UNI Wrestler Smith Inducted to MVC Hall of Fame

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PDF of MVC notes on Hall of Fame

ST. LOUIS – UNI wrestler Bill Smith will be the fifth Panther to be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame since its inception in 1997.

"As our only Olympic gold medal winner, Bill Smith stood out as a legend among all the great student-athletes that have ever competed at UNI," said UNI Director of Athletics David Harris. "His accomplishments are a significant part of our history and we grateful that the Missouri Valley Conference has decided to bestow this tremendous honor on him. Through the sport of wrestling, Bill wanted to find ways to inspire others to dream big and work hard, so this is another great way to honor his legacy. "Bill Smith was supportive of UNI and wrestling his entire life," said Harris. "We are grateful for the foundation he set and the bar that he raised for future generations. He is proof of what can be achieved at our great university."

Smith and five fellow inductees will be honored when the league conducts its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Louis on Friday, March 8, 2019.

The 22nd MVC Hall of Fame class features three basketball student-athletes in Kristi Cirone (Illinois State); Dolph Pulliam (Drake); and Kent Williams (Southern Illinois); wrestling Olympian Smith (UNI); a legendary track & field coach in John McNichols (Indiana State); and a longtime contributor to Bradley University athletics in Joe Stowell.

"The Missouri Valley Conference has always been recognized for the great success of its athletics programs, with a rich history that dates back more than a century," said Commissioner Doug Elgin. "Our MVC Hall of Fame has provided us with an opportunity to honor the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors who have played important roles in the conference and in intercollegiate athletics. The individuals we will be honoring in the class of 2019 have brought significant honor to themselves, their institutions and to the conference. We are truly humbled to have this opportunity to salute them for their achievements."

After never winning a state title in high school, Smith went on to become a two-time NCAA national wrestling champion. He won the Olympic gold medal in wrestling at 160.5 pounds in the 1952 Games, as he powered his way to two NCAA wrestling titles in 1949 and 1950 while representing his school. He added three national freestyle firsts while an undefeated dual record of 52-0-1.

As a coach, his Rock Island, Illinois, team produced a 57-5 record and a state title. Moving to the collegiate ranks, he coached Nebraska to four winning seasons and then spent 10 years as mentor to the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California, winning seven titles. In 1968, he was named coach of the Canadian Olympic team and he later returned to high school coaching in California.

A graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Smith was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1972, the Iowa High School Wrestling Hall of fame in 1977, and the National Wrestling Hall of fame in 1978. His Olympic gold was the first ever earned in the history of the school, and he donated that medal to the UNI wrestling program in January 2018, prior to his death in March. A replica is displayed in the halls of the West Gym.

UNI IN THE MVC HALL OF FAME

Smith will be the first Panther since 2014 to earn the honor.

2019 – Bill Smith (wrestling)
2014 – Chris Bucknam (track and field)
2013 – Molly O'Brien (volleyball)
2012 – Joey Woody (track and field)
2011 – Iradge Ahrabi-Fard (volleyball)

BANQUET DETAILS

The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship next March 7-10. The March 8 festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m.

Tickets to the 2019 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to be held at Stifel Theatre (formerly known as the Peabody Opera House), which is adjacent to Enterprise Center (formerly known as Scottrade Center) – can be obtained by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

KRISTI CIRONE, ILLINOIS STATE
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team, Kristi Cirone was a three-time MVC Jackie Stiles Player of the Year (2007-09), becoming only the second player in the history of the conference to win the award in three-consecutive years, with the other being the award's namesake.
The native of Chicago, Illinois, Cirone was a two-time Scholar-Athlete First-Team Selection and a Second-Team selection as a sophomore in 2007. Notably, Cirone was also a four-time All-MVC selection and three-time MVC All-Defensive Team selection. While at Illinois State, she was a two-time WBCA and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. She was named a John Wooden nominee as one the nation's best players and was also a nominee for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is awarded to the nation's top collegiate point guard.
As a member of Redbird teams, she guided Illinois State to two WNIT berths and one NCAA Tournament berth during her career, while leading the Redbirds to back-to-back MVC regular-season championships in 2008 and 2009. She is Illinois State's all-time leader in points (2,139), three-point field goals made (229), three-point field goals attempted (613), free throws made (512), free throws attempted (655), assists (681), and assists per game (5.3). She also holds ISU single-season records for points in a season (657) and assists (203).
Other honors include a 2008 MVC Tournament MVP, 2006 MVC Freshman of the Year and the 2008 and 2009 Jill Hutchison ISU Female Athlete of the Year.
Following her collegiate career, played professionally in Greece and Poland and the WNBA, with the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky. Her No. 10 jersey was retired by Illinois State in 2010, making her one of three women's basketball players to have her number retired in the rafters of Redbird Arena. Cirone was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 2015 and is also a member of the MVC Women's Basketball 25th Anniversary Team. She served as the head women's basketball coach at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, from 2013-18, finishing her tenure there as the third-winningest coach in program history in both wins (82) and winning percentage. Cirone currently is the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Ridgewood High School in Illinois.

JOHN McNICHOLS, INDIANA STATE
McNichols was named the head men's track & field and cross country coach at Indiana State in 1983, and despite many opportunities over the years to leave for higher-level jobs, he remained for 34 years until his death in 2016. With the addition of close friend John Gartland as the women's head coach in 1988, McNichols took over the combined men's and women's program the following season in 1989-90 in a joint effort with Gartland to more efficiently run the program.
McNichols coached in 100 total MVC Championships (33 indoor, 33 outdoor, 34 cross country), taking home 38 total team titles -- 11 cross country titles (nine men, two women), 10 indoor track titles (six women, four men) and 17 outdoor track titles (10 men, seven women).
McNichols was named MVC Coach of the Year 23 times for his 23 men's titles. During his career, he coached 456 MVC Track Champions (251 women, 205 men), eight MVC Cross Country Champions (four men, four women), 355 Track MVC Scholar-Athletes (201 women, 154 men) and 110 Cross Country MVC Scholar-Athletes (56 men, 54 women). In addition, McNichols is just one of 11 coaches in Valley history to be named to the MVC All-Centennial Team (unveiled in 2007). He was named alongside Gartland, the only coaching duo to make the list. McNichols coached 37 members of that MVC All-Centennial Team.
McNichols' success wasn't limited to the conference level, though, as he brought Indiana State national prestige in both track and cross country. During his career he coached 15 NCAA Track Champions, 113 All-Americans (across both track and cross), 173 NCAA Track National Qualifiers (98 women, 75 men) and 13 NCAA Cross Country National Qualifiers (10 men, three women). McNichols and Gartland-led track teams also finished in the top-25 nationally 16 times (11 women, five men), which included two incredible streaks: four-straight top-15 finishes for the Sycamore women during the 1993-94 seasons (three of which were top-10) and four top-25 finishes for the men from 1999-2001. The men had an all-time high finish of 11th indoors in 1990 in Indianapolis and the women finished tied for fifth at the 1993 indoor championships.
However, McNichols' crowning achievement was his vision and then execution of designing and constructing what became the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. On the site of an abandoned coal mine turned landfill, McNichols and the local Gibson family of Terre Haute saw what could become a championship cross country course. After years of designing, LaVern Gibson was awarded the 2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships (and, by extension, the Pre-National Invitational), the first of 12 national meets to be hosted.
He was inducted into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018, announced Aug. 7.

DOLPH PULLIAM, DRAKE
Dolph Pulliam, a native of Gary, Indiana, was a key member of Drake's 1968-69 team that reached the NCAA Final Four and defeated North Carolina in the third-place game. He was drafted by the NBA's Boston Celtics and courted by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys in 1969.
Bypassing professional sports, Pulliam remained in Des Moines and became active in the community while becoming the first African-American television broadcaster in Iowa. In 1989, he became director of athletic marketing at Drake before moving into a position as director of community outreach and development prior to retiring in 2014.
Honored with Drake's "Double D" Award in 2011 for his tremendous success in his field and impact he has made in the community, Pulliam was inducted into the state of Iowa African-American Hall of Fame in 2006. He also was inducted into the state of Indiana Basketball of Fame in 2009 and has his number retired by Drake.
Pulliam has received numerous awards including the National Recognition Award from the Red Cross, the National Easter Seals Recognition Award, the Alice Whipple Community Service Award for the Iowa Federation of Labor and the Silver Beaver Award from the Mid-Iowa Boy Scouts of America. He was a 2010-11 MVC John Sanders "Spirit of the Valley" Award honoree.

JOE STOWELL, BRADLEY
Joe Stowell's affiliation with Bradley Athletics dates back more than 70 years to his days as a men's basketball student-athlete for the Braves from 1947-50. A junior at Bradley in 1948 when the school joined the Missouri Valley Conference, he was a key contributor to the 1949-50 squad that won the MVC title and played in the championship game of both the NIT and the NCAA Tournament. His connection to the Bradley Basketball program stretched to more than 1,500 games in various roles within the Bradley Athletics department: 103 games as a men's basketball player from 1947-50; 250 games as a men's basketball assistant coach from 1956-65; 344 games as the Bradley Basketball head coach from 1965-78; 107 games as an assistant athletic director from 1978-85; and 741 games as the radio analyst from 1985-2010.
During his 13 years as the men's basketball head coach, Stowell posted a 197-147 overall record and he remains second in Bradley Basketball history in victories and seasons coached. In addition, Stowell served two years as the Bradley Women's Basketball head coach from 1981-83, posting a 33-22 record while helping the program transition from the AIAW into NCAA Division I. Stowell's 1968 men's basketball team led the nation in field goal percentage (.524), while his 1982 women's basketball squad led the nation in scoring (87.9 ppg), and he is believed still to be the only coach to lead both a men's team and a women's team to the top of a major national statistical category.
Stowell also has an extensive connection to international basketball and he is believed still to be the only coach to place both a men's player and a women's player in the U.S. Olympic Trials (Joe Allen led the men in scoring during the 1968 Olympic Trials in Albuquerque, while Judy Burns led the women in assists during the 1982 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis). He conducted basketball clinics around the world - five continents and 16 countries - well into his 70's and Stowell is believed to have coached more basketball clinics overseas than any coach in the history of basketball. He also served as an assistant coach for the Egyptian Men's National Team that won the 1983 African Championship and competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Stowell, 91, and his wife, Marilynn, recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary (Aug. 10). The couple lives just blocks from the Bradley campus, and he remains a frequent visitor to the Athletic Department offices.

KENT WILLIAMS, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The 2003 SIU grad scored 2,012 points at Southern from 1999 to 2003, making him the Salukis' second-leading scorer of all-time. He is the only player in SIU history to lead the team in scoring four straight years, helping his team to the NCAA Tournament 2002 and 2003, including a run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2002.
The Mt. Vernon, Illinois, native, who is also the career scoring leader at his high school, was inducted into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
Williams was a first-team All-MVC (2002, 2003), and second-team Team All-MVC (2001) selection while earning MVC Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year (2000). A four year starter, the Salukis went 88-42 during his career which included an NIT appearance (2000) in addition to the two NCAA berths.
As a senior in 2003, he was runner-up to Creighton's Kyle Korver for the Larry Bird Trophy, awarded to the top men's basketball player. Other honors for Williams include back-to-back selection to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team (2002, 2003), an MVC All-Tournament selection (2002) and a four-time MVC Player-of-the-Week recipient. He was the first-ever repeat winner of the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor (2002, 2003).
In addition to ranking second on the all-time SIU scoring chart, he is second in career 3-pointers made with 249, sixth in career 3-point percentage at .392, second in career free throws made with 479, eighth in career assists with 352, tops in career games started with 130 and the school's record holder for most career minutes played.
Williams is currently the varsity men's basketball coach at De Smet Jesuit High in St. Louis. Prior to that, he had served as an assistant at SIU-Edwardsville, Tennessee, Missouri State and as a supervisor of basketball operations at Purdue.

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