Meet the 2017 RecSports Hall of Honor Inductees
Established in 2017 as part of the department’s Centennial Celebration, the RecSports Hall of Honor recognizes influential alumni, staff, supporters, and athletes who have had a significant impact on Recreational Sports throughout its long history.
This inaugural class comprises a distinguished group of individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the department.
Vivien and Scott Caven
Scott Caven, BBA ’64, LLB ’67, and Vivien Caven, BS ’72, made the first major gift to launch the renovation of Clark Field, transforming it into one of the premiere lacrosse fields in the southwest. The Cavens initiated this project in memory of their son, Scotty, an incoming freshman Plan II Honors student whose athletic passion had been lacrosse. In addition to honoring their son’s memory, they also sought to honor the many Caven family members who have been involved with UT for nearly a century. The renovated facility reopened in 2011 as Caven Lacrosse and Sports Center at Clark Field. The updated facility includes more than two acres of synthetic turf, a high-performance running track, a new field and digital scoreboard.
Gary and Sylvie Crum
Gary Crum, MBA ’72, and Sylvie Crum, BA ’74, were instrumental in the renovation of the Caven Lacrosse and Sports Center at Clark Field and the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex. The couple also established the Sylvie and Gary Crum Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship has been awarded annually since 2009 to an outstanding Recreational Sports student employee. The Crum Family Fields at the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex are named in honor of their support.
René Garza
René Garza, BBA ’75, MBA ’77, was an original member of the RecSports Leadership Team, formed in 2007. René competed in intramural sports with his Acacia Fraternity brothers, earning three spots on the Intramural Wall of Fame. At an individual level, René achieved other intramural milestones, including being named to an All-Intramural Team three times. In 2006, he proposed the idea of awarding scholarships to deserving student employees, starting what is now a robust scholarship program awarding 17 scholarships each year. Together with his long-time friend and partner, Mike Carnes, he established the first endowed scholarship, the Thomas W. Dison Endowed Scholarship. René is also one of five former Acacia Fraternity members who founded the Acacia Fraternity Endowed Scholarship, paying tribute to the fraternity’s intramural achievements.
Mark L. Hart, Jr.
During his time at UT, Mark Hart, BBA’ 65, JD ’68, was a gifted college athlete, starting as a pitcher for Texas Baseball for one year then focusing on intramural sports. Mark proved himself a force to be reckoned with in intramural football, softball, volleyball, and track. He played with Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Texas Cowboys. He quarterbacked the Kappa Sigs and the legendary Legal Eagles to a number of victories and was named to an All-Intramural Team an unprecedented 11 times. The Mark L. Hart, Jr. Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually in his honor to deserving RecSports student employees.
Ross and Fran Vick
Ross W. Vick, Jr., BBA ’63, and Frances Branner Vick, BA ’58, were instrumental in making the renovation of the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex possible. The facility features the Ross W. Vick Jr. Patio, a student gathering space with ample seating and a fire pit, overlooking a sprawling lawn area. One could say that the Vick name was destined to be tied to intramural fields since Fran and Ross met at a regional intramural softball tournament in 1953. Ross was a six-time All-Intramural fast-pitch softball pitcher for Beta Theta Pi, and earned three intramural championships and two second-place awards. Fran also earned her way onto the Intramural Wall of Fame for volleyball with her sorority Alpha Chi Omega.
Anna Hiss
Anna Hiss started her career at UT in 1918 as the instructor for Physical Training for Women. Not long after arriving, she rose to the challenge of launching a women’s program to offer intramural leagues and sport clubs for women. By 1921 she was appointed director of Women’s Physical Training and was instrumental in promoting sports for women on campus and beyond. Her career spanned 36 years during which she made it her mission to instill in young women the benefits of staying healthy and active, promoting “Sports for Sports Sake.” When the need for a gym on campus became apparent, she rallied for a separate facility for women. Many of her ideas were realized in the construction of the Women’s Gym which opened in April 1931. The gym would later be named in her honor. Her passion for physical fitness was well-known and inspired the legendary Posture Pageant as an intramural contest, as well as the annual “T” Night Banquet where sport club members and intramural champions were awarded prizes based on a participatory point system that she established.
Albert A. “Sonny” Rooker
Albert A. “Sonny” Rooker was hired by Berry M. Whitaker in 1948 as the assistant director of Men’s Intramural Sports. He was later appointed as Director of the program. During his tenure, Sonny introduced a sport club program for male students, the University of Texas Sports Association for Men. Initial clubs included bowling, gymnastics, handball, soccer, softball, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling. Under his leadership, the Gregory Gym Annex was constructed, the intramural fields were relocated and expanded to their present location at 51st and Guadalupe Street. The intramural program also flourished beyond all expectations to become one of the largest and best programs of its kind in the nation.
Betty A. Thompson
Professor Thompson began her career at UT in 1954 in the Department of Physical Training for Women before being named director of the Women’s Intramural Sports program in 1968. Soon after, she was named acting director for both Men’s and Women’s Intramurals before formally assuming the title of director in 1973. She became the first female director of both men’s and women’s intramurals at The University of Texas at Austin and became the first woman to hold such a position at any major college or university. RecSports programs grew tremendously during her tenure and she established a new outdoor adventure program.
She is credited with two major achievements: the official formation of the Division of Recreational Sports in 1974 and the passage of the 1985 referendum in which students for the first time voted to approve a student fee to fund the construction of a new recreational center.
Dr. Jim Vick
Dr. Vick provided invaluable support to Recreational Sports during his tenure at UT, both as Vice President for Student Affairs and Professor Emeritus in the College of Natural Sciences. As an administrator who placed tremendous value on enriching the student experience, he promoted participation in Recreational Sports among students whenever possible because he recognized the value it had on improving their physical and mental well-being. Dr. Vick stepped forward to help facilitate the construction of the Recreational Sports Center, as well as the renovation of Gregory Gym. As an active participant in RecSports himself, Dr. Vick can also be found on the Intramural Wall of Fame with the champion Student Affairs teams.
Joe Bill Watkins
Joe Bill Watkins, BA ‘65, JD ‘68, has been a fervent supporter of Recreational Sports since he came to the Forty Acres as a student. Although he was officially a Plan II student, he often says that he majored in Delts and Intramural Sports, a reference to his membership in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and his passion for competing in team sports. He won championships in football, basketball, water basketball, and softball, earning his way up to 13 photos on the Intramural Wall of Fame. This remarkable record includes awards for All Intramural Basketball and Best Athlete Award in the Fraternity Division during his senior year. In 2007, he accepted the role of RecSports Leadership Team chair during its inaugural year. Under his tenure, the team helped create endowed scholarships that are awarded annually to deserving RecSports student employees, including the DeDe and Joe Bill Watkins Endowed Scholarship established by Joe Bill and his wife, DeDe. Joe Bill’s leadership also played an instrumental role in the fundraising efforts to renovate Whitaker Fields, which reopened as the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex in spring 2017.
Berry M. Whitaker
Berry Whitaker was hired in 1916 by then Athletic Director L. Theo Bellmont to found a men’s intramural program at UT. During the early years, the intramural department was housed in the basement of Old Main and was organized into fraternity and departmental divisions. Under his leadership, the intramural program grew from a handful of sports the first year to over 5,000 male students competing in 23 sports when he retired in 1960. He’s also credited with the creation of Fite Nite, featuring spirited intramural competitions that drew standing-room-only crowds. Perhaps Berry Whitaker’s greatest legacy is seen on the Wall of Fame in Gregory Gym. This record of the men’s intramural champions and runners-up dating from 1919 to the present represents the dream that Mr. Whitaker had when he came to the university: “ a sport for every man and every man in a sport.” Mr. Whitaker, “the grand old man on intramurals”, retired in 1960 after 54 years of service at UT. The renovated Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex bears his name.
Custis and Charles Alan Wright
Professor Charles Alan Wright founded and coached the Legal Eagles, an intramural football team comprised of UT law students who dominated the intramural leagues for over 45 years. The team achieved an incredible record of 330 victories, 44 losses, and 5 tied games. Custis Wright supported Charles and the team, often hosting dinners and victory celebrations for them in their home. Professor Wright served as the head coach until he passed away in 2000. In 2001, RecSports created the Charles Alan Wright Trophy to honor his memory as “The Winningest Coach in Texas Football History. The trophy is awarded annually to the All-University Intramural Flag Football Team each year. The newly renovated Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex bears his name.
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity has over 250 teams and individuals featured on the Intramural Wall of Fame dating back to 1921. The fraternity dominated intramural sports in the 1960s to become the number one ranked fraternity of that period based on overall participation and points earned through the intramural point system.
The record-setting points earned was achieved in 1966–67 when the Delts accumulated more than 4,600 points–the most earned by any one fraternity and the second most in UT intramural history. The Delts also made history by losing only one water basketball game during the 60s and earning eight overall championships during that same period.
All of these achievements must be credited to the scores of individuals who made up the fraternity and there was no shortage of great players. One such individual was Hall of Honor inductee, Joe Bill Watkins (’65, ’68), who is pictured on the Intramural Wall of Fame 13 times in nearly every sport offered. He also earned All-Intramural in basketball, volleyball, water basketball and football. Many more “greats” of that period deserve a mention, including Sam “Bubby” Lee (’70) who managed the Delts to a first-place finish in 1968–69, and James “Buzzy” Woodworth (’70, ’76) who managed the Delts to the all-time record in points amassed in 1966–67.
Their legacy continues with the Delta Tau Delta Endowed Scholarship, awarded annually to deserving RecSports student staff.
Legal Eagles
The Legal Eagles, an intramural football team comprised of Texas Law students, was formed in 1955. For five seasons Law Professor Charles Alan Wright played on the team and coached before restricting his role to coaching. Under Coach Wright, the team dominated intramural football leagues for almost half a century achieving an incredible record of 330 victories, 44 losses, and 5 tied games. The team won 27 of the 35 Law-Grad division championships and seven of the 14 All-University Championships.
In the early days, pre-season practice was held four times a week beginning on the first day of classes. During the season the team practiced at least twice a week. Coach Wright justified the rigorous schedule with his belief that “winning was more fun than losing.”
In 1991 Coach Wright appointed himself athletic director, naming Law Professor Tom McGarity as head coach. Brian Rider, an adjunct professor at the law school since 1998, became athletic director of the Legal Eagles in 2001 after Professor Wright’s death in 2000.
The Legal Eagles’ tradition of excellence continues today through the efforts of currently enrolled law students and team alumni.
Oak Grove
The Oak Grove intramural team were residents of the Oak Grove Cooperative, a room and board residence for UT men until its closure in 1962. In the beginning, members lived in two houses on the hill where the School of Law is now located. After World War II, Oak Grove moved to Wichita Street until the property was sold and a new house became available on Speedway, right across the street from the intramural fields..
In the fall of 1946, “The Grove” launched a winning intramural legacy that lasted well into the 1950s and earned the group over 140 team and individual photos on the Intramural Wall of Fame. In 1947–48, in addition to scoring more points than any other organization on campus, including the fraternities, the Grove had the highest scholastic average of any of the 33 men’s houses on campus and ranked seventh among all campus organizations.
Oak Grove alumni gathered for a reunion in Austin during Texas football weekend in 1993, reuniting after 31 years of leaving the University. After that first reunion, the members created the Oak Grove Endowed Scholarship to make a positive impact on the University and support student success. The group stepped up again with donations to help RecSports establish a permanent endowment for the Intramural Sports program.
Our Gang
Our Gang was an all-women intramural team that formed in the early 1970s. The team became one of the first organized women’s independent teams that came into prominence during that decade.
The team captured several championships in flag football, softball, badminton and track from 1974–78. Twice the team won All-Intramural Trophy and also earned the Jo Chapman Team Sportsmanship Award. Our Gang also goes down in the RecSports intramural history books as having won multiple individual awards, including, Best Athlete, Best Manager and Outstanding Team Manager.
During its four-year run, the Our Gang team paved the way for women on campus to enjoy the camaraderie of competing in group sports during their college years and to pursue careers in athletics.
