Four Former Athletes and an Administrator to Enter BYU Athletic Hall of Fame
PROVO -- Clay Brown, Duncan Dylann Ceriani, Rick Fehr, Jackie Beene McBride, and Ann Valentine will be inducted into the Brigham Young University Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday, Nov. 11, in ceremonies held by the BYU Cougar Club in Cougar Stadium's Cougar Room.
The four former athletes and athletic administrator join more than 100 athletes, coaches and administrators who have received the university's highest athletic honor since the first induction banquet was held in 1975.
Brown will long be remembered as the lone BYU receiver who went up against a trio of SMU defenders in the 1980 Holiday Bowl and came down with the winning touchdown that capped BYU's first bowl victory and one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA football history. In 1980, this San Gabriel, Calif., product led the nation with TD receptions by a tight end (15) and was fittingly named All-America by the United Press International (Second Team) and the Associated Press (Third Team).
Brown graduated from BYU in business management in 1981, the same year he was the second round draft pick of the NFL's Denver Broncos. Currently living in Littleton, Colo., Brown is a member of the Broncos Alumni Council where he continues to volunteer time with numerous charities, including the American Cancer Society, Muscular Dystrophy, Children's Hospital, and various school districts and universities. BYU Football Coach LaVell Edwards will present Brown.
As an All-American, Academic All-American, national champion, patent-pending, mechanical-design engineer, Ceriani is far from your average BYU graduate. From 1984-89 this Salt Lake City star rewrote the BYU and NCAA volleyball record books, being named an All-American twice and an Academic All-American three times. She also broke the American Volleyball Coaches Association career kill record for all NCAA divisions with 2,188. Ceriani was also honored by the NCAA with its prestigious Top Six Award.
In 1989 Ceriani completed her BYU degree in electrical and computer engineering; she has since earned a master's degree in biomechanical engineering from UC Berkeley. As a mechanical design engineer for dj Orthopedics, her work has led to an invention for which the U.S. patent is currently pending. Ceriani currently lives in San Diego.
Before coming to BYU, Fehr was a PGA Junior National Champion. In 1981 he helped the Cougars win the 1981 NCAA Golf Championship. In 1982, Fehr was named First Team All-America and was a U.S. Amateur semi-finalist. In 1983 he received a Second Team All-America citation. That same year he participated in the Masters as an amateur and represented the United States as a member of the prestigious Walker Cup Team that played and defeated the British team in Turnberry, Scotland. Led by Fehr, the BYU team again established itself among the nation's best, earning a number one ranking and placing third in the 1983 NCAA Championship.
Fehr joined the ranks of professional golfers in 1984, the same year he earned his bachelor's degree in finance from BYU. Over a professional career that is now approaching two decades, Fehr has accumulated well over $1,000,000 in earnings on the PGA Tour. Among notable finishes, he has won the 1986 B.C. Open, the 1994 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, and placed second in eight other professional tournaments.
Currently living in Redmond, Wash., Fehr has been deeply involved in making contributions to his profession, to his community, and to his religion. From 1992-94 he was a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board and he has served as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Golf Ministry Advisory Board. With these programs, as with many other projects, Fehr has given generously of his time and means.
From 1980--1982, McBride was an All-American and a three-time First Team All-Conference basketball player at BYU. When she finished her eligibility, the two-time Wade Trophy candidate was only the second female player ever to score more than 2,000 points as a Cougar with 2,249 points. McBride left the Cougars ranked third all-time in single season scoring (728), second all-time in career scoring (2,249), second in career scoring average (18.1 ppg), second in career rebounds (680) and second in career steals (240). Through her career she played in 124 games, the most ever by a Cougar.
In 1984 McBride completed her family science degree at BYU. Since leaving the university, McBride has been active in her Meridian, Idaho, community as a coach, as a leader in her church's Young Women's program and as a community volunteer with the Block Home and area swimming programs.
Valentine lost only one tennis match in the entire four years while earning her bachelor's degree in physical education at Pennsylvania's Slippery Rock College (1955). After earning a master's degree at Penn State (1961) and post graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania (1962), Valentine brought her talents to BYU in 1969 when she became the women's tennis coach. While at BYU she literally changed the format of collegiate tennis by creating new national championship formats and conducting national tournaments that are now the mainstays of national collegiate competition. Over a legendary, 27-year coaching career, she won 71 percent of her matches and accumulated the 427 match victories that made her the second-winningest Division I coach in NCAA tennis history.
Twelve times she was named conference Coach of the Year, four times she was the Wilson/ITA Central Region Coach of the Year and in 1996 she received the Rolex Meritorious Service Award. Her teams won 15 conference championships; over 23 years, 19 of her teams were ranked in the top 20 and 11 in the top 10. Ann coached 17 All-American athletes who won a total of 31 All-America awards.
In 1995 she stepped down as women's tennis coach to become Associate Director of Women's Athletics and more fully promote the progress and success of the BYU women's program. Valentine's administrative insight has helped produce the funds, the facilities, and the organization necessary for the success of BYU's existing teams and the addition of women's soccer and softball. BYU Women's Athletic Director Elaine Michaelis will present Valentine.
The BYU Athletic Hall of Fame is sponsored by the BYU Cougar Club. Less than two percent of BYU varsity athletes are ever nominated for the Hall of Fame, with less than one percent being inducted. To be eligible, former athletes must have completed their athletic eligibility 10 years prior to their nomination and must be exemplary members of their community. With selection based on playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character as well as contributions to their sport, their team, their community and the university, these inductees are models of performance on and off the playing field.
