CONWAY, Ark. (March 10) -- Five new members will be inducted into the Hendrix College Sports Hall of Honor during the annual Sports Hall of Honor Banquet on Friday, April 16. The banquet, part of Alumni Weekend 2010, begins at 6:30 p.m. in Worsham Hall in the new Student Life and Technology Center (SLTC). The Sports Hall of Honor recognizes individuals who have made a distinct and lasting contribution to athletics at Hendrix.
Reservations are $30 per person. Call the Hendrix Athletics Department at 501-450-4573 to purchase tickets, or visit the Hall of Honor web site at www.hendrixwarriors.com and look for the “Athletics Info” list for the direct link to the reservation form. Payment should be made to the Warrior Booster Club, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway, AR 72032. Checks should be made payable to the Warrior Booster Club.
This year’s inductees include the late Kenneth C. Spatz (class of 1937), the late Frank W. “Puppy” Smith (class of 1941), Mandy Williams Thompson (class of 1997), Lauren Turnbow, M.D. (class of 2000), and Dr. James Timothy Cloyd, the 10th president of Hendrix College.
Spatz, of Little Rock and Helena, Ark., played football from 1933 to the fall of 1936. The 5’10”, 165 lb. outstanding left guard served as co-captain and captain of the team. Known as a “wall of granite”, Spatz was named to the Arkansas Eleven All-State honorable mention team in 1934-35. One of the mainstays of the Hendrix line, Spatz was known as a hard hitter and for his ability to diagnose plays. He was considered one of the best offensive guards in the state and was named to several All-State Teams his senior year. Spatz played on two of the best football teams ever fielded at Hendrix, led by legendary coach Ivan Grove. Grove named Spatz as Honorable Mention on his All-Hendrix Team for the Decade.
Smith, of Wheat
ley, Ark., was an accomplished athlete, businessman, and volunteer coach. A multi-sport athlete for the Warriors, he played basketball, football and ran track. His 1938 and 1939 teams won the state championship in track. Smith took first place honors in the high jump at the Arkansas State College Track Meet in 1940.
A three-year letterman in basketball at Hendrix, he was named to the All-State team. Smith played forward and was captain of the team in 1940. He was an extraordinary player and led the state in scoring his junior year. He also lettered in football for three years, playing end. Smith was known as a brilliant pass receiver and mentioned on several All-State teams in football.
Smith enlisted in the service in the fall of 1940 which would have been his senior year and during his distinguished career was awarded the Bronze and Silver Stars and the Purple Heart two times. He later coached youth in basketball, baseball and football for the YMCA and Greenville, Miss. Park Commission.
Thompson, of Hattieville, Ark., was a four-year letterman for the Warriors in women’s basketball. She came to Hendrix from Wonderview High School where she was an all-conference player for the Lady Daredevils. At Hendrix, the 5’7” post was the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) leader in free throws made as a sophomore with 122 and was named as an SCAC Player-of-the-Week and chosen for the All-SCAC First Team. As a junior, she helped lead her team to a share of the SCAC conference title in 1996. That same year Thompson was named as an honorable mention Pre-Season All-American and was the SCAC leading scorer with 451 points. She was twice named as SCAC Player-of-the Week, an All-SCAC First Team selection and runner-up as Player-of-the-Year in the conference.
Thompson ended her collegiate career on an undefeated 14-0 SCAC team that won the Conference Championship outright and went on to play in the NCAA Division III National Tournament. She was again named honorable mention Pre-Season All-American and for the third consecutive year was named to the All-SCAC Team. She was the first woman to score over 1,000 points in a career at Hendrix and remains on the Warriors’ all-time list at No. 5 (28th in SCAC) with 1,248 career points. She also ranks second on Hendrix’s all-time rebounds list with 705. During her senior year, she was selected as the Hendrix College NCAA Woman-of-the-Year. After graduation, Thompson returned to Hendrix and served as assistant women’s basketball coach for one year.
Turnbow, of Walnut Ridge, Ark., is the most highly decorated athlete in any sport to play for the Warriors. She came to Hendrix from Walnut Ridge High School where she was a multi-sport performer in basketball, tennis and softball. At Hendrix, she was a four-year starter and letter winner in women’s basketball. The 5’6” guard, one of the most versatile in league history, was named as SCAC Player-of-the-Year two times, was named to the All-SCAC First Team four times and was recognized nine times as the SCAC Player-of-the-Week.
Turnbow helped her team claim two SCAC Championship titles in 1997 and 2000, and made two NCAA National Tournament appearances. She garnered two All-American awards and was a honorable mention All-American selection twice. Turnbow was named to the D3Hoops.com Team-of-the-Year and was a finalist for the Josten’s Division III Player-of-the-Year twice. She was named to the Women’s D-III News All-Freshman Team and was three times named to the Pre-Season DIII News All-American Team.
Turnbow ended her collegiate career as the SCAC’s all-time leader in scoring, assists and free throws made. She remains in the top ten of those categories today. Turnbow was the Hendrix selection for NCAA Woman-of-the-Year in 2000 and that same year was the first recipient of the Marvin Delph Award as the sportsman of the year in Conway. Turnbow was later named to the SCAC 15 Year Anniversary Team for women’s basketball.
Dr. Cloyd has presided over a period of tremendous growth and prosperity for Hendrix College. A prominent component of this growth has been his vision of an enhanced and thriving intercollegiate athletics, recreation and wellness program for the student body.
Under his leadership, the College has started two new intercollegiate sport programs (field hockey for women and lacrosse for men) as well as constructed approximately $25 million in new facilities, including the state-of-the-art Wellness and Athletics Center (WAC), the Courtway Pool, and new competition fields for baseball, softball, soccer, track & field, lacrosse and field hockey. Plans continue under his direction to add two more intercollegiate sports and construct a new tennis center, football field and additional spaces for support services for athletics and recreation and wellness.
During Dr. Cloyd’s administration, Hendrix has seen its number of student-athletes grow by 72 percent with more than 75 percent of students participating in intramural programs, club sports, outdoor recreation, or fitness and wellness programs.
The Hendrix Sports Hall of Honor was created by the Hendrix College Booster Club in 1994 to preserve the history of the college’s great athletes, coaches, fans, friends and supporters. For more information about the Sports Hall of Honor, contact Laurie Smith in the Hendrix College Athletic Department, 501-450-4573.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is featured in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s best 371 colleges, was identified as the nation’s top “Up and Coming” liberal arts college for 2010 by U.S. News and World Report, and is ranked among 44 “Best Buy” colleges by the 2010 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.
For more information on Hendrix Athletics please visit www.hendrixwarriors.com or contact Brian Rejer, Sports Information Director, at 501-450-1426. Follow Hendrix Athletics on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Warrior_SID).