40 in 40 - Hall of Fame Inductees
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Title IX, wmubroncos.com takes a look at 40 key moments/females in the history of women's athletics at Western Michigan University. Though the selection process, an effort was made to highlight a moment and player/coach from each of our current women's sports programs, as well pay respect to our women's legacy sports. A different feature will be released each of the 40 days, July 24 through Sept. 1.
Hall of Fame Inductees
A total of 52 former female student-athletes have been inducted into the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame. As the last feature in our 40 to 40 series, we pay tribute to the greatest of the greats of women's athletics.
The WMU Athletic Hall of Fame was founded in 1973, and inducted its first woman, tennis player Stephanie Prychitko in 1984. Legendary coach Fran Ebert would be next to have her plaque in Read Fieldhouse with a 1986 induction. Women's athletics pioneer and coach Jean Friedel and four-sport standout followed in 1988.
To be eligible for the WMU Hall of Fame, one must be 10 years removed from their final year of competition at Western Michigan. All nominations are forwarded to the Hall of Fame selection committee for discussion and consideration. Once statistical and biographical information is verified, the balloting process begins. Induction requires a 75 percent majority vote by the selection committee.
Induction into the Hall of Fame is based on the following criteria:
* An athlete must have earned at least two letters in one sport, or one letter in two different sports, AND HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT TEAM, CONFERENCE, OR NATIONAL HONORS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Coaches/athletic administrators must have served the University for a minimum of five years
* In addition to athletic contributions, professional careers and character are taken into consideration
* No more than six persons will be inducted in a single year
Female Hall of Fame Inductees
Pat Ashby (WBB/1992)
Karel McCulloch Bailey (FH, WTR,VB/1987)
Sarah Powers Barnhard (VB/1997)
Kay Barstow-Clark (WTR/2008)
Beth Belleville (SB/2006)
Linda "Louie" Berndt (SB, WBB/2003)
Joanne Bingham (VB/2007)
Bonnie Boggiano (GYM/2006)
Sue Gustafson Bombrys (FH, WBB/1993)
Kina Brown (WBB/2010)
Jackie Backus Buck (VB/1993)
Barbara Burke (WBB, SB/1998)
Heidi Cakans Vizgaitis (WTN/2008)
Pat Charity (WBB/1993)
Phyllis Cupp (WBB, VB, FH, SB/1988)
Dee Dustin-Cole (FH, WBB, VB, BL, WTN/1990)
Fran Ebert (Coach/1986)
Jean Friedel (Coach/1988)
Stephanie Henderson (SB/2011)
Marcia Karwas (WTR, FH/2007)
Ann Kasdorf (WBB, SB/1989)
Bonnie Kinne (SB/1999)
Kris Knisel-Hubbard (WBB, VB, FH/1995)
Betsy Kuhle (Coach/2006)
Kayla Skelly Lankford (WXC, WTR/1996)
Julie Liljeberg (SB/2002)
Maggie Lillie-Smith (WXC, WTR/2002)
Laurie Maierhofer (Sparling) (VB/2010)
Katie Markey (WSOC/2012)
Sue McCarthy (GYM/2012)
Lynda McLean (VB/2012)
Judy Moore McCrae (WBB, FH, VB/1995)
Kathleen Meyer-Pudlo (WTN/2004)
Ruth Ann Meyer (Coach, Admin/1993)
Liz Miller (FH, VB/1994)
Sharon Miller (GF, WTN, FH, WBB, VB/1991)
Linda Moran Mora (GYM/1999)
Caroline Mullen-Kearney (WTR, WXC/2000)
Vicky Musky (WBB, SB/2003)
Stephanie Prychitko (WTN/1984)
Patti Rendine (WBB, SB/2005)
Heather Sawyer (VB/1996)
Joan Schmidt (WBB, FH, VB/1994)
Jack Shaw (Coach/1997)
Liz Shon (Miklosi) (WTR/2009)
Maria Shoup-Holbrook (WTR, WXC/2001)
Jill Stamison (WTR/2011)
Amy Timmers (Kehoe) (VB/2009)
Kathy Trenary (FH, WBB/2005)
Sue Weigand-Byron (WTN/2001)
Kim Worden (SB, WBB/1994)
Amy Yeast (WTN/1997)
Inductees by Sport (Some Athletes Played Multiple Sports)
Women's Tennis - 11
Women's Track - 8
Women's Cross Country -4
Volleyball - 15
Women's Basketball - 17
Women's Soccer - 1
Bowling - 1
Field Hockey - 9
Gymnastics - 5
Golf - 1
Softball - 10
