2018 Stephen F. Austin Hall of Fame Class Announced
7/27/2018 5:19:00 PM | Football, General, Men's Basketball
Four individuals from men's basketball and football comprise SFA's 2018 HOF class
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A trio of individuals associated with the men's basketball team and one of the best running backs in the history of Lumberjack football will make up the 2018 Stephen F. Austin Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
Former men's basketball stars Marcus Clark and the late Pete Harris join former men's basketball head coach Danny Kaspar and gridiron star Leonard Harris as the newest members of SFA's Hall of Fame. The individuals are set to be inducted during the Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, October 27, which will be just one of the many events centered around SFA's 2018 Homecoming.
Marcus Clark | Men's Basketball | 2002-06
Arguably the best point guard to ever suit up for the Lumberjacks, Marcus Clark had no qualms about taking over as the team's floor general once arriving in Nacogdoches for the 2002-03 season. That confidence and swagger helped the four-year starter and letterwinner turn into the program's top passer and one of its best defenders by the time his collegiate career came to an end.
Twice Clark earned All-Southland Conference Second Team laurels (2004-05 and 2005-06) and to this day the Marshall, Texas, product reigns as the program's career leader in both assists (454) and steals (179). While playing under head coach Danny Kaspar, Clark accumulated 1,208 points - the 17th-most in program history - and ranks among the top ten all-time in career free throw percentage (fourth, 81.7), career free throws made (sixth, 340) and games played (seventh, 112).
Clark owns two of program's top ten single-game free throw performances having made 15 in a single game twice. At Kansas State on November 26, 2005, Clark dished out a career-best 12 assists which ranks as the fifth-most by a player in a single game in the history of the program. In 2011, he was inducted into the Jacks of Honor organization.
Leonard Harris | Football | 1992-95
With Harris on their side, the Lumberjacks of the mid-1990s possessed one of NCAA Division I-AA's most potent ground attacks. By the time his days as a four-year starter and letterman under head coach John Pierce had concluded, the two-time All-Southland Conference Second Team selection had amassed a staggering 3,771 rushing yards to become the first Lumberjack in a quarter-century to eclipse the 3,000-yard rushing mark.
Harris' rushing total stood as the program record for almost two decades and to this day he ranks among the top 10 in program history in a multitude of statistical categories including career all-purpose yards (ninth, 4,171), career rushing touchdowns (second, 32), career points (ninth, 204), single-season rushing yards (fifth with 1,081 in 1995 and eighth with 1,023 in 1994) and single-season rushing touchdowns (ninth, 10). Against Piney Woods rival Sam Houston State in the 1992 season, Harris rolled up 202 yards on the ground which also stands as the 15th-highest total in a single game in SFA's annals.
During his four-year stint in an SFA uniform, the 'Jacks rolled up a 28-18-2 record and made a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The most memorable of those came in Harris' 1995 season when the 'Jacks captured victories over Eastern Illinois and at Appalachian State to punch their ticket to the national semifinals. To this day it remains the second-deepest postseason run in program history.
Pete Harris | Men's Basketball | 1970-73
Numerous individuals through the decades helped SFA reign as an NAIA national powerhouse in the Lone Star Conference but few rewrote the record books quite to the degree the late Pete Harris did.
The Baltimore, Md., native still reigns as the program's all-time leading rebounder having hauled down 1,566 boards throughout his three seasons in purple and white. Twice, in 1972 and 1973, Harris was named an All-American and also earned the title of 1971-72 Lone Star Conference MVP before his collegiate career ended.
For his career, Harris averaged an eye-popping 16.8 rebounds per game and also ranks third all-time in both points scored (1,833) and field goals made (658). Harris' 1,285 total field goal attempts are a total that no Lumberjack has surpassed.
He also holds the top three single-game rebounding performances in program history, ripping down 31 boards against Texas A&I (1/22/73) and 29 against both Paul Quinn College (12/18/72) and McMurry (2/17/73).
During Harris' tenure with SFA, the 'Jacks won two of the programs' 16 Lone Star Conference titles and racked up a combined record of 80-13 with a 47-7 showing in LSC tilts. On two occasions SFA advanced to the NAIA National Tournament and posted a third-place finish at the event in the 1971-72 season.
Following his days as a Lumberjack, Harris heard his name called by the Atlanta Hawks as the 10th pick in the seventh round of the 1973 NBA Draft. Instead of remaining with the Hawks, Harris headed overseas and enjoyed a professional career playing for teams in both Portugal and the Netherlands.
Danny Kaspar | Men's Basketball Head Coach | 2000-13
Time and time again throughout the tenure of the longest-reigning bench boss in SFA's NCAA Division I history, Danny Kaspar redefined the meaning of success for the Lumberjack men's basketball team. Through his 13-year run in Nacogdoches, Kaspar racked up a 246-141 (.636) record which featured the program's second-highest win total by a head coach all-time.
Prior to his installation as head coach before the start of the 2000-01 season, SFA had posted just a single 20-win season since becoming a full-fledged NCAA Division I member in 1986-87. By the time he departed following the 2012-13 campaign Kaspar has engineered no fewer than seven 20-win campaigns, three of which (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2012-13) yielded Southland Conference regular season titles.
A two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year (2007-08 and 2012-13), Kaspar led the 'Jacks to NIT appearances in 2008 and 2013 and also delivered the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in 2009 when the 'Jacks won the Southland Conference Tournament.
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