Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SALUKI ATHLETICS INDUCTS SIX NEW MEMBERS TO SALUKI HALL OF FAME
01/27/2017 | 8:45:00 | General
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Six inductees entered the Saluki Hall of Fame during a ceremony at SIU Arena on Friday night. Gwen Berry (Track & Field), Hubie Dunn (Gymnastics), Jason Frasor (Baseball), Alexis Moreland (Football), Bianca Stuart (Track & Field) and Ray Tabacchi (Baseball) each took their place among the all-time great athletes at Southern Illinois University.
Berry (2008-11) was an All-American in three events at SIU — the hammer throw, weight throw and shot put. Her best finish at Nationals was fourth place in the hammer in 2010. She was a four-time MVC champion and the 2011 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year. Berry still competes and reached the finals of the hammer throw at the 2016 Olympics as a member of the U.S. National Team, placing 14th overall. A three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree, she currently resides and trains in Oxford, Mississippi.
"IÂ really was shocked (to be inducted into the Hall of Fame," Berry said. "I know the qualifications to be inducted is to be out of school for five years, but I'm still young. I feel like there are a lot of other people who should be inducted and I'm just young, I'm just getting started."
Dunn (1939-43) captained the 1943 gymnastics team that beat Minnesota and Indiana and was cited as the "top team in the Midwest." He finished seventh in the nation on the parallel bars in 1942, won six individual championships his senior year and was recognized as one of the top college gymnasts in the nation. After graduation, Dunn served as a junior officer on the USS Shubrick that played a key role in the D-Day invasion of Northern France. Dunn went on to coach gymnastics for 24 years at Washington State and Northern Illinois and posted a combined 132-69-4 record, with 48 individual champions. He is enshrined in five other Hall of Fames for his accomplishments in gymnastics. Dunn passed away last February at the age of 94 and was represented at the induction dinner by family members.
"He was very proud and fond of Southern Illinois University," said nephew John Dunn, former chancellor at SIU and current president at Western Michigan. "He was raised in Pinckneyville, and how he morphed into gymnastics, in a community that knew only one thing — basketball — is a phenomenal story. He was a very good athlete and I think he just took to the whole idea of the mechanics and strength necessary to be a very good gymnast."
Frasor (1996-1999) is one of the all-time pitching greats at Southern Illinois and recently completed a 12-year career in Major League Baseball that culminated with a World Series ring with the Kansas City Royals in 2015. In total, the right-handed reliever appeared in 679 career games, including nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, and posted a 3.73 lifetime ERA. At SIU, his name is featured throughout the record book — he's second in career strikeouts (278), fifth in career starts (41) and eighth in career innings pitched (272.1). He was a two-time "Itchy" Jones team MVP (1997, 1999).
"I've had a great run and this is just this icing on the cake," Frasor said. "There's really nothing else after this. This is kind of my Cooperstown. I didn't even know what position I was going to play when I showed up on campus. I started to grow and mature and get stronger and I just got better at pitching. I just grew as a person and learned a lot about life."
Stuart (2006-09) was a seven-time MVC long jump champion (four indoor, three outdoor) and is the only four-time conference champion in the long jump in league history. She was a two-time All-American, placing seventh at the 2008 outdoors and fourth at the 2009 indoors. She still holds the school and MVC record in both the indoor and outdoor long jump, and was key figure in two MVC team titles for the women in 2009 (indoor and outdoor). Stuart lives and trains in Auburn, Alabama, and represented The Bahamas at the Olympic Games in 2012 (placed 17th) and 2016 (placed 16th). She claimed a silver medal in the long jump at the 2015 Pan American games and won two Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships.
"I'm overwhelmed with emotions," Stuart said. "This is a very exciting experience. I never thought I would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was unexpected. It's a great honor and a privilege. (Coming to SIU) helped to build my skills and help prepare me for the higher elite competition."
Moreland (2001-04) played safety and was a key figure during the resurgence of Saluki Football in the early 2000s. He was a three-time All-American, who ranks second in school history in career pass breakups (25), sixth in career tackles (358) and tied for 13th in career interceptions (8). His 235 career interception returns yards are the second most in program history and his 204 return yards in 2004 is a single-season record. The Salukis were 20-4 during his junior and senior campaigns, winning a pair of conference titles and making two playoff appearances. Moreland was a finalist in 2003 for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the nation's best FCS defensive back. A member of SIU's All-Century team, Moreland currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida, where he is CEO and founder of Evizion Media Group.
"I got the phone call and was more than excited, I was kind of relieved," Moreland said. "I feel like I've come full circle. When I got here in 2001, Coach (Jerry) Kill had to sell us on the dream. The facilities were down, but he convinced us that we could build what we see here today in the culture at SIU. It's just great to be back."
Tabacchi (1953-56) was a rare three-sport athlete, who earned six total letters in baseball, basketball and football. Baseball was his best sport, in which he was First-Team All-IIAC as a senior, hitting .314 overall, including .396 in conference games. SIU finished no lower than third place all four years Tabacchi played, and he was named team MVP his junior and senior years. After graduation, Tabacchi signed with the Kansas City A's and advanced as high as double-A in five minor league seasons. He is currently retired and resides in Nashville, Illinois.
"When I think back about it, the guys I played with, the teams I played against and seeing how far the school has come since I played here, its emotional," Tabacchi said. "It's exciting when I think back to McAndrew Stadium and the Men's Gymnasium, then I look at this complex and I think how can you not be an All-American playing in something like this?"
The inductees will be introduced at halftime of tomorrow's men's basketball game versus Missouri State that tips off at 7 p.m.
Berry (2008-11) was an All-American in three events at SIU — the hammer throw, weight throw and shot put. Her best finish at Nationals was fourth place in the hammer in 2010. She was a four-time MVC champion and the 2011 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year. Berry still competes and reached the finals of the hammer throw at the 2016 Olympics as a member of the U.S. National Team, placing 14th overall. A three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree, she currently resides and trains in Oxford, Mississippi.
"IÂ really was shocked (to be inducted into the Hall of Fame," Berry said. "I know the qualifications to be inducted is to be out of school for five years, but I'm still young. I feel like there are a lot of other people who should be inducted and I'm just young, I'm just getting started."
Dunn (1939-43) captained the 1943 gymnastics team that beat Minnesota and Indiana and was cited as the "top team in the Midwest." He finished seventh in the nation on the parallel bars in 1942, won six individual championships his senior year and was recognized as one of the top college gymnasts in the nation. After graduation, Dunn served as a junior officer on the USS Shubrick that played a key role in the D-Day invasion of Northern France. Dunn went on to coach gymnastics for 24 years at Washington State and Northern Illinois and posted a combined 132-69-4 record, with 48 individual champions. He is enshrined in five other Hall of Fames for his accomplishments in gymnastics. Dunn passed away last February at the age of 94 and was represented at the induction dinner by family members.
"He was very proud and fond of Southern Illinois University," said nephew John Dunn, former chancellor at SIU and current president at Western Michigan. "He was raised in Pinckneyville, and how he morphed into gymnastics, in a community that knew only one thing — basketball — is a phenomenal story. He was a very good athlete and I think he just took to the whole idea of the mechanics and strength necessary to be a very good gymnast."
Frasor (1996-1999) is one of the all-time pitching greats at Southern Illinois and recently completed a 12-year career in Major League Baseball that culminated with a World Series ring with the Kansas City Royals in 2015. In total, the right-handed reliever appeared in 679 career games, including nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, and posted a 3.73 lifetime ERA. At SIU, his name is featured throughout the record book — he's second in career strikeouts (278), fifth in career starts (41) and eighth in career innings pitched (272.1). He was a two-time "Itchy" Jones team MVP (1997, 1999).
"I've had a great run and this is just this icing on the cake," Frasor said. "There's really nothing else after this. This is kind of my Cooperstown. I didn't even know what position I was going to play when I showed up on campus. I started to grow and mature and get stronger and I just got better at pitching. I just grew as a person and learned a lot about life."
Stuart (2006-09) was a seven-time MVC long jump champion (four indoor, three outdoor) and is the only four-time conference champion in the long jump in league history. She was a two-time All-American, placing seventh at the 2008 outdoors and fourth at the 2009 indoors. She still holds the school and MVC record in both the indoor and outdoor long jump, and was key figure in two MVC team titles for the women in 2009 (indoor and outdoor). Stuart lives and trains in Auburn, Alabama, and represented The Bahamas at the Olympic Games in 2012 (placed 17th) and 2016 (placed 16th). She claimed a silver medal in the long jump at the 2015 Pan American games and won two Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships.
"I'm overwhelmed with emotions," Stuart said. "This is a very exciting experience. I never thought I would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was unexpected. It's a great honor and a privilege. (Coming to SIU) helped to build my skills and help prepare me for the higher elite competition."
Moreland (2001-04) played safety and was a key figure during the resurgence of Saluki Football in the early 2000s. He was a three-time All-American, who ranks second in school history in career pass breakups (25), sixth in career tackles (358) and tied for 13th in career interceptions (8). His 235 career interception returns yards are the second most in program history and his 204 return yards in 2004 is a single-season record. The Salukis were 20-4 during his junior and senior campaigns, winning a pair of conference titles and making two playoff appearances. Moreland was a finalist in 2003 for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the nation's best FCS defensive back. A member of SIU's All-Century team, Moreland currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida, where he is CEO and founder of Evizion Media Group.
"I got the phone call and was more than excited, I was kind of relieved," Moreland said. "I feel like I've come full circle. When I got here in 2001, Coach (Jerry) Kill had to sell us on the dream. The facilities were down, but he convinced us that we could build what we see here today in the culture at SIU. It's just great to be back."
Tabacchi (1953-56) was a rare three-sport athlete, who earned six total letters in baseball, basketball and football. Baseball was his best sport, in which he was First-Team All-IIAC as a senior, hitting .314 overall, including .396 in conference games. SIU finished no lower than third place all four years Tabacchi played, and he was named team MVP his junior and senior years. After graduation, Tabacchi signed with the Kansas City A's and advanced as high as double-A in five minor league seasons. He is currently retired and resides in Nashville, Illinois.
"When I think back about it, the guys I played with, the teams I played against and seeing how far the school has come since I played here, its emotional," Tabacchi said. "It's exciting when I think back to McAndrew Stadium and the Men's Gymnasium, then I look at this complex and I think how can you not be an All-American playing in something like this?"
The inductees will be introduced at halftime of tomorrow's men's basketball game versus Missouri State that tips off at 7 p.m.
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