Five University of Evansville athletic greats, including one All-American and three league players of the year, will be inducted into the UE Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 13. The five include basketball players Jeff Frey (1977) and Latasha Austin (2002), football player Randy Hobson (1988), and swimmers Kelly Watson-Young (1992) and Kim Dodson-Bolin (2002).
The induction banquet will take place at 11 a.m. CST at UE's Ridgway University Center. Reservations can be made by contacting the UE athletics department at (812) 488-ACES, or by registering online at www.uealumnionline.com/homecoming2010.
Watson-Young and Dodson-Bolin are the first members of the women's swimming & diving team to be inducted, and for the first time in the 39-year history of the UE Hall of Fame, a majority of those going into the Hall of Fame are female. Also unique about this year's event is the timing. The Hall of Fame induction banquet has normally taken place in the winter, but was moved up this year to coincide with UE's Homecoming. The five inductees will be introduced to the crowd at Roberts Stadium that night, when the Purple Aces' men's basketball team plays Oakland City University in the season opener.
Frey was a second team College Division All-American as chosen by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a third team Associated Press All-American. He was also the first basketball player in UE history chosen as an Academic All-American. Frey was drafted by the NBA Seattle Supersonics in 1977. The two-time all-Indiana Collegiate Conference player ranks sixth in University of Evansville history in rebounds (800), 10th in field goals (547) and 19th in scoring (1,324). Frey is the longtime owner of Office Supply Co. in Jeffersonville, Ind., where he and his wife, Jill, reside.
Austin is the only basketball player in University of Evansville history, male or female, to record 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals. She was a first team all-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2002, and was MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Austin graduated as UE's career leader in steals (290) and ranked number two in free throws made (375). She was a key player on UE's 1999 NCAA Tournament team and 2000 NIT team. Austin is now a department manager at Dick's Sporting Goods in Fishers, Ind.
Hobson was the 1987 Heartland Collegiate Conference Player of the Year after leading all of NCAA Division II in passing yardage. He is Evansville's all-time leader with 50 career touchdown passes, and is the single-season leader in yards passing (3,042) and completions (242). Hobson ranks second behind UE Hall Famer Eric Fish in career passing yardage (6,803), completions (565) and pass attempts (981). Hobson is executive vice president commercial development for Berry Plastics, Inc. He and his wife, Chandra, and their three children live in Evansville.
Dodson-Bolin is the only swimmer in University of Evansville history to qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships, competing in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle in 2000, and the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events in 2001. She was Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Year in 2001 and 2002, and received the 2001 and 2002 Ida Stieler Award, presented annually to UE’s most outstanding female athlete. She was also selected for the MVC All-Centennial Team in 2007. Dodson set school records in all six freestyle events, and set MVC records in the 50, 100 and 200 free. She is now in her seventh year as a Spanish teacher at Avon High School, near Indianapolis. She and her husband, Josh, have two children.
Watson-Young earned the 1992 Ida Stieler Award, presented to UE's most outstanding female athlete of the year, after completing a career in which she set one conference record and three school records. She was the 1989 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Swimmer of the Year, winning individual titles in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle. She won two more championships at the 1991 MCC Championships, in the 500 and 1650 freestyle. Watson-Young was a nurse for many years, and most recently has been teaching a preschool curriculum that she created. Watson-Young and her husband, Tim, have four children and recently moved from Durham, N.C. to Nacogdoches, Texas.
The addition of the five new inductees will bring the University of Evansville Athletics Hall of Fame membership to 207.
