CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE TO INDUCT FOURTH HALL OF FAME CLASS

WARRENSBURG, MO (December 16, 1994) -- Six individuals and one team make up the fourth class of honorees for Central Missouri State University's Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11, at a 10 a.m. brunch in the University Union Ballroom.

Chosen by the Hall of Fame selection committee to represent the early era (prior to 1945) of Central Missouri State athletics are: Eph Markey--football and basketball--and Herb Conyers--basketball. Selected from the recent era (post-1945) are: Jim Urczyk--football and Marilyn Carlson--basketball and track. The inductee from the coach/administrator category is former director of athletics Floyd Walker. Chosen from the special recognition category is former women's physical education faculty member Jessie Jutten. The team picked for induction is the 1970 football team.

Markey played football and basketball and also competed in track for the Mules from 1917-1921. He was the Mules' second-leading scorer on the 1920-21 basketball team that won the MIAA and went 22-2 for the season. Following his graduation from Central Missouri, Markey went on to be a successful high school coach in Missouri for 33 years, 29 of which were spent at Kansas City's Northeast High School. In 1984, a memorial scholarship award was established at Central Missouri in his name and is awarded each year to a designated Mules' football player. This past July Markey was inducted posthumously into the Missouri High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Conyers was a four-year basketball player for the Mules from 1938-42. He was the second-leading scorer on the Mules' MIAA championship team of 1941-42 and earned first-team all-MIAA recognition. Born in Cowgill, he also played football two years and competed in track one year during his Central Missouri career. He left Central Missouri to play professional baseball in 1942, then enlisted in the Army Air Corps after World War II began. He served three years and flew 56 bomber missions in the Pacific. He resumed his baseball career after his military duty and led four different minor leagues in batting. In 1949 he was the MVP of the Texas League with Oklahoma City, where he hit .355. He had a brief trial in the major leagues with Cleveland in 1950. He came back to Central Missouri and completed work on his bachelor's degree in 1951 and later earned a master's degree. He was a teacher and coach at Collinwood (Ohio) High School for 12 years before he died of cancer in 1964 at the age of 43.

Urczyk was a standout offensive tackle for the Mules from 1966-68. A native of McKees Rocks, Pa., he transferred to Central Missouri from the University of Miami and was a three-year starter for the Mules. In his senior season of 1968, the Mules earned a bid to the Mineral Water Bowl and Urczyk became the first Mules' football player to be a first-team selection on the Associated Press Small College All-America team. Currently residing in Olathe, Kansas, Urczyk is in his 18th year as the head wrestling coach at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. Last year his program produced two individual state champions.

Carlson came to Central Missouri from the small west central Missouri town of Cleveland and became the first "superstar" of women's athletics at CMS, excelling in basketball and track from 1973-77. When the University initiated its annual outstanding senior female athlete award in 1977, Carlson was the first recipient. In basketball, at a time when much of the Jennies' competition consisted of what are now NCAA Division I schools, Carlson led the Jennies in scoring three straight years (1974-76) and in rebounding two straight years (1975-76). Her scoring total of 1,388 points ranks ninth on the Jennies' career list. In track, she earned All-America honors four times. Five records she set in 1976 (400 meters, 800 meters and mile indoors; 800 meters and 400-meter hurdles outdoors) still stand as the Jennies' records in those events. She graduated cum laude from Central Missouri in 1977 and has since earned a master's degree in computer science and is nearing completion of her doctorate in mathematics education. Since 1990, she has been director of college algebra in the department of mathematics at the University of Kansas.

Walker originally came to Central Missouri in 1962 as head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach. In 1966 he was named director of athletics and served in that capacity until 1980. During his tenure as athletics director, numerous major advancements were made in athletics at Central Missouri, including the construction of the Multipurpose Building and the current baseball and softball facilities.

The Mules' football program received two bowl game invitations. In addition to his duties as athletics director, Walker also was a professor in the physical education department. He served on the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee for six years and chaired that committee for the 1979-80 season.

After leaving Central Missouri, Walker spent six years as the assistant athletics director at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, when the school made its transition from an NAIA program to an NCAA Division I program. Now retired, Walker and his wife, GAnna, live in Warrensburg

Jutten is considered one of the principal figures in the growth and development of women's athletics at Central Missouri State. She served on the University's faculty for 22 years and for 20 of those years was chair of the women's physical education department. It was during her tenure that the women's basketball, softball and field hockey programs were established and helped pave the way for Central Missouri to develop one of the top women's athletics programs in the country. A native of St. Joseph, Jutten also served on Central Missouri State's Board of Regents and has been involved in numerous volunteer programs, particularly with the Red Cross. She retired from the University in 1975 and still lives in Warrensburg.

The Mules' 1970 football team, coached by Howard Mahanes, enjoyed an outstanding regular season, finishing 9-1 and sharing the MIAA championship with Northeast Missouri. Although the NCAA's Division II playoff format did not begin until 1973, the Mules' bid to the Pecan Bowl in Arlington, Texas, to face top-ranked Arkansas State was the equivalent to receiving a playoff bid. The Mules lost the regionally-televised game 38-21 to the undefeated Indians. Quarterback Steve Eckinger was the MIAA MVP and was joined by offensive tackle Tony Frusco and defensive back Ron Collier on the first-team all-MIAA squad. Eckinger, Frusco and wide receiver Eddie Coates each received honorable mention All-America recognition by the Associated Press.

The Feb. 11 induction brunch is open to the public. Tickets are $8.00 and can be obtained by contacting the Central Missouri State Athletics office at 543-4250 by Feb. 6. The 1995 inductees also will be introduced and recognized at halftime of the Feb. 11 Mules' basketball game against Missouri Western.