University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Hall of Fame Class of 2007
1997 Football TeamJoe Glenn (Head Coach)The 1997 Northern Colorado football team won the second-straight team national championship in school history, shutting out New Haven 51-0 for the title (Dec. 13, 1997). Coached by Joe Glenn, the team won the North Central Conference Championship en route to a 13-2 overall record and had nine players earn All-American honors over the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The team played all four of its playoff games on the road, rising to the challge, defeating Pittsburg State 24-16, Northwest Missouri State 35-19 and Carson-Newman 30-29 before winning the whole kit-and-caboodle 51-0 over New Haven in Florence, Ala. The team won its final nine games of the season and in the final regular season game against North Dakota, senior running back Billy Holmes broke the school's single-season rushing record with 1,093 yards, becoming the first Bear to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Inducted in 2007.
Team Members: Chad Ansell, Bryan Applewhite, Ed Bendokas, Donovan Brown, Brad Bunting, Ryan Burkholder, Lennis Campbell, Cliff Casco, Mark Chicarelli, Joshua Ching-Pickett, Steve Cotham, Wes Daniels, Kunta Duncan, Nathan Eastin, Noland Eastin, Faraj Elmagbari, Dean Grable, Keith Grable, Jeremy Guddat, Andy Haase, Brian Heil, Jamie Heiner, Jason Heinrich, Dylan Hockett, Billy Holmes, Mark Holte, Mark Jeffries, Dirk Johnson, Martin Jones, Andy Klatt, Kris Kovel, Heath Kucera, Justin Lanham, Nicolas Lopez, Brian Lusk, Matt Markley, Drew Masten, John May, Corte McGuffey, Dillan Micus, Jeff Miller, Chad Niesent, Justin Noyes, Dominic Pallone, Don Plutt, Nathan Rice, Ryan Richards, Paul Robertson, Colin Runge, Mike Schauer, Brian Scott, Aaron Smith, George Smith, Carlos Tarin, Lenny Vaughn, Brandon Vogt, Todd Weibel, Tashe Williams, Andrew Wimbs, Scott Zimmerman, Omar Zuniga.Coaching Staff: Joe Glenn (Head Coach), Mike Breske (Defensive Coordinator), Kay Dalton (Offensive Coordinator), Larry Adams, Rod Dobbs, Marty English, Ivan Goepferd, Mike Griffith, Brett Harvey, Paul Novak, Harvey Patton, Jim Porter, Charles Rittenhouse, Peter Strusma, Ron Wiesnieski. Support Staff: Shannon Courtney (Athletic Trainer), Mick Schuch (Equipment Manager), Aaron Parkhurst (Team Doctor).
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Karl Dodge, Track & Field (1988-93)Karl Dodge ranks as the most accomplished thrower in school history. During his years with UNC, he was a two-time All-American (`92, `93) and three-time NCC discus champion. He still holds the school record in the discus. While competing for Northern Colorado, Karl was called to serve in Operation Desert Storm in the US Army as an infantry soldier. After returning from military service in Operation Desert Storm, he went on to earn his two All-American honors. Following his years with the Bears, he continued to compete internationally in Track & Field and the Strongman Highland Games. During his Highland Games years, he earned honors as a 7-time World Record holder and World Champion. To this day, he is still recognized as one of the greatest American athletes in the history of the Strongman Highland Games.Â
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Ed Dyer, Baseball (1961-64)Ed Dyer posted a 32-8 record for the baseball team. He still ranks second in school history in career ERA and 10th in strikeouts, as well as second in single season strikeouts and sixth in innings pitched. Dyer was nominated by Coach Butler to play on the 1964 US Olympic Team. He won eight games in each of his four seasons for Colorado State College. Â
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Billy Holmes, Football (1994-97)Billy Holmes was a member of the back-to-back national championship football squads and was the leading rusher for each team with 1,074 in 1996 and 1,093 in 1997. He finished his career as the No. 1 all-time rusher in school history with 3,519 yards (including all postseason games) and ranks No. 2 on the Bears' all-time all-purpose yardage list with 4,703 yards. Holmes rushed for 3 touchdowns and a title game record 195 yards on 30 carries in the 51-0 win over New Haven in 1997 en route to 19 touchdowns for the year to set the single-season record (record has since been broken by both Adam Matthews and Vincent Jackson with 21 each). During the 1996 championship game, he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as the Bears scored a 23-14 victory over Carson-Newman, rushing for 136 yards on 33 carries in the contest.Â
Jim Lord, ContributorJim Lord has served as the announcer for football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball for 31 years, as well as a member of the Blue & Gold Club Board of Directors for 25 years. He is currently the President of the Blue and Gold Club. Lord has also served as a statistician for the media relations department and has several times been the Master of Ceremonies for the Reverse Raffle, the athletic department's largest fund-raiser. He has won several awards for his volunteer work and there have been three scholarships at Northern Colorado created in his name. Â
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Mandy Nilsen, Soccer (1998-01)Mandy Nilsen earned All-American in both 1999 and 2001. She was also a three-time All-Region selection, a four-time All-North Central Conference selection, a 2001 NSCAA/Adidas Scholar Athlete All-American and a four-time Conference Player of the Week selection. She continues to hold the school single season records in goals, assists and points and holds the career records for goals, assists, points and games played.Â
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Stormie Wells, Volleyball (1992-95)Stormie Wells was a four-year letterwinner for the Bears. As a senior, she handled the setting duties and led the nation in assists during the 1995 season. She helped lead the Bears to a 31-3 overall record and 17-1 mark in the NCC as a senior. Wells earned GTE/CoSIDA Academic 2nd Team All-American, All-NCC, Academic All-NCC, the Sportswoman of Colorado's Swede Johnson Spirit Award and the NCC's Ruth Marske Award in 1996. A major in business with an emphasis in Marketing and Computer Information Systems, she graduated with a 3.97 GPA. Wells also served as the first-ever chairman of the national SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council). Â
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