EDMOND (Oct. 14) -- Eight people will be inducted into the University of Central Oklahoma Athletic Hall of Fame during a banquet Friday night at the Nigh University Center Ballroom.
Members of the 2010 class are Jerry Best, William Cotton, John Fitzgerald, Terry Jones, Kaleb Schroeder, Mickey Hoy, Gary Lower and Mike Thompson.
Best won three consecutive NCAA Division II wrestling titles with the Bronchos from 1994-96 during a dominating career at 142 pounds. Jerry was an undefeated four-time state champion at Chandler High School and spent a year and a half at Oklahoma State before coming to UCO.
He went 18-4 and won his first national championship in 1994 in helping the Bronchos to the team title, before coming back with a 24-5 campaign as a junior the next season in winning a second straight title and again leading UCO to the team crown.
Best ended his career with a 35-4 senior season and rolled to a third consecutive national championship as the Bronchos finished a close second in the team race. He finished with a 77-13 career record, including a 40-1 mark against Division II opponents, and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Cotton was a dominating presence in the post for UCO for three years from 1962-65, leading the Bronchos to a 60-19 record, two Oklahoma Collegiate Conference titles and a trip to the NAIA national tournament quarterfinals during a 24-4 season in 1963-64.
He averaged 14.5 points and 5.9 rebounds a game his first year at UCO in 1962-63 and then came back the next season to earn first-team All-Conference and third-team All-America honors as a junior after averaging 20.3 points and 8.5 rebounds a contest. William was a repeat first-team All-Conference pick as a senior when he netted 18.2 points and 9.7 rebounds a game.
Cotton averaged 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds a game for his career while shooting 54.6 percent from the field. He ranks second at UCO in career free throws made (419) and attempted (546) and is ninth in career points (1,377).
Fitzgerald is one of the most decorated players in UCO's rich football history as an offensive lineman who paved the way for some powerful running games in the late 1990s and was also an indoor and outdoor track standout for the Bronchos.
John was a three-time All-Lone Star Conference North Division selection in 1998, '99 and '00 earning first-team All-America honors in 1998 and second-team accolades the next two seasons. He helped lead UCO to an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division II in 1998, with the Bronchos winning their only overall LSC titles in 1998 and '99.
Fitzgerald was named to the Oklahoman All-Century Team (1900-99) for State College Football in addition to making the UCO All-Century Team and the Lone Star Conference All-75th Anniversary Team. In track, he was an indoor All-American in the shot put and an outdoor national qualifier in the discus while placing in those two events and the hammer in the 1998 and '99 LSC Championships.
Jones was a two-year defensive star at tackle for the Bronchos in 1978 and '79, helping guide UCO to an 11-2 record and an NAIA national runner-up finish as a senior.
He made 89 tackles as a junior and was an All-District 9 selection, earning NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week honors following a dominating 18-tackle performance in a 6-3 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Terry came back as a senior and finished with 113 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a blocked kick in leading a defense that posted four shutouts and allowed less than 10 points a game.
Jones was a first-team All-District 9 pick and an NAIA All-American following his senior campaign and then was selected in the 11th round of the NFL draft by Tampa Bay in 1980. He came back to coach the defensive line for several years at UCO, helping the team to the NAIA national championship in 1982, and was named to the UCO All-Century Team in 2005.
Schroeder was a two-year pitching standout for the Bronchos in 1993 and '94, serving as the driving force on the 1994 squad that went 39-14 in winning UCO's first Lone Star Conference championship and making it to the NCAA Division II national tournament for the first time.
He went 10-4 with a 2.76 earned run average as a senior, walking just 17 batters while striking out 68 in 84 2/3 innings to earn LSC Pitcher of the Year honors. Kaleb was also a first-team Academic All-American, the first player in school history to earn that award in NCAA Division II.
Schroeder went on to earn All-America honors the following year in the National Baseball Congress World Series while playing for the Oklahoma Mudcats, joining future major leaguers J.D. Drew, Lance Berkman, Mark Kotsay and Jacque Jones on the All-America squad.
Hoy, a three-year football starter for the Bronchos in the 1960s, makes the Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement after having also enjoyed great success as a high school football and track coach around the state during a lengthy career.
He played a key role on UCO's 1962 NAIA national championship team and then was a first-team All-Oklahoma Collegiate Conference performer at safety the next two years, serving as team captain in 1964 as a senior. Mickey was named to the UCO All-Century Team in 2005.
Hoy was a teacher, coach and principal during a 28-year career at Tuttle, El Reno, Davis and Marlow, amassing an impressive 178-58-2 career record in football and winning two state championships while taking 11 teams to the playoffs. Mickey has served on many civic organizations and is currently a member of the Marlow City Council.
Lower is another former player joining the Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement, following his playing days with a long career in the military, as an athletic coach/administrator and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes professional staff.
Gary was a two-year letterman in football and track for the Bronchos in 1956 and '57. He spent the next 17 years as a football and track coach at Northeast and U.S. Grant high schools in Oklahoma City, also serving as athletic director.
Lower joined the FCA in 1975 and spent 26 years there before retiring in 2001, working in the state, regional and national offices and capping his long tenure as National Vice President. A 39-year member of the military who retired at the rank of colonel, Lower is a member of numerous halls of fame and has served as an officer for a myriad of organizations over the years.
Thompson was a two-sport letterman at UCO who has been a loyal supporter of the athletic department for many years.
He played basketball for the Bronchos in 1971-72 and was a four-year member of the baseball squad before graduating in 1975. Mike served three terms as president of the UCO Athletic Association, helping to organize and develop the start of the UCO Athletic Hall of Fame in the early 1990s.
Thompson has been a major supporter of all UCO teams over the years, helping with many fund-raising activities and serving on numerous committees for the athletic department while once going 20-plus years without missing a home football or basketball game. The Thompson Family was named the first “UCO Family of the Year” in 2002 and four generations of Thompsons have graduated from UCO.
