MSU Billings to Induct Four to Hall of Fame  (2/14/07)

BILLINGS, MT –  Montana State-Billings has announced that four new members will be added to its Athletics Hall of Fame and Distinction.  The 18^th annual induction ceremony will take place over brunch on Saturday, February 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.

Tickets for the event including brunch cost $10.00 and can be purchased in advance by calling the Montana State-Billings Athletics office at 657-2369.

Since MSU Billings created the Athletics Hall of Fame and Distinction in 1990, 111 members have been inducted.  The Class of 2007 – Nos. 112 – 115 – includes Kamee Love, Jeff Andrade, Hal Halvorson, and the first ever team induction, the 1986-87 Men’s Basketball team.

Love was a member of the Lady Jacket softball team from 2001-2002.  She was a starting pitcher in the softball program’s inaugural season.  Over her two seasons, Love started 53 of 54 games pitching 104.66 innings en route to a 6.89 earned run average.  Love’s leadership abilities and tenacious pitching were critical to the team in its early years as the states only NCAA softball program.

Andrade played men’s basketball for the Yellowjackets from 1983-1985.  He scored 1,041 career points in two seasons, still ranking 20^th in school history.  Andrade average 17.6 points per game over the course of his career and averaged 19.6 points per game during the 1983-84 season.  He had a career field goal percentage of 48.9, career free throw percentage of 70.5, and a career rebound average of 3.97 boards per game.  Named All-Conference in 1984 and 1985, Andrade led the 1984-85 Yellowjacket squad to the Great Northwest Conference Championship and NCAA West Region Tournament.

Halvorson was a member of the Yellowjackets men’s gymnastics team 1965-1968.  His career averages were 7.14 on rings, 7.88 on vault, 6.81 on parallel bars, and 6.54 on the high bar.  The Yellowjackets qualified for the 1967 and 1968 NAIA Nationals where he led the Yellowjackets to an 11^th place team finish both seasons.  Following his gymnastics career, at was then known as Eastern Montana College, Halvorson went on to own and operate Big Sky Gymnastics in Great Falls where he trained gymnasts to state championships and the elite level nationally.  Halvorson has coached, held clinics and workshops in several prominent gymnastics countries around the world.

The 1986-1987 Men’s Basketball team is the only team in Yellowjacket history to date that has advanced to the Final Four.  The team was named Great Northwest Conference Champions finishing the season 24-7 overall and 9-1 in the conference.  Eastern hosted the NCAA West Region Tournament in which the Yellowjackets ultimately won, defeating Cal State-Hayward and Alaska-Anchorage.  The Jackets defeated Florida Southern in the NCAA Final Four quarterfinals before falling to Gannon University in the semifinals held in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

The team was coached by Pat Douglass and was assisted by Len Wilkins and Henry Clark.  Members of the Final Four team include Blaisden Barnes, Rodney Bird, Curt Brott, Scott Ferguson, Leo Goodluck Jr., George Jackson, Jerome Johnson, Marc Johnson, Pryor Orser, Pat Reynolds, Jeff Richards, Jonathan Stands, Mark Steger, Robert Utterback, and Dominic Washington.