NORTHWEST NOTES: Saturday, January 9, 2016
Coaches to give updates
at NIC Booster Club luncheon
COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho College coaches will provide season updates at the North Idaho College Booster Club Luncheon at noon Tuesday at the Outback Steakhouse in Coeur d’Alene.
There will be previews on upcoming games as well as recaps on holiday wrestling and basketball tournaments.
The public is welcome to attend the luncheon. The NIC Booster Club meets on the second and last Tuesday of the month at noon.
Information: 769-3348
Ex-Cougar Utley elected to College Football Hall of Fame
Former Washington State All-America offensive lineman Mike Utley was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Friday.
“This is very overwhelming,” Utley said. “Washington State University and head coach Jim Walden gave me an opportunity and I told him I would give 100 percent of myself. Playing for the Cougars was a wonderful experience and hopefully I’ve been able to pay it forward.”
Joining Utley in the Class of 2016 are quarterback Marlin Briscoe (Nebraska Omaha, 1964-67), linebacker Derrick Brooks (Florida State, 1991-94), linebacker Tom Cousineau (Ohio State, 1975-78), quarterback/punter Randall Cunningham (UNLV, 1982-84), tailback Troy Davis (Iowa State, 1994-96), defensive tackle William Fuller (North Carolina, 1981-83), quarterback Bert Jones (LSU, 1970-72), defensive lineman Tim Krumrie (Wisconsin, 1979-82), tight end Pat McInally (Harvard, 1972-74), defensive end Herb Orvis (Colorado, 1969-71), linebacker Bill Royce (Ohio, 1990-93), defensive back Scott Woerner (Georgia, 1977-80) and defensive back Rod Woodson (Purdue, 1983-86).
Additionally, two coaches were named to the induction class, Bill Bowes, who amassed a career record of 175-106-5 at New Hampshire; and Frank Girardi, who boasts a career record of 257-97-5 while coaching at Lycoming (Pa.).
Playing for the Detroit Lions, Utley was injured in a 1991 game against the Los Angeles Rams, and is paralyzed from the chest down. He formed the Mike Utley Foundation, designed to help seek a cure for paralysis.
Utley is the first Cougar player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame since running back Rueben Mayes was enshrined in 2008. Additional Cougars in the College Hall of Fame include tackle Glen “Turk” Edwards (1929-31), enshrined in 1975, and center Mel Hein (1928-30), who was the first Cougar to be inducted in 1954.
He also joins head coaches Orin “Babe” Hollingbery (1979), Forest “Evy” Evashevski (2000) and William “Lone Star” Dietz (2012), giving WSU seven individuals in the Hall of Fame. Hollingbery coached WSU from 1926-42, Evashevski from 1950-51 and Dietz from 1915-17.
NAIA World Series
to remain in Lewiston
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NAIA announced a three-year contract extension with Lewis-Clark State College that will keep the NAIA Baseball World Series at Harris Field in Lewiston through 2019.
The 2016 championship, which acts as the final year of a three-year agreement that originated in 2014, will mark the 16th consecutive season the NAIA has made the trip to Harris Field and 25th all time.
The streak of 16 straight seasons of hosting an NAIA national championship is second to only to Sioux City, Iowa, which will host its 18th consecutive Division II women’s basketball national championship in March.
The first year of the agreement will see the 10-team, double elimination event running from May 26-June 2, 2017, while year two is scheduled for May 25-June 1, 2018 and year three is set for May 24-31, 2019. The World Series field is made up of host Lewis-Clark State and nine teams that qualify by winning one of the opening rounds.
Harris Field, which rests on the south side of Lewis-Clark State’s campus, was constructed in 1970 and is named after prominent Lewiston businessman and baseball enthusiast Loyd Harris. Prior to the 2015 season, the playing surface and dugouts were reconstructed. In 24 years of championship baseball, Harris Field has welcomed more than 800,000 fans to the NAIA World Series, including a record 45,475 people in 2008 — an average attendance of more than 2,300 per game.
The 2015 Series saw Lewis-Clark State score nine unanswered runs over the final four innings of the title game en route to its NAIA record 17th national championship. The Warriors, who entered the event as the No. 4 seed, downed title game newcomer and No. 9 seed St. Thomas (Fla.), 10-7.