This yr’s inductees are Joe Golding (’99) from males’s basketball, Mike Campbell (’91) from males’s golf, Mike Morgan (’95) from baseball, Suzanne Dickenson (’99) and Charles Christmas Jr. (’67) from monitor and area and Renata Marquez (’15) from girls’s basketball. Also being inducted is former director of athletics Stan Lambert (’75) because the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
In addition to this yr’s inductees, former monitor and area standout Wendell Edwards (’92) is that this yr’s winner of the Womack Award, signifying excellence in competitors, within the classroom and in a single’s chosen career. Edwards is an award-winning TV information anchor, presently co-anchoring the native information for WTVO in Rockford, Illinois.
The award is called for the late Dr. James Womack (’65), who performed basketball at ACU and spent his profession as a distinguished professor at Texas A&M University, conducting pioneering analysis within the cattle genome.
The Class of 2026 will probably be celebrated in the course of the corridor’s induction ceremony on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m. in ACU’s McCaleb Conference Center within the Hunter Welcome Center. With the addition of the seven members of this yr’s class, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame now consists of 271 women and men. Ticket data will probably be made public later this summer season.
Here’s a quick take a look at every of this yr’s honorees:
MEN’S GOLF
Mike Campbell – made an instantaneous influence on the ACU males’s golf program after transferring from South Plains College, turning into one of the highest gamers in class historical past. A two-time All-American in 1990 and 1991, Campbell earned Lone Star Conference medalist honors in 1991 after ending 13-under par and main the Wildcats to the convention championship. He additionally received medalist honors on the 1990 Abilene Intercollegiate and helped ACU to NCAA Division II nationwide match finishes of seventh in 1990 and third in 1991. Campbell later returned to ACU as head males’s golf coach, main this system for 11 seasons. His groups earned eight consecutive NCAA regional appearances, whereas the 2011 Wildcats completed third on the NCAA Division II Championships. Campbell was named South Central Region Coach of the Year and coached a number of All-Americans, together with 2010 NCAA Division II nationwide champion Cyril Bouniol.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Charles Christmas Jr. – Charles Christmas Jr. was one of probably the most completed middle-distance runners in ACU historical past and a key contributor to a few consecutive Southland Conference championship groups from 1964-66. A 1966 NCAA Division I All-American, Christmas set three Southland Conference information in the identical meet within the 880-yard, mile and 2-mile occasions whereas serving to lead the Wildcats to a convention title. He earned the John C. Sasport Award as ACU’s excellent monitor athlete in 1966 and set a college file within the 880-yard run with a time of 1:48.4. That identical yr, he established a Texas state file within the mile run at 4:03.2 and served as captain of the Wildcats’ monitor staff. Throughout his profession, Christmas earned quite a few particular person victories and performed a pivotal function on championship relay groups, cementing his place among the many program’s all-time greats.
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Suzanne Dickenson – Suzanne Dickenson made an instantaneous influence after arriving at ACU in 1998, establishing herself as one of the premier hurdlers in NCAA Division II. The Kingston, Jamaica, native earned 5 All-America honors in two seasons and helped lead the Wildcats to 4 nationwide staff championships. Dickenson completed because the nationwide runner-up within the 100-meter hurdles 4 instances and stays one of probably the most completed hurdlers in program historical past. Following her aggressive profession, Dickenson returned to ACU as an assistant monitor and area coach and helped the Wildcats win 9 nationwide championships from 2001-06. She later constructed a distinguished profession in athletics administration, serving in management roles at ACU, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas. Dickenson presently serves as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services at North Texas, the place she oversees educational help packages for student-athletes.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Joe Golding – Joe Golding coached ACU to the best staff victory in Wildcat athletics historical past, a 53-52 upset of Texas within the first spherical of the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis. The victory capped a transformative 10-year tenure through which Golding elevated ACU from a struggling program to a nationally revered Division I contender. Golding compiled a 158-144 file as head coach and led the Wildcats to Southland Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2021. His 2018-19 staff completed 27-7 and earned this system’s first Southland title and NCAA Tournament berth. After the 2019-20 postseason was canceled, Golding’s last ACU staff went 24-5, captured a second convention championship in three seasons and shocked Texas on the nationwide stage. Golding inherited a program that had received simply 9 video games the season earlier than his arrival and guided ACU by its transition to Division I whereas constructing one of the nation’s premier mid-major packages. His groups grew to become recognized for his or her relentless protection, toughness and championship tradition, producing a number of all-conference gamers and incomes nationwide recognition. A former Wildcat participant from 1994-98, Golding stays one of probably the most influential figures in ACU basketball historical past.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Renata Marquez – Renata Marquez helped bridge one of probably the most vital transitions in ACU girls’s basketball historical past, excelling at each the NCAA Division II and Division I ranges whereas rising as one of the Wildcats’ most reliable leaders. A second staff All-Lone Star Conference choice in 2012-13, Marquez helped lead ACU to a convention championship and an NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament look. She adopted that by incomes honorable point out All-Southland Conference and second staff Southland Conference All-Academic honors throughout ACU’s first season of Division I competitors in 2013-14. Marquez ranked among the many Southland Conference leaders in scoring, assists and steals as a senior, averaging 14.8 factors, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals per recreation. During her profession, she surpassed 1,000 factors, 500 rebounds and 200 assists whereas showing in 66 consecutive video games to shut her profession. Beyond the numbers, Marquez grew to become recognized for her consistency, versatility and knack for making vital performs in pivotal moments, offering management and stability throughout a transformational period for the Wildcats.
BASEBALL
Mike Morgan – Mike Morgan ranks among the many biggest pitchers in ACU baseball historical past and performed a central function in some of this system’s most important milestones. Morgan completed his profession with a 22-11 file, rating among the many high 5 in class historical past in victories whereas additionally ending third in strikeouts (263), fourth in innings pitched (278) and seventh in earned run common (3.21). Morgan was a key determine within the return of ACU baseball after this system was discontinued following the 1979 season and reinstated in 1991. A primary staff All-Lone Star Conference and first staff All-South Central Region choice in this system’s first season again, he posted a 6-4 file with a 2.92 ERA. He adopted that with a 9-3 file and a couple of.39 ERA in 1992, serving to the Wildcats file their first 30-win season and first profitable season since 1969. As a senior in 1993, he helped lead ACU to a Lone Star Conference championship. One of probably the most memorable performances of his profession got here within the first recreation performed at Crutcher Scott Field on Feb. 23, 1991. With the stadium nonetheless underneath development and followers packed onto flatbed trailers positioned across the backstop and alongside the primary and third base strains, Morgan threw 10 innings of five-hit baseball, hanging out seven and permitting only one stroll in a 2-1 victory over Tarleton State. Two years later, he delivered a complete-game three-hitter with 10 strikeouts in ACU’s title-clinching 1-0 win over Central Oklahoma, cementing his place among the many program’s all-time greats.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Stan Lambert – Stan Lambert helped lead one of probably the most profitable eras in ACU athletics historical past throughout his seven-year tenure as director of athletics from 1995-2002. A 1975 ACU graduate, Lambert returned to his alma mater with a imaginative and prescient centered on aggressive excellence, student-athlete improvement and robust help for coaches and packages. During Lambert’s management, ACU groups received 34 Lone Star Conference championships and 17 NCAA Division II nationwide championships whereas compiling a mixed profitable share of 61 p.c. Wildcats groups produced greater than 200 all-conference picks, greater than 50 All-Americans and greater than 25 convention and nationwide Coach of the Year honorees. Multiple packages ranked among the many nation’s elite throughout a interval broadly thought of one of probably the most profitable in college athletics historical past. Lambert’s connection to ACU spans a lifetime of management and repair. A former Wildcat baseball and basketball student-athlete, he pitched a no-hitter in his last collegiate baseball recreation earlier than embarking on a distinguished profession in banking, schooling and public service. He spent greater than 35 years in neighborhood banking, served on the Abilene ISD Board of Trustees, together with a time period as board president, and later represented West Texas within the Texas House of Representatives. Through his work in athletics, enterprise, schooling and authorities, Lambert has spent a long time serving to form the establishments and communities which have outlined his hometown.
WOMACK AWARD
Wendell Edwards – Wendell Edwards embodied the qualities acknowledged by the Jim Womack Award by his excellence as a student-athlete, scholar {and professional}. As a standout hurdler for ACU, Edwards received Lone Star Conference championships within the 110-meter hurdles in 1990 and 1991 and helped lead the Wildcats to convention and nationwide success underneath legendary coach Wes Kittley. He additionally captured NCAA Division II indoor nationwide championships within the 55-meter hurdles in 1990 and 1992 and ranked among the many high collegiate hurdlers within the United States in 1991 with a time of 13.64. Edwards matched his athletic accomplishments with success within the classroom, incomes Academic All-Lone Star Conference honors thrice throughout his ACU profession. He later constructed a distinguished profession in broadcast journalism and was acknowledged with the Gutenberg Award, the very best honor bestowed upon alumni of ACU’s journalism program. Edwards presently serves as co-anchor of the night newscasts for WTVO and FOX 39 in Rockford, Illinois. His accomplishments on the monitor, within the classroom and all through his skilled profession embody the qualities the Jim Womack Award was created to acknowledge.