Oct. 7, 2005
Pocatello, ID --- Colonel David V.S. Kirkpatrick, one of Idaho State University athletics' most prolific boosters, has been named the recipient of the ISU Sports Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, joining with five former student-athletes in the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2005. Joining "The Colonel" is former track athlete Mark Byrne, Lloyd Harris, who played basketball in the late 1950s, women's basketball standout Nancy (Imhoff) Jones, who played in the early 1990s, and football players Dave Walser off of the 1981 National Championship team, and Marcus Jackson, who played from 1993-96 before his All-American career was tragically cut short.
With the five new inductees into the ISU Sports Hall of Fame, the total number of members in the Hall is 190. The 2005 class will be inducted at halftime of this Saturday's football game vs. Montana. The ISU Hall of Fame is located in the ISU Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, adjacent to Holt Arena.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted in 2003 to honor significant members or contributors to the athletic department who might not have attended Idaho State University. Sam Bennion was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and Mel Morgan was honored last year.
In order to be eligible for selection to the Hall, a candidate must have attended Idaho State for at least one year and excelled in at least one intercollegiate sport. Preference is given to those who have been out of school for at least 10 years. Voting is restricted to Hall of Fame members who are on the Selection Committee.
Colonel David V. S. Kirkpatrick (Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient): Kirkpatrick has been almost continually affiliated with Idaho State University since joining the ISU faculty in 1951. Kirkpatrick has served for numerous years on the Bengal Foundation Board of Directors, and he has received many yearly awards for topping the $10,000 mark during the annual Bengal Foundation Fund Drive. The Colonel also actively participates in the "I Love ISU" academic scholarship fund-raiser, and he endows several scholarships. A former Army officer as well as the first commanding officer of ISU's ROTC, the Colonel has also served as ISU's Director of Housing, and he has served as an emeritus professor of military science. It is estimated that the Colonel has single-handedly raised more than a quarter-million dollars in athletic and academic scholarships.
Lloyd Harris (Men's Basketball, 1954-56, 57-58): Playing in a time when stats were scarcely kept at Idaho State, Lloyd Harris was one of the mainstays of Idaho State's dominant men's basketball team, keeping the Bengals on their 10-year reign of supremacy of the old Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Harris played for three years for the Bengals, leading Idaho State to a combined 58-22 overall record in his three years, plus 30-2 in the Rocky Mountain Conference, winning three titles and advancing to three NCAA Tournaments, where Idaho State defeated Arizona State in the 1958 tournament's opening round. Harris, who helped ISU go 37-5 at home during his three seasons, has six former teammates; Rick Bauer, Bus Connor, Bill Horrocks, Chuck Koval, Les Roh, and Gail Siemen currently in the Hall.
Mark Byrne (Track and Field, 1988-89): Byrne won six Big Sky Conference championships, winning the 800-meter titles in both indoor and outdoor track and field in both 1988 and 1989, and he also ran the anchor leg of the 4x800-meter indoor relay team in 1988 and 1989. Byrne's winning times in both the indoor and outdoor championships were the second-fastest times in Big Sky Conference history, and he was named the Outstanding Track Athlete at the 1989 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track Championships. A 4.00 student, Byrne was a four-time Big Sky All-Academic performer. In his four seasons, Byrne never lost to a Big Sky Conference runner. In the year 2000, Mark authored the book "I Kicked the Devil in the Shins", about his fight with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Nancy (Imhoff) Jones (Women's Basketball, 1985-89): A four-year starter for Idaho State, Nancy was named ISU's Most Valuable Player for the 1988-89 season. Jones currently ranks in the career top ten in eight various statistical. She is sixth all-time in scoring with 1,144 points, fifth in steals, fifth in field goals made, fourth in field goals attempted, 10th in free throws made, fourth in free throws attempted, and 10th in assists. Jones made three Big Sky Conference All-Academic Teams, as well as earning Regional All-Academic honors in both 1988 and 1989. In 1989, Jones was a GTE Third Team Academic All-American. Jones stayed with ISU and served as a graduate assistant coach, and coached the JV girls basketball team at Twin Falls High School for four seasons and has spent the past three years as the head coach at O'Leary Junior High School.
Dave Walser (Football, 1978-81): Walser was a First Team All-Big Sky selection at linebacker, anchoring a defense that helped propel Idaho State to a national title. A four-year player who saw ISU go from 0-11 in 1979 to a national championship in 1981, Walser was a standout his entire career, leading the team in tackles for loss in 1981 while serving as the defensive captain. Although they didn't officially record sacks when he played, he took down Montana quarterbacks five times in 1980. Walser still is tied for the most fumble recoveries by an ISU freshman with three, and he led the team in fumble recoveries in both 1978 and in 1980. Walser, who also earned a Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honor in 1981, is now the fourth member of the 1981 national championship team to have been inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame, joining Case DeBruijn, Mike Machurek, and Bill Snapp.
Marcus Jackson (Football, 1993-96): Marcus earned Second Team All-American honors as a defensive back in 1995, helping the Bengals to their first winning season in 12 years. On his way perhaps to other All-American season, Jackson suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury in the season's third game, becoming paralysed as a result. Jackson was unanimously selected First Team All-Big Sky Conference by the league's coaches after earning second team honors in 1995. In each year following the injury, the ISU football team selected the "Marcus Jackson Award" recipient, voted on by the team for the player who showcases Jackson's courage and fighting spirit. While Jackson's athletic career ended that September, Marcus forged ahead. He returned to Idaho State in 1998, and earned his bachelor's degree in business in 1999. Jackson is now the president and owner of OTS Athletes, which stands for "Only the Strong", a web service aimed at placing high school student-athletes in college.
