility on campus and it would be much more accessible to the student body,” he said in an interview after the seminar.

Such a facility also could be used for non-athletic events including outdoor concerts, movies or theater. Prettyman also described a proposal for a new fieldhouse competition/practice facility. It could be used for both practice and competition by volleyball, indoor track and tennis; all other sports could use the facility for practice.

Now, several sports use the Health and Human Performance Building (ISU arena) for practice, and volleyball uses it for competition. That building is old and not in optimal shape for intercollegiate athletics, he said.

For example, volleyball has its competitive events in the south gym, which is not air-conditioned. Early in the season, temperatures can reach 90 degrees or higher. One by one, Prettyman described the needs and inadequacies of many ISU sports facilities, which frequently rank near or at the bottom of Missouri Valley Conference coaches’ rankings.

“Our facilities stink,” he said during his presentation to trustees. His vision is to “get all the athletics facilities in a location where we can develop a Sycamore Experience” and showcase it to visitors, he said.

For many people, their only contact with ISU will be through intercollegiate sports, he said.After the seminar, Prettyman emphasized that the two new buildings are a vision at this point. “There’s nothing on paper” and nothing has been approved, he said. He had no specifics as far as a location or timeline.

He believes there’s a commitment by the administration to take a look at the proposals and potentially include them in the university’s 20- to 25-year facility master plan now under development.

Prettyman believes a basic, multi-purpose facility for football, soccer and track/field could be built for about $15 million, although it probably would cost more “to do it nicely” — $5 million to $20 million more depending on what would be added.The facilities would call for some private fundraising, he said.

After Prettyman’s presentation, Tom Ramey, vice president for student affairs, addressed the board of trustees.

“I want to stress that our athletics staff are realistic people” and the facility needs Prettyman outlined “are not something they expect to be solved in the immediate future,” Ramey said. “We’re realistic in understanding it’s going to take fundraising, creative financing and time.”The first step is to get the proposed athletic facilities on ISU’s planning agenda, Ramey said. “We need to start working on this.”Ramey also noted that “we are squeezing everything we can get out of our [athletic] facilities.”

Prettyman hopes new athletic facility part of master plan

By Sue Loughlin, The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — A multipurpose, on-campus athletic facility for football, soccer and track/field is just a vision at this point. But Indiana State University athletic director Ron Prettyman hopes it will become part of ISU’s new master plan, which is under development.

The plan will address facility needs for the next 20 to 25 years, including academic, athletic, parking, technology and residence hall needs. It also will make recommendations related to enrollment.

On Thursday, Prettyman described two proposed athletic facilities, including an on-campus, multipurpose football/soccer/track and field facility that also could be used for non-athletic events, including outdoor concerts, movies or theater. He also suggested a new fieldhouse facility that could be used for both practice and competition by volleyball, indoor track and tennis; all other sports could use the facility for practice.

A multipurpose athletic facility for football, soccer and track/field “is definitely a future consideration,” Tom Ramey, ISU vice president for student affairs, said in an interview several weeks ago.

It would cost up to $10 million to address repairs and deferred maintenance necessary at Memorial Stadium.

“If we stay out there, we’ll spend a ton of money … on a facility we don’t even own” that is two and a half miles from campus, Ramey said. “It’s tough sometimes to draw the crowds we desire.” “Clearly, I don’t think this institution would build a stadium for football,” Ramey said.

“If we were talking about some kind of new outdoor venue, it would have to be a multipurpose type of facility” that includes track and field and soccer.

Track and field is a championship program at ISU with serious facility issues. The outdoor track is built on unstable ground that must have regular, costly maintenance. It keeps settling and shifting and gets sinkholes and surface depressions.

In 2008, the track is slated to undergo about $150,000 in repairs. There also is a need to improve indoor competition and practice space for other sports, including volleyball, which plays in the south gym of the Health and Human Performance Building; the south gym is not air-conditioned and temperatures become unbearably hot during games early in the season.

The track program does not have an indoor facility that can be used for intercollegiate competition. ISU has to go to a Division 3 school, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, to accommodate its home meets for indoor track and field.

“There are lots of needs, fieldhouse kinds of needs,” Ramey said. “When you’re talking 20 to 25 years from now, that [arena] won’t be serviceable.”At some point in the future, ISU would like to have baseball on the main campus, Ramey said.

Currently, it is northwest of campus and across Third Street.