Utah State University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame 2015 Class

Utah State University's 15th president, a two-time volleyball All-American, the most successful gymnastics coach in school history, the most prolific wide receiver in school history, one of the best men's basketball players in school history and the first female athlete to earn a scholarship in school history and most successful Aggie softball coach make up the latest class of Utah State University’s Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.

A dinner and induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame's 13th class is Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, at the Riverwoods Conference Center in Logan. Reservations can be made at the USU Athletics website closer to the ceremony’s date.

The six inductees include Stan L. Albrecht, the university's 15th president; Lucia Chudy, a two-time All-American volleyball player; Ray Corn, the most successful Aggie gymnastics coach ever; Kevin Curtis, the most prolific wide receiver in school history; Spencer Nelson, one of the best Aggie basketball players ever; and Lloydene Searle; the first female athlete to earn a scholarship in school history and the most successful Aggie softball coach ever.

“We are extremely proud of the wonderful collective achievements of this year’s class,” said USU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes. “This group joins 81 other outstanding individuals, along with three teams, to further ensure the proud tradition of Aggie Athletics.”

A total of 87 individuals and three teams have been inducted into the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1993 when 12 initial members were inducted.

Located inside the Steve Mothersell Hall of Honor at the Jim and Carol Laub Athletics-Academics Complex at the north end of Romney Stadium. the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame gives fans the opportunity to view biographical information and watch videos on each of the inducted members.

A committee made its final selections for this year's class in January, 2015. The inductees fit into one of five categories that include (1) student-athlete, (2) coach, (3) team, (4) athletics staff member and (5) contributor/special achievement. Nominees must receive at least 75 percent of the committee’s vote to be eligible for induction.

Members of the committee include Scott Barnes, Jana Doggett, Gregg Gensel, Patty Halaufia, Craig Hislop, Dee Jones, Lauren Keller, Hal Labelle, Al Lewis, Carl Lundahl, Dale Mildenberger, Jimmy Moore and Doug Hoffman (chairman).

2015 Utah State University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame Class

DR. STAN L. ALBRECHT
Utah State University President
Years: 2005-Present
Stan L. Albrecht was named Utah State University's 15th president Feb. 1, 2005. At the time of the announcement, Albrecht was serving as USU’s executive vice president and provost, a position he had held since 2001. He previously served as USU’s dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences from 1998-2001. Albrecht has had many successes during his tenure as president. Under his leadership, the university launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign that raised $500 million by its completion in October, 2012. He has also had a significant impact on the Athletics Department at Utah State with the growth of its infrastructure with the construction of the Jim and Carol Laub Athletics-Academics Complex, the ICON Sports Performance Center, the Wayne Estes Center and upcoming renovations to the west side of Romney Stadium. He was also instrumental in USU’s invitation for membership into the Mountain West Conference in 2012. He also serves on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and on the NCAA Board of Governors. Prior to his arrival at Utah State, Albrecht served as an administrator and professor at the University of Florida and at Brigham Young University. He began his academic career as an assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University. Albrecht received his doctorate from Washington State in 1970, a master’s degree?from Washington State in 1968 and bachelor’s degree from BYU in 1966. All three degrees were in sociology.

LUCIA CHUDY
Hometown: Woonsocket, R.I.
Sports: Volleyball, Track & Field
Years: 1977-79
One of just four volleyball players in school history to earn multiple All-America honors, Lucia Chudy was a great middle blocker for Utah State during its glory days in the late 1970s. A two-time Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) All-American, Chudy helped Utah State volleyball to its only national championship in 1978, followed by a national runner-up finish in 1979 as well as a 10th-place finish at the AIAW National Tournament in 1977. During the 1977 season, USU set the school-record for wins finishing the year with a 46-11-2 record, including a 10-1 mark in the Intermountain Athletic Conference (IAC) and taking first-place at the AIAW Regional Tournament. During its national championship run in 1978, USU posted a 42-4-2 record. Chudy, who was also a two-time all-IAC selection, helped Utah State to a 123-20-6 (.846) record during her three-year career, including a 30-3 (.909) conference mark. While at Utah State, Chudy also excelled as a track and field athlete and placed third in the high jump at the prestigious Jessie Owens Invitational during her senior season. Chudy’s success in volleyball continued after her college career. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1980-81. She played professional volleyball in Italy for 10 years and was an assistant volleyball coach at Brown University from 1999-2004, helping the Bears win Ivy League championships in 2000 and 2002. In 2008, Chudy and the rest of the 1978 National Championship volleyball team were inducted into the USU Athletics Hall of Fame, the first-ever team inducted.

RAY CORN
Sport: Gymnastics Head Coach
Years: 1978-2008
Ray Corn was hired as Utah State's first-ever gymnastics coach, transitioning the program from club level to NCAA status, and served in that capacity for 31 years before retiring in 2008. Corn, who had an overall record of 442-444-2 (499), with a regular-season mark of 389-284-2 (.578), led the Aggies to the postseason 26 times, including five trips to the national championships. In 1978, Corn took a club-level Utah State gymnastics team and transformed it into an Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) power, finishing 30-4 in his first season. The next year, the Aggies made the first of four consecutive trips to the AIAW National Championships, finishing as high as ninth in 1982. During his USU coaching career, Corn led the Aggies to four Big West Conference Championships (1992, 1996, 1998, 2001) and the 2005 Western Gymnastics Conference Championship. Overall, Corn coached three All-Americans, three Olympians, three World University Game Trials competitors and nine NCAA national qualifiers, and was a six-time conference coach of the year (1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2001), along with being named the 1991 Midwest Regional Coach of the Year. In 1991, USU finished 12th as a team at the NCAA Championships. Between 1991 and his retirement in 2008, 32 gymnasts earned academic All-America honors a total of 50 times under Corn, while 92 gymnasts received academic all-conference accolades. Corn’s 1990 team won the NCAA Academic Championship for the highest team grade point average in the nation. Along with the USU Athletics Hall of Fame, Corn has also been inducted into the National Association of College Professors of Phi Kappa Phi.

KEVIN CURTIS
Hometown: South Jordan, Utah
Sport: Football
Years: 2001-02
Regarded as one of the most explosive wide receivers in school history, Kevin Curtis earned Associated Press Third-Team All-American honors and Football News Honorable Mention All-American honors as a junior in 2001 and was a two-time first-team all-independent selection for Utah State during the 2001 and 2002 seasons after transferring from Snow College where he was a second-team All-American. During his junior year as a walk-on, Curtis led the nation with 9.1 receptions per game and set single-season school records for receptions (100), receiving yards (1,531), most double-digit reception games (6), most 100-yard receiving games (9), and most consecutive 100-yard receiving games (6), while adding 10 touchdowns. As a junior, Curtis also ranked third nationally in receiving yards per game and 19th in all-purpose yards per game and had 252 receiving yards against Weber State to rank as the second-most in a single-game in school history. Curtis again led the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns during his senior season when he ranked seventh in the nation in receiving yards per game and 12th in the country in receptions per game. His 1,258 receiving yards as a senior still ranks fourth all-time in school history, while his 74 catches rank fifth all-time. His 7.9 receptions per game during his two-year career also rank first all-time in school history, and he ranks second all-time in school history in both career receptions and career receiving yards. Curtis, who had 19 receiving touchdowns during his Aggie career to rank tied for fifth all-time in school history, had four touchdown receptions of 79 or more yards during his Aggie career, which is a school record. Following his collegiate career Curtis was selected in the third round of the 2003 National Football League Draft by the St. Louis Rams and spent nine years in the NFL with the Rams (2003-06), Philadelphia Eagles (2007-09), Miami Dolphins (2010), Kansas City Chiefs (2010) and Tennessee Titans (2011).

SPENCER NELSON
Hometown: Pocatello, Idaho
Sport: Men’s Basketball
Years: 1999, 2003-05
One of the best all-around talents in school history, Spencer Nelson was named a Mid-Major All-American and the mid-major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com as a senior in 2005 when he was the only player in the nation to average 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. During his senior season, Nelson was also named a first-team all-Big West selection, a Big West all-tournament team member, the league’s Hustle Player of the Year for the third consecutive season and a member of the United States Basketball Writer's All-District VIII team. As a senior, Nelson shot 60.0 percent from the field and 78.7 percent from the free throw line, and finished the year ranked first in the Big West Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, second in rebounding and field goal percentage, third in scoring and assists and fifth in free throw percentage. He finished his Aggie career with 1,283 points, 800 rebounds and 62 blocked shots, and ranks 19th all-time in school history in scoring, eighth in rebounding and 10th in blocked shots. He also ranks third all-time in school history in career field goal percentage, seventh in games played, ninth in double-figure rebound games, 10th in double-doubles, 10th in both free throws made and attempted and 12th in assists. Nelson, who was named second-team all-Big West as a junior and to the honorable mention team as a sophomore, led USU in rebounding for three-straight years from his sophomore to senior seasons. Nelson also holds three of the top-10 field goal percentage marks in school history. Nelson was also a three-time academic all-Big West honoree and one of 16 Aggie greats named to USU’s All-Century basketball team in 2005. Nelson has spent the past 10 years playing oversees in Germany, Italy, Greece and Spain.

LLOYDENE SEARLE
Hometown: North Ogden, Utah
Sports: Women's Basketball, Softball, Volleyball, Softball Head Coach
Years: 1972-75 - Student-Athlete; 1981-97 - Head Coach
Lloydene Searle was the first female to earn an athletic scholarship in Utah State history where she competed in volleyball, basketball and softball during her Aggie career. She was named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year during her senior season in 1975. A four-year captain in each sport she competed in, Searle earned all-conference honors in both basketball and softball as well as a Kodak All-American basketball team nomination. Following her collegiate career, Searle played professional softball for one year before entering the coaching fraternity. In 1981, she was named Utah State's head softball coach and led the Aggies to a national championship, its second-straight, in her first season. In 17 years as the Aggies head coach, Searle compiled a record of 467-345-2 (.739) and is the school’s all-time leader in wins and games coached. During her 17 years at Utah State, she averaged 30 wins per season and led USU to the Women’s College World Series five times (1981, 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993). Utah State won a school-record 43 games in 1992. In 1993, Searle was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year when the Aggies tied for the league title, its last in school history. Searle was also named the High Country Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1985. Overall, Utah State won five conference championships under Searle (1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1993). She coached 15 All-Americans, 21 all-region selections and 30 all-conference honorees. In 2011, Searle and the rest of the 1981 National Championship softball team were inducted into the USU Athletics Hall of Fame.

(See a complete list of previous inductees by class in the full story at the Athletics website.)