University News

Five Inductees Named to Western Illinois 2009 Hall of Fame Class

October 20, 2009

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Courtesy of Western Illinois Athletics

MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University Intercollegiate Athletics Department has selected five inductees to be named to its Hall of Fame for the Class of 2009.

The induction ceremony for Randy Ball (head football coach, 1990-98), Jerry Cremer (contributor), Daralyn Niedospial-Duffy (volleyball, 1978-82), Todd Hutcheson (men's basketball, 1980-84) and Venus Taylor (softball, 1994-97) will take place at the Grand Ballroom in the University Union, Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The inductees will also be honored halftime of the Hall of Fame football game, Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:05 p.m.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception and dinner is set for 7 p.m. Meals are priced at $20 per person and attendees will have three options: Beef Tenderloin Bolognese, Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce, and Vegetable Wellington with Red Pepper Coulis. To make reservations for the dinner and banquet ceremony, contact Hilary Smith at (309) 298-1874, by Oct. 23.

Randy Ball - At the helm of the Fighting Leatherneck football program from 1990-98, Randy Ball led Western Illinois to its first I-AA postseason victory (1997), its first 11-win season (1997) and its first semifinals appearance. Part of three Gateway Conference (now Missouri Valley Football Conference) Championships, his first as an assistant coach under Bruce Craddock in 1988, and final two as head coach in 1997 and 1998, Ball owns records at both Western and in the league.

He is the Western Illinois record holder for career wins in school history with a 64-41-1, .608 mark, including a 35-18 mark against Gateway Conference competition. His 51 career league wins in the Valley as head coach at Western (1990-98) and at Missouri State (1999-2005) is the most of any league head coach.

Ball was a 1997 Eddie Robinson Award finalist for the national coach of the year in addition to being named the Bruce Craddock Award recipient and Gateway Conference Coach of the Year.

After leading the Leathernecks to their second outright conference title in school history in 1998 with a 6-0 record, Ball was named the American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year. The 1998 team led the nation in holding opponents to only 9.4 points per game. Under the guidance of Ball, an instrumental part of the defense in both the 1997 and 1998 seasons was Western's first-ever player to win the Buck Buchanan Award (nation's top linebacker) in James Milton.

As a student-athlete, Ball was team captain and earned all-conference honors (1970-71) as part of the Northeast Missouri State football program. He was a member of three league championship teams between 1969-72. At Hickman High School, Ball earned varsity letters in both football and track and field (1966-68).

Today, Ball is the Personnel Director of the United Football League in Las Vegas. He has had involvement in the United National Gridiron Football League (2008), the All American Football League (2007), and was the defensive line coach at Drake University after his stints at Western and Missouri State.

Prior to taking on the head coaching role at Western, Ball spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach (1983-89) for the Leathernecks. He began his coaching career at Missouri Western State College in 1977 and moved to Illinois State as the offensive line coach (1978-80) before a year as the offensive line coach and segment coordinator at Northeast Missouri State (formerly Truman State).

Jerry Cremer - Jerry Cremer has long been an integral contributor to Western Illinois University and the Macomb area community.

Since 1998, Cremer has been a member of the Western Athletic Club (WAC), while currently serving as the vice president. He has also been on the Purple and Gold Committee since 1998, serving as co-chairman three times. Presently a member of the WIU Alumni Council, Cremer was a part of the 2007 Associate Alumni Director Search Committee. Recently, he received the 2009 Town & Gown Award from the WIU Alumni Association. Additionally, he has been an annual contributor to the athletic department for many years and has attended many alumni and athletic events including hall of fame and major donor banquets.

Dwaine Roche, Associate Director of Athletics for Development, said, "Jerry has been a visible and vital part of Western Illinois athletics for many years. He and his wife have offered both financial contributions and many hours of time to the department."

In 1989, Cremer received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture business from Western Illinois University.

Outside of Western, Cremer has been extremely active in the Macomb community. For his efforts, he received the 2007 Volunteer of the Year award from the Macomb Chamber of Commerce & Downtown Development. Currently, he serves on numerous committees and organization boards. Among those include the Macomb Holiday Basketball Tournament Committee (since 2001), the Macomb Chamber of Commerce (since 1985), the McDonough Country Visitors Bureau Historical Barn Preservation Committee (since 2007), the Gus Macker Basketball Tournament Committee (since 2006), the Spoon River College Advisory Board (since 2006) and the Spoon River College Foundation Board (since 2008). He was a charter member and 2003 Chairman on the Macomb Educational Foundation Board (member since 1992) and is the local financial chairman for the Boy Scouts of America (member since 2003).

From 1997-2007, he served on the Macomb High School Athletic Boosters and held a seat on the Macomb High School After-Prom Committee. He served as Chairman for each group from 2005-07 with the MHS Athletic Boosters and from 2003-07 with the the MHS After-Prom Committee. He has also held positions on the McDonough County Extension Council (1994-99, member; 1997 & 99 Chairman), the Macomb School District Board of Education (1994-99) and the Macomb Little League Board of Directors (1992-02, Treasurer).

From 1997 to present day, Cremer is the Farm Manager for the Trust Department at Citizen's Bank, A Divison of Morton Community Bank. His previous positions include manager at Allen's Feed & Grain in Colchester, Ill., from 1994-97 and sales representative at MoorMan Manufacturing in Quincy, Ill., from 1978-94.

Cremer continues to play an active role during the athletic seasons for both the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks and the Macomb Bombers as he moderates the Monday luncheons for the Macomb Downtown Athletic Club held at the Sports Corner at 124. Cremer resides in Macomb with his wife, Diana, and three sons, Adam, Aaron and Aric.

Daralyn Niedospial-Duffy - Daralyn Niedospial-Duffy played an integral role in establishing the early years of Western Illinois volleyball, a program which began in 1976. A four-year letterwinner and starter, she captained two teams (1980, 81), was voted team MVP twice (1980, 81) and team "best all-around player" once. In four years as part of the then Westerwinds, her team accumulated a record of 64-74-6, which included one 20-win year (1981). The 1981 Western Illinois team defeated Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, Wisconsin and Missouri to take first place at the Southern Illinois University Classic.

While at Western, Niedospial-Duffy was also a Special Olympics coach, an intramural sports participant, and a Western summer volleyball camp coach. In the offseason for the intercollegiate varsity team, she participated in the United States Volleyball Association as part of Western's club team. Niedospial-Duffy graduated from Western Illinois in 1982 with a bachelor of science degree in education and an Illinois Type 10 Certificate with areas Educable Mentally Handicapped and Learning Disabled.

A 1978 graduate of Queen of Peace High School, Niedospial-Duffy was a four-year participant on the volleyball team. Her senior year, the team was runner-up at the 1977 Illinois High School Association State Championships, while individually she was voted all-area and the team's most improved player.

After Western, Niedospial-Duffy gained a variety of experiences in special education and coaching while garnering numerous accolades. Most notably, she was recognized as the coach of the "Team of the Month" in the August 2005 issue of Volleyball Magazine and the 1985-86 Reavis High School Coach of the Year. She is also a certified Pre-Vocational Coordinator and behavior disorder instructor and trained in the SAVI/SELPH science program.

Presently, and for the last eight years, Niedospial-Duffy has been a special education teacher for the Lemont/Bromberek School District 113A. She resides in Lemont, Ill., and has two daughters, Kayla Marie, 16, and Karly Lyn, 14.

Todd Hutcheson - Todd Hutcheson was instrumental in the success of Western Illinois men's basketball in the 1980's. A four-year varsity letterwinner at Western, he received a number of academic and athletic honors and is still among Western's all-time leaders in a number of statistical categories. In 1984, his senior campaign, he earned first-team all-conference honors, was voted as most valuable player at the conference tournament and was recognized as an honorable mention all-American.

Currently, Hutcheson is tied for 12th in career points at Western (1,228) and is a member of the prestigious 1,000 Point Club. Other notable statistical records include: 15th in total single-season rebounds (256), second in career field goal percentage (.535, 455-850), eighth in career field goals (408), ninth in career field goals made (298), 10th in career free-throw attempts (386), eighth in total single-season free-throw attempts (190) and was the 1983-84 team free-throw leader (132).

Hutcheson saw success off the court as well. In 1984, Hutcheson received the Division I Basketball Academic All-American Post-Graduate Scholarship Award. He was a recipient of the James Grigsby Student Leader Award and was selected to the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity. Hutcheson graduated from Western Illinois in 1984 with High Honors and a bachelor's degree of applied science in industrial technology and a minor in mathematics and operations management.

After Western, Hutcheson went on to attain a variety of professional experiences and accolades. In 1998, he earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Iowa. In 2007-08, he was selected to and completed the Leadership Iowa Program. In 2005, the Rockwell Collins plant in Coralville, Iowa, which he directed, was a finalist site for the Shingo National Business Prize. From 1996-97, he was the President of the Collins Leadership Club. He was a member of the 1995 Rockwell "Chairman's Team Award" winning team and was the 1985 Rockwell International Production Operations Engineer of the Year.

A Boone, Iowa native and 1980 graduate of Boone High School, Hutcheson achieved numerous recognitions prior to Western. He lettered in three varsity sports at Boone, basketball (1977-80), football (1978-79) and track and field (1977-80). In basketball, he earned all-state honors in 1980, all-conference honors in 1979 and 1980 and was named a Street and Smith All-American in 1980. He holds the high school records for points, rebounds and shooting percentage over a career, season and single-game. As a football player, he was named an all-conference performer in 1978 and 1979 and all-state in 1979. In track and field, he was conference champion in the high jump (1979) and shot put (1980) and participated in two Drake Relays (1979 and 1980). He also holds the school records in the high jump (6'6"-1979) and shot put (53'4"-1980). He was a National Honor Society member, on the honor roll for all eight high school semesters and a Geoppinger Award Winner.

Presently, and since 2006, Hutcheson is the Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Senior Director for Human Resources and Lean. Previously, he has served for Rockwell Collins as Plant Director (2003-06), Director for Lean Supply, Sub-Contracts and Logistics (2001-03), Director for Build Core Process Optimization (2001), Enterprise Resource Planning Programs (1996-01) as well as various operation leadership positions (1984-96).

Hutcheson resides in Marion, Iowa with his wife, Cindy, sons, Tige (19) and Trey (9) and daughter, Allie (16).

Venus Taylor - Venus Taylor joins the Western Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame after a prolific career for the Fighting Leatherneck softball team from 1994-97. During her career, she led Western to three consecutive regular-season Mid-Continent Conference (now The Summit League) titles from 1995-97.

She has established herself as one of the best players to come through the softball program, holding the school's single-season records in hits (68), runs scored (50) and stolen bases (42). The outfielder's 42 stolen bases in 1997 is also the most by any player in Summit League history. In 1997, she was named the league's player of the year as she led the team to a 31-22-1 record and a conference title.

Taylor graduated in May of 2007 with a degree in physical education and a minor in business management before starting her professional softball career in the summer of 1997. She played for a total of five teams throughout her career including the Carolina Diamonds (1997-98), the Tampa Bay Firestix (1999-2000), the National Pro Fastpitch Tour Team (2001), the New York New Jersey Juggernauts (2002) and the Chicago Bandits (2003). She was selected to the league's all-star team on two occasions and was a member of two world championship teams (Tampa Bay Firestix, 1999 & New York New Jersey Juggernauts, 2002).

Taylor began her coaching career in 2001 as an assistant coach at Lake City C.C., helping the team win the NJCAA national championship. The following year she became the head coach and led the team to a 47-10 record and a Mid-Florida Conference Title. Taylor also had brief coaching stints at Georgia Tech (2002-03, assistant coach) and at Bradley (2003-05, head coach).

After her coaching and playing career, she began working for her current employer, Wilson Sporting Goods Co., in Chicago, Ill. Taylor's responsibilities include organizing and developing a marketing and promotional strategy to optimize the Wilson, Demarini and ATEC brands and product awareness in the sport of fastpitch softball. She is also responsible for establishing and negotiating sponsorship agreements with collegiate, competitive, Olympic and professional softball teams. Taylor has signed collegiate teams such as Michigan and LSU as well as signing contracts with Olympic athletes such as Cat Osterman and Crystl Bustos.

Taylor is the ninth member of the softball program to be inducted into Western's Athletic Hall of Fame. She joins players Jackie Crescio, Sandy Fischer, Wendy Hedberg (basketball, softball and field hockey inductee), Brenda Heyl, Robin McConnell (basketball and softball inductee), Gail Scott, Pat Stoffel (basketball and softball) and Kathy Veroni (former head coach).

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