Hall of Fame
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: According to its charter, the Hall of Fame has been organized to "promote the enduring values of a thriving athletic program by identifying and recognizing those persons who deserve special acclaim for their conributions to Western State College athletics."
In its 13 classes, 64 individuals and seven teams have achieved induction into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame. These inductees include athletes, coaches and friends of Mountaineer athletics.
Help us identify the next class of inductees. Nominations are being accepted for men and women - athletes, coaches or supporters - who have made outstanding contributions to Mountaineer athletics. Call 970-943-2079 for nomination forms.
Nomination Form
Charter
Helpful Hints
Photo Gallery From 2007 Banquet
Four inductees, three others to be honored by Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame
(April 16, 2008) Four inductees and three Lifetime Athletic Achievement Award winners will go into the 14th annual Community Banks of Colorado Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame.
Football coach O. Kay Dalton, football and track star Franklin Jefferson, track and field standout Ermelinda Shehu and women’s basketball coach James Hahn will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pete Rodriguez, Bob Decker and Bucky Broomhall will be honored with Lifetime Athletic Achievement Awards.
The banquet is set for Sept. 26, 2008.
Dalton took Western State football to an elite level during his tenure as head coach. Dalton led the Mountaineers from 1961 to 1965 and during those years his teams were affectionately known as “The Dalton Gang”. During his first two years, Dalton worked on fine tuning his football machine and the Mountaineers came away with 4-5 and 5-4 season. In 1963, the Mountaineers took over as one of the top programs in the country. The Mountaineers went 8-1 overall and 4-0 in RMAC play to claim the program’s second conference title ever. Western’s lone setback in 1963 was to Arizona State. The 1964 team could go down as the best ever in Western State history. Western won its second straight RMAC title with a perfect 3-0 conference title. It also finished the regular season with a 9-0 record. The result was a trip to the Mineral Bowl. The Mineral Bowl was known as the Small College National Championship and the Mountaineers just missed out on a National Title with a 14-13 setback to North Dakota State. In 1965, the Mountaineers continued to roll, winning its third straight RMAC Championship and finishing the season with a 7-1 overall record. The lone setback in 1965 was a 14-7 setback to Weber State. During the 1963, 1964 and 1965 campaigns, the three losses came by a total of 15 points. Dalton left Western following the 1965 season to coach in the Canadian Football League. During Dalton’s five years, the Mountaineers won three RMAC Championships, went 33-12 overall and 15-5 in RMAC play. Dalton ranks fourth all-time at Western State in wins with 33.
Jefferson made history at Western State, becoming the first African-American student-athlete on the football and track and field teams. Jefferson played three years (1964-66) under head coach O. Kay Dalton. During the 1964 season, Jefferson played defense, was the kicker and also returned punts and kickoffs. Also in 1964, Jefferson impressed on the track, winning several medals in the 100, 200 and 4 x 400 relay. In 1965, Jefferson was moved to the offensive side of the ball and the move was a huge success. Jefferson led the team in rushing, scoring and was second in total offense and punt return yards. Following the season, Jefferson was named the conference’s Running Back of the Year. During his junior year, Jefferson never lost a yard while carrying the ball. Going in his senior season of 1966, Jefferson drew national attention - being named the Player to Watch out of the conference by Sports Illustrated. Jefferson didn’t disappoint as he was again named the Running Back of the Year. Following his senior season, Jefferson was invited to tryout by several NFL teams, but when it was discovered that he had a chipped bone in his neck - Jefferson decided to stop playing and avoid the risk of being paralyzed. During his three years at Western State, Jefferson and the Mountaineers went 31-3.
Shehu came to Western State from Tirana, Albania in the Spring of 1995. A knee injury kept her out of the competition that year, but from 1996 to 1999, Shehu left her mark as one of the greatest track and field athletes ever to compete for Western State. Excelling in the Triple Jump and Long Jump, Shehu earned four NCAA Division II National Championships. Shehu won the Indoor National Championship in the Triple Jump in 1996 and 1997 and the Outdoor National Championship in the Triple Jump in 1996 and 1997. Combining both the Triple Jump and Long Jump, Shehu earned nine NCAA Division II All-American honors. Shehu was a dominant force when it came to the RMAC Championships. During her career, Shehu won 21 RMAC Championships and still holds the RMAC Indoor Championship record in the Triple Jump with a leap of 40-03.75 in 1997. As of her induction, Shehu holds the Western State record for the Indoor Triple Jump (42-07.50), Indoor Long Jump (19-06.50), Indoor 60 (7.66), Outdoor 100 (11.78) and Outdoor 200 (24.42).
Hahn is the most successful Women’s Basketball Coach in Western State history. After taking over the program in 1982-83, the Mountaineers went through three rebuilding years before bursting on the scene in 1985-86 and 1986-87. The 1985-86 team went 18-11 overall and 12-4 in RMAC play. The Mountaineers closed out the regular season by winning 10 of 11 games. In the NAIA District VII Playoffs, Western knocked off Adams State and Southern Utah before falling to Fort Lewis. The 1986-87 team secured the second RMAC Championship in program history with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-2 mark in RMAC play. During one stretch during the season, the Mountaineers won 12 straight games and then defeated Southern Colorado and Western New Mexico to win the NAIA District VII Playoffs before falling to Fresno Pacific in the NAIA Bi-District Playoffs. For his career, Hahn won a program best 113 games and seven straight seasons of double-digit wins.
Rodriguez went from a Western State football player to one of the top assistant coaches in the National Football League. Rodriguez arrived after Western in 1961 and played for the Mountaineers for three years under head coach O. Kay Dalton. Following his playing career, Rodriguez got his coaching start at Stratton High School where he served as both assistant High School coach and Head Middle School coach for all sports that the Middle School provided. After a two year stop as Head Football Coach at Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, Rodriguez moved up the college game. Rodriguez served as a Graduate Assistant at Arizona, where the received his Master’s of Education in Administration. After that, Rodriguez held assistant jobs at Western Illinois, Florida State, Iowa State and then again at Western Illinois. Rodriguez then tried his hand at the professional level, serving as an assistant in the USFL for three years before the league folded in 1986. Rodriguez then went back to college for a year at Northern Iowa before turning pro for good with a one-year stint in the CFL with the Ottawa Roughriders. After that it was on to the NFL in 1988, where he would spend the next 19 years as one of the top Special Teams coaches in the league. Twice during his career he was voted Special Teams Coach of the Year by his peers and he was also named Special Teams Coach of the Decade (1990’s) by the Dallas Morning News. While in the NFL, Rodriguez coaches for the Los Angeles Raiders (1988-89), Arizona Cardinals (1990-93), Washington Redskins (1994-97), Seattle Seahawks (1998-2003) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2006). Rodriguez retired from coaching in 2006 after coaching for 43 years.
Decker served as both coach and faculty member at Western State, as well as many years serving the Gunnison and Western State communities. Decker arrived at Western State as Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Professor in 1967. Decker stepped away from coaching in 1977 continued as an Assistant Professor until 1990. In the community, Decker has always been busy. He served as the Mayor of Gunnison for four years and on the City Council for eight years. He also served on the Upper Gunnison Conservation Board for eight years and was a Trustee of State Colleges for eight years. Decker was also on the Board of Directors for Club 20, a Chamber of Commerce member, the Dos Rios Golf Club board and the Colorado University Advisory Board. Decker has also been a member of the Mountaineer Athletic Association for 40 years and established the Decker Basketball Scholarship.
Broomhall turned his time as a Western State skier into an impressive ski coaching career. Broomhall skied at Western from 1955-59 and took seventh in Cross Country as a senior and also finished in the Top 20 in Ski Jumping. Following his senior season, Broomhall was a member of the 1957 Olympic Training squad and also skied in the Pre-Olympics in Squaw Valley in 1959. After graduating, Broomhall served as a teacher and coach in Fryeburg and Mexico Maine and also Bennington, Vermont. He started the Torger Tokle Nordic Youth Ski Program that expanded nationwide and is known throughout the county as the Bill Koch League. Broomhall is also a FIS technical delegate and has officiated Junior High, High School, Junior Olympic, NCAA, U.S. Nationals and World Championship events. He also competes in World Master events.