Cal State East Bay to honor Hall of Fame inductees
- May 7, 2012
By Matt Schwab
Bay Area News Group Sports Columnist
Six Cal State East Bay Athletic Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at a reception and dinner in the University Union on May 5. The inductees are Marion Champion (women’s volleyball), Antoinette Goode (women’s basketball/volleyball), Don Sawyer (football), Jeff Southwick (men’s tennis), Dr. Charles Harmon “Doc” Brown (track and field assistant coach), and John Nelson (men’s tennis).
A two-year outside hitter, Champion (1998-99) helped the volleyball team to back-to-back NCAA Division III playoff appearances and a 55-17 overall record.
Goode (1984-88) spent four seasons as a dominating center, collecting numerous accolades. Goode was a four-time All-Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) selection.
She remains the Pioneers’ all-time leading scorer with 1,210 career points and holds every rebounding record in the record book.
Sawyer’s athletic career reads like a true Pioneer. A member of the 1966 and 1967 Cal State Hayward football teams guided by Hall of Fame coach Les Davis, Sawyer participated in a number of pioneering firsts, including the first Far Western Conference (FWC) football game win in 1967, and the first winning football season (7-3-1,1967), and being one of the first Pioneers selected for all FWC recognition. Sawyer signed as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders in 1968, becoming the first Pioneer to sign a professional sports contract.
A seven-time all-conference and two-time All-America selection, Jeff Southwick (1979-83) helped the Pioneer men’s tennis team to collect four straight All-Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) titles.
The late Dr. Charles Harmon “Doc” Brown served as an assistant coach from 1974-92. A celebrated physician and coach, Brown was a four-time Olympic team coach, a 10-time coach to U.S. national teams, and was a member and chair of several national and international sports science committees during over 40 years in coaching.
An early supporter of women’s athletics, Brown co-founded the Millbrae Lions Track Club, helping to develop several women would become national champions, All-Americans and Olympic contenders.
Nelson began his now 29-year collegiate coaching career at then-Cal State Hayward, guiding the men’s tennis team from 1983-88. Nelson guided the Pioneers to five NCAC championships.
Online registration for the dinner is available. For more information, contact Associate Athletic Director Marissa Parry at marissa.parry@csueastbay.edu or (510) 885-2810 .