FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 22, 2007
CONTACT: Jeff Duggan, SID
PHONE: (303) 273-3095

CSM Athletics announces 12th annual Hall of Fame class
Three individuals, one coach, one team and pair of outstanding supporters to be enshrined

GOLDEN, Colo. - The Colorado School of Mines Department of Athletics has selected the 12th annual class of its Hall of Fame, as announced today by Director of Athletics Tom Spicer.

The 12th annual CSM Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will take place on Friday, September 21st, in the Ben Parker Student Center on the CSM campus at 7:00 p.m. In addition, the 2007 inductees will be recognized at halftime of the Orediggers' 12:00 p.m. football game against Chadron State College the following afternoon at Brooks Field.

The 2007 inductees into the Colorado School of Mines Athletics Hall of fame include Floyd Carr, Bill Yopp, John Coats, Bruce Allison, the 2002 CSM men's soccer team and Steve & Gayle Mooney.

A three-sport standout who played football, basketball and baseball, Carr was a four-time captain, four-year letterwinner and two-time all-conference selection as a halfback on the football team. A centerfielder and shortstop on the Oredigger baseball squad, the fleet-footed Carr earned three letters on the diamond. Carr, who was involved with the Athletic Council and the M Club, was a two-time letterwinner in on the men's basketball team, as well. A 1930 graduate of CSM, Carr was also the Vice President of his freshman and sophomore classes.

The recipient of the Dave C. Johnson Trophy as the Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1956, Yopp played football, baseball and boxed at Colorado School of Mines. Yopp, who was selected as the Oredigger baseball team's Most Valuable Player, lettered four times as a right-handed pitcher and third baseman. Also a quarterback of CSM's single-wing offense, Yopp was a four-time letterwinner in football. Yopp lettered twice in boxing, as well.

A three-sport student-athlete for the Orediggers, Coats played football, wrestled and competed on the track & field team at Colorado School of Mines. Coats, who earned four letters in wrestling, won the conference title as a sophomore in 1954-55 in the 177-pound weight class. Coats went undefeated in his bouts against conference opponents as a junior and would go on to claim second place in the conference wrestling championships as a senior in 1956-57. Coats, who ran the half-mile and two-mile relay events for the track & field squad, graduated from CSM in 1957.

The Director of Athletics at Colorado School of Mines from 1976-95, Allison served as the head men's lacrosse coach for the Orediggers from 1976-91 and again from 1992-94. Before arriving in Golden, Allison served as a coach and teacher at Camp Lejeune (1951), Cortland State (1952-56), Bethlehem Central High School (1956-57) and Union College (1957-76). Allison, who earned his bachelor's (1956) and master's degrees (1957) from Cortland State, served as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and President of the United States Lacrosse Association. Also the Third, Second and First Vice President of the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), Allison was chosen as Man of the Year by that organization in 1970. A former President of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Association and Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League, Allison was the first-ever President of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Foundation. Allison has also been enshrined into the Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame (1988), the Colorado Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame (1995), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame (NACDA, 1995), the Union College Athletics Hall of Fame (2005) and the RMAC Hall of Fame (RMAC, 2006).

Coached by Frank Kohlenstein, the 2002 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team captured the RMAC Regular Season and RMAC Tournament crowns. During a pair of victories in the RMAC Tournament, CSM outscored its two opponents by a combined margin of 12-1. Despite narrowly missing out on a berth in their regional tournament, Colorado School of Mines finished the season ranked 19th in all of NCAA Division II. Winners of a single-season school record 16 matches (16-4-1 overall), CSM also amassed 9-2-1 mark in RMAC competition. The Orediggers, who defeated the defending national champions (University of Tampa) in their season-opening match, went on to be ranked as high as fourth in the country in 2002. In addition to compiling an 8-0-1 record over their final nine matches, the Orediggers established single-season school records for goals scored (60) and assists (43). Five players - Brian Blaskovich, Eric Talburt, Robbie Williams, Joel Flanagan and Scott Phipps - earned First Team All-RMAC honors in 2002, while Kohlenstein was recognized as the RMAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.

Avid financial supporters of Oredigger Athletics, Steve and Gayle Mooney have endowed several scholarships at Colorado School of Mines. Steve, who earned a degree in Geological Engineering from CSM in 1956, also received a Distinguished Achievement Medal in 1990. Steve is a retired CEO of Thompson Creek Metals Company.

For more information, please contact CSM Sports Information Director Jeff Duggan at 303-273-3095 or jduggan@mines.edu.

-- OREDIGGERS --