SHERMAN, TEXAS - Austin College celebrated the success of athletics alumni in their respective fields and honored coaching achievements at the college’s annual Legends Gala Sunday, July 18, at the Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco, Texas. The evening’s honorees included Athletic Hall of Honor inductees, the Alumni Coach of the Year, and the Coach Joe Spencer Award for Lifetime Achievement and Meritorious Service in Coaching.
Larry Nickell, Class of 1979, of Van Alstyne was recognized as the Alumni Coach of the Year.
Athletic Hall of Honor inductees for 2005 were
· David Goss (1989) of Richardson, Texas;
· Mary Holt (1978) of Stevenson Ranch, Calif.;
· Christian Morgia (1999) of Oswego, N.Y.;
· Jim Owens (1957) of Athens, Texas; and
· Bob Schucany (1969) of Dallas.
Former Austin College coach Vance Morris, now of Pineville, La., received the Spencer Award in recognition of his career in coaching.
The award dinner is held each July in conjunction with the Slats McCord Golf Tournament, which honors Ralph “Slats” McCord, former Austin College coach and professor emeritus of physical education, who now lives in Van Alstyne.
Alumni Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year Award recognizes professional success in the seasons preceding the July event. The 2005 honoree was Larry Nickell of Van Alstyne.
Nickell led the boys’ varsity basketball team at Sherman’s Texoma Christian School to the championship spot of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Division IA competition. The team earned the number one distinction in only its second year of varsity competition. Named the 2005 Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, Nickell has a general family dental practice in Van Alstyne, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Mary, and their five children.
Athletic Hall of Honor Inductees
David Goss, Class of 1989 Richardson, Texas
Owner of Mustang Charters, David Goss played football and ran track at Austin College, participating four years in each sport. He was named to the football honorable mention All-America Team as place-kicker in 1986 and to the All-America First Team at the position in 1988. A business administration and communication arts major at Austin College, he earned a master’s in Christian education from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Catha, and two children live in Richardson, Texas, where Goss organizes charter bus tours.
Mary Holt, Class of 1978 Stevenson Ranch, California
A high school physical education teacher for La Canada schools in California, Holt was a three-sport athlete at Austin College, participating in swimming, softball, and track and field. She was a three-year captain and outstanding swimmer selection on the swim team, and served as a captain of the track and field team. Holt was awarded the Outstanding Woman Athlete Award in 1976 and 1978. Following college, she has coached swimming, soccer, softball, and water polo at the high school and college levels. She lives in Stevenson Ranch, California.
Christian Morgia, Class of 1999 Oswego, New York
A four-year member of both the basketball and golf teams at Austin College, Morgia was recognized as Tim Jubela Freshman Athlete and was recognized four times with the Pat E. Hooks Award for the outstanding basketball player. As a senior he received the Pete Cawthon Outstanding Male Athlete Award and the Reed Omahundro Award for the outstanding golfer as well as various conference and regional awards. Morgia is branch manager for Eagle Beverage Company and lives in Oswego, New York.
Jim Owens, Class of 1957 Athens, Texas
A retired National Football League scout for the Detroit Lions, Owens was a two-sport athlete at Austin College. A two-year starter at quarterback for the football team, Owens also participated in golf. After leaving Austin College, he served as a football coach in both the high school and collegiate ranks for 21 years, including stints at Lubbock High School, Grand Saline High School, Wilmer Hutchins High School, Center High School, and Henderson County Junior College (now Trinity Valley Community College. After leaving coaching, he served as an NFL talent scout for 22 years, the final 16 with the Lions. A 1953 graduate of Garland High School where he lettered in football, basketball and track, he attended Navarro Junior College before transferring to Austin College. Today, he and his wife, Charlotte, have three children and six grandchildren.
Bob Schucany, Class of 1969 Dallas, Texas
A four-year member of the football team, Schucany served as a captain during his senior year, leading the team to an 8-1 season. Playing defensive end for Austin College, he was a part of what former coach Floyd Gass called “the best defensive team I ever had at Austin College.” Schucany works for Glazer Wholesale Distributing as a key account manager and serves as the main contact for all major retail chains in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Coach Joe Spencer Award
The Coach Joe Spencer Award for Lifetime Achievement and Meritorious Service in Coaching, established in 1997 by the Athletic “A” Alumni Association, is given annually to alumni or former coaches of Austin College for achievement in the coaching profession.
Vance Morris Pineville, Louisiana
Currently the assistant head football coach at Louisiana College, Morris was an assistant football coach at Austin College for 24 years, as well as the head track and field coach. During his time at Austin College, he served as the sponsor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in 1997 and 1998 was the outreach coordinator of Sports World Ministries of Grayson County public schools. He is a 1997 Austin College Athletic Hall of Honor inductee and was selected “Christian Coach of the Year” by the Kansas City Area Fellowship of Christian Athletes in 1972. While at Austin College, he recruited and/or coached 116 All-America or Academic All-America athletes, as well as coaching an individual national champion in track and field. The defensive squads he coached frequently were ranked in the top 10 in several statistics, and in 1985 the defense set a school record for fewest rushing yards allowed in a season. Morris helped lead Austin College teams to TIAA conference championships in 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, and 1988, and was a volunteer assistant for the 1981 NAIA national championship team. Before joining the Austin College coaching staff, he was assistant football coach and head wrestling coach, and later, head football coach at Raytown South High School in Kansas City, Mo. A graduate of William Jewell College, he earned a master’s degree at the University of Missouri. He and his wife, Paula, now live in Pineville.
Other Recognition
Austin College officials also recognized the contributions of the 2005 Legends corporate sponsors, Bank One of Sherman and Coca-Cola of Sherman. Gala evening sponsors included Landmark Bank of Sherman, Page Southerland Page, and Plyler Construction. Business sponsors for athletic enhancement during the 2004-2005 academic year recognized included Bank One of Sherman, Coca-Cola of Sherman, Plyler Construction, Primary Care Associates of Greenville, and Team Bonner Auto Sales. An anonymous donor sponsored the Legends reception in memory of 1967 Austin College alumnus Danny Gilstrap, killed in action in Vietnam as a member of the U.S. Army.
Austin College, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), is an independent, liberal arts college located 60 miles north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Chartered in November 1849, it is the oldest college in Texas under original charter and name as recognized by the State Historical Survey Committee.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Austin College among the top 100 colleges in the category of “Best Liberal Arts Colleges” for 2005. Austin College also ranked among the “Best 357 Colleges” in the 2005 Princeton Review, was included in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives, and was profiled in the 2005 edition of Kaplan’s Insiders Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges.
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Vickie S. Kirby
Director of Editorial Communication
Austin College
900 N. Grand Ave., Suite 6H
Sherman, TX 75090
(903) 813-2414
(903) 813-2415 FAX
www.austincollege.edu