2001 Inductees
Coaching greats, national champions, outstanding basketball players, a pioneer, a national scoring leader and one of the all-time top pass receivers in the old American Football League form the 2001 class of the San Jose State University Sports Hall
| "Julie" Menendez tops the list of 2001 SJSU Sports Hall of Fame honorees. |
United States senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, softball pitcher Gale Dean Andaluz, basketball players Coby Dietrick and Karen Mason, fencer Joy Ellingson, soccer forward Ismael "Easy" Perez and football player Art Powell along with coaches Butch Krikorian, Jerry Vroom and Julius "Julie" Menendez are this year’s Hall of Fame honorees. Menendez, already in the Hall of Fame, is being recognized as this year’s Hall of Fame "Legend."
Campbell, a member of the 1955 through 1959 judo teams, was the highest ranking collegiate judo player of his time. He was a two-time senior national champion, an AAU champion in the light heavyweight division in 1961, heavyweight division in 1962 and open division in 1963. Campbell was a member of the first United States Olympic judo team in 1964. After serving as a congressman in the state of Colorado, Campbell is in his second term as a United States senator.
Dean Andaluz is recognized as the first San Jose State University softball player to receive a scholarship. Dean was a pitcher on the 1986 through 1989 Spartan teams – the school’s first four softball squads. Her career totals still remain in the top three for a program that has been in existence for 15 seasons. She was an honorable mention all-Big West Conference choice as a senior in 1989 when she became the first and only Spartan pitcher to win more than 20 games.
Dietrick played on the 1968 through 1970 San Jose State University men’s basketball teams and was co-captain of the 1970 squad. He is the only Spartan player to finish his career scoring at least 1,000 points and average in double figures both in points (16.4 per game) and rebounds (10.5 per game). Dietrick went on to play 13 seasons of professional basketball, more than any other San Jose State player, with the Memphis Tams, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs of the American Basketball Association and the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.
Ellingson was a member of 1979 through 1982 San Jose State University fencing teams. In 1982, she became the first NCAA Women’s Fencing Champion. She was an All-American in 1979 (first team) 1981, 1982. Ellingson led the Spartans to the 1979 National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association championship, a fourth place finish at the 1981 AIAW Championships. A former junior Olympics champion, she also competed in the 1981 World University Games.
Krikorian was the San Jose State men’s tennis coach for 24 seasons from 1957 through 1980. His teams won six team and 47 individual conference championships in 10 PCAA Championships Tournaments and had a 289-121-1 overall dual meet record. He was the San Jose State coach when Whitney Reed became the first and only Spartan to win a NCAA Championship in 1959. Kirkorian also coached four other singles or doubles entries that finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships. In team competition, the Spartans finished in the top-25 at the NCAA Championship 10 times and in the top-10 four times. In 1996, he was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
Mason played on the women’s basketball teams from 1978 through 1981. She set the school career scoring record of 1,760 points – a record that still stands after 20 years and 11 other school records in women’s basketball. Mason was a three-time first-team all-conference pick and a 1981 honorable mention All-America player. The Spartans had a cumulative record of 75-36, won two conference championships and competed in the AIAW Regional Tournament four consecutive years.
Perez played for the 1975 through 1978 San Jose State University men’s soccer teams. The Spartans posted winning records in each of his four seasons and set a single season school record for most victories in 1978 with 19. Perez led the nation in scoring in 1975 and 1976. Perez scored 75 goals and was credited with 173 total points during his college career. He was an honorable mention All-American in 1976 and was a member of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Powell played on the 1956 San Jose State football and 1957 Spartan basketball teams. Powell led the nation in pass receiving and was sixth nationally in kickoff return average in his only Spartan football season. Turning to basketball, he averaged 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. His professional career blossomed in the old American Football League particularly during his four seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He set team records for pass receptions (254), reception yardage (4,491) and touchdown catches (50). Three times with the Raiders, he was named to the All-AFL team and played in the AFL All-Star Game. In the AFL record books, he is third all-time in receiving yardage (7,769 yards), tied for third for most pass receptions (458), and third in touchdowns scored (77).
Vroom was the men’s golf head coach at San Jose State from 1963 through 1984. In each of those 22 seasons, the Spartans competed in the NCAA Championships. San Jose State finished in the top-10 eight times including a second-place finish in 1966. More than 20 golfers earned All-America recognition during his head coaching tenure including Terry Small, the 1964 NCAA champion. The 1948 graduate of San Jose State also served the athletics department as an assistant athletics director and assistant basketball coach. Vroom was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1998, he became the third recipient of the College Golf Foundation’s Rolex Award for lifetime contributions to college golf.
Menendez was the men’s soccer coach from 1954 through 1989 piling up 295 wins and taking San Jose State University teams to the NCAA Tournament 11 times. He also coached the Spartan boxing teams to the NCAA Championship in 1958, 1959 and 1960. No other college team won an NCAA Boxing Championship after 1960. Menendez was the head coach of 1960 U.S. Olympic boxing team that included gold-medal winner Cassius Clay, who later became Muhammad Ali. In 1976, he became the first American to be a head coach of two different Olympic sports in two different Olympic Games when he coached the men’s soccer team.
The honorees participated in induction ceremonies, Friday, October 26, at the San Jose Airport Hyatt Hotel. The following afternoon at the San Jose State-Tulsa football game, they were introduced in a special halftime presentation.