Jan. 27, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
Purdue University will induct eight new members into its Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on April 26 at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.
Seven former All-America student-athletes and a former head coach were chosen by an 11-member committee of past athletes and current university administrators as the school's ninth induction class. The eight individuals are football and track icon Rod Woodson, volleyball star Debbie (McDonald) West, track and basketball standout Corissa Yasen, wrestler Charles Jones, golfer John Konsek, football greats Bernie Flowers and Ralph "Pest" Welch, and former volleyball coach Carol Dewey.
Purdue officials will be in Fort Wayne on Tuesday to make a ceremonial announcement.
The formal induction dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will be available through the Athletic Ticket Office (800-497-7678) for $60 each.
Induction into the Hall of Fame takes place every 18 months, in a change instituted after the 2001 class was enshrined. The change allows professional athletes to participate in the induction ceremony, held in the fall since its beginning in 1994. There is a five-year waiting period from the time a former athlete, coach or administrator leaves Purdue before he or she may be nominated.
A permanent Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame plaza area is located on the outdoor concourse between Mackey Arena and the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility, near the message board on Northwestern Avenue.
2003 Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Famers
Carol Dewey, Head Volleyball Coach - Selection was based on a highly successful career as Purdue's all-time winningest volleyball coach, compiling a record of 469-256 in 20 seasons from 1975 to 1994, while winning four Big Ten championships, earning nine postseason tournament bids and emphasizing the "student" part of student-athlete. She inspired six of her players to earn All-America honors and six to earn Academic All-America recognition, while being named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1987. She is retired from coaching and now works as a loan processor for a bank in Bloomington, Ill.
Bernie Flowers, Football - Selection was based on being an All-America receiver for quarterback Dale Samuels by catching 43 passes for 603 yards during his senior season of 1952. He went on to play professional football for the Ottawa Roughriders in the Canadian Football League, where he earned All-Pro honors, and the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League in 1956 before settling into his career in life insurance. Bernie, who still lives in Lafayette, is proud of the fact that all five of his children earned degrees from Purdue.
Charles Jones, Wrestling - Selection was based on being a two-time All-American in his two years at Purdue (1991 and 1992) after transferring from Olivet Nazarene College. He was the 1992 NCAA champion and Big Ten champion at 167 pounds while posting a brilliant career record of 67-5 for a school-record winning percentage of .931, including a best-ever season of 33-1 in 1992. Charles went on to become head wrestling coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1996 to 2000 and presently is a juvenile detention supervisor for Washtenaw County near his home of Ypsilanti, Mich.
John Konsek, Golf - Selection was based on earning All-America status for three consecutive years in leading the Purdue golf team to three straight Big Ten championships as the tournament medalist. He held the distinction of never losing a head-to-head match with Ohio State's Jack Nicklaus. John was NCAA runner-up in 1958, Big Ten Medal of Honor winner in 1960 and a member of the United States Americas Cup team in 1960. He went on to medical school and is now a retired physician living in Menasha, Wis., in the summer and Pawleys Island, S.C., in the winter.
Ralph "Pest" Welch, Football - Selection was based on his career as a three-year starter at halfback for the Purdue football team from 1927 to 1929, earning All-America honors in 1929 while leading the Boilermakers to their first Big Ten championship and undefeated season. He went on to the University of Washington to become an assistant football coach for 12 years and head football coach for five years, leading the Huskies to the Rose Bowl in 1944. "Pest" was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He is deceased.
Debbie (McDonald) West, Volleyball - Selection was based on being a three-time second-team All-American, a three-time All-Big Ten selection, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a two-time Most Valuable Player for the Purdue volleyball team from 1986 to 1989. She played for Carol Dewey. Debbie's career records for kills, kills per game, total attempts and block assists still stand. She was named to the Big Ten Volleyball All-Decade team for 1981 to 1991. Debbie graduated in 1990 and went on to become an audiologist for Henry Ford Health System in West Bloomfield, Mich., near her home in South Lyon, Mich.
Rod Woodson, Football/Track - Selection was based on being an All-American in two sports: football, in which he was a four-year starter in the defensive secondary, and track, in which he set Big Ten records in the hurdles. He set a Purdue record for career interceptions (since broken) and also was a superb kickoff and punt return specialist. Rod was a first-round draft choice of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers in 1987 and has been an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, spending 16 seasons with four teams. He is one of just four players in the history of the NFL to advance to the Super Bowl with three different teams, including this year with his current team, the Oakland Raiders. Rod was a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team and All-NFL Team of the Decade for the 1990s.
Corissa Yasen, Track and Field/Basketball - Selection was based on her remarkable career as a Purdue track and field athlete from 1993 to 1996 and on one season as a starter on the women's basketball team in 1996-97. She was the 1996 heptathlon national champion. As an eight-time All-American, eight-time Big Ten champion and four-time team Most Valuable Performer, Corissa demonstrated skills in the high jump, heptathlon and pentathlon, earning the reputation as Purdue's finest female track and field athlete ever. She twice was voted Purdue's Female Athlete of the Year (1995 and 1996) and was named Varsity Walk Award winner in 1997. She is deceased.
