Dr. Jim Redd Inducted into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

WJC Athletic Director Dr. James C. Redd was among 15 individuals and two sports teams inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, February 10, in Springfield, Mo.

Redd was a stellar high school athlete and excelled in football, basketball and baseball. In college, he turned his attention to football, his first athletic love. While attending Northwest Missouri State University, he captained the team for three years and played on both sides of the ball, garnering First Team Defensive Lineman and Second Team Offensive Tackle awards in 1965. He landed his first head coaching job in 1976 at his alma mater.

Redd's service to NWMSU dates to 1967, when he was named instructor of physical education and assistant football coach. He was assistant professor of physical education and head football coach from 1976-1982; assistant professor of physical education from 1983-1986; graduate coordinator in health and physical education from 1986-1990; director of the freshman seminar from 1989-1990; associate professor of physical education from 1989-2001; director of athletics from 1994-2001; and chair of the department of health, physical education, recreation and dance from 1998-2001.

Redd's teams won 30 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association championships between 1994 and 2001, and he was the Athletic Director when Northwest Missouri won back-to-back national championships in football for NCAA Division II in 1998 and 1999. He coached the 1979 MIAA football champions and was selected "Coach of the Year" for 1979. He has been published in The Journal for Practical Business Leaders and the Missouri Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and co-authored a chapter in the Physical Education Activities Handbook published by Hunter Textbook, Inc.
Redd received his doctorate of education in health, physical education and recreation in 1986 from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater; an M.S. in physical education in 1967 from the University of Colorado at Boulder; and a B.S. in secondary education, physical education and social sciences in 1966 from Northwest Missouri State University. He also studied at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Redd held the position of Athletic Director at Northwest Missouri State until his retirement in 2001. After only a year away from the college scene, Redd was named director of athletics and physical education chair at William Jewell. While at Jewell, Redd has helped re-introduce the physical education and recreation and sport management majors.

Along the way he has touched many lives, including current Jewell head football coach Fran Schwenk. "I have known Dr. Redd since my freshmen year in college," said Schwenk. "He and I were teammates on the Northwest Missouri State University varsity football team. He was a senior captain when I was a first-year player. If it had not been for Dr. Redd I probably would have quit playing football my senior year. By my senior year he had graduated and attended graduate school and returned as a teacher and coach. Because of Dr. Redd's guidance, I was encouraged to stay with the sport I loved so much. I owe much of the success in my career to Dr. Jim Redd."

Redd has also spent numerous years serving the needs of organizations such as Pony League Baseball, AAU Basketball, American Youth Soccer and Special Olympics.


Larry Holley Climbing Career Win Ladder


Larry Holly 		A 79-55 win over Avila University on February 7 propelled William Jewell College head men's basketball coach Larry Holley past legendary coach Phog Allen, who coached for 48 years at Baker, Haskell, Central Missouri State University and the University of Kansas, into the #20 slot on the all-time career wins list (NCAA/NAIA) with victory number 747. Larry Holley is currently in his 29th year at the helm of the Cardinals (his 37th year overall as a head collegiate coach).

For statistics on the all-time career wins list for 4-year college coaches (NAIA/NCAA), click here.


Major Indoor Soccer League Drafts Kevin Nekuda

Kevin Nekuda, a senior on the William Jewell College men's soccer team, has been selected in the second round of the 2008 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) College Draft by the Orlando Sharks. Nekuda has been a four-year starter with the Cardinals, earning Heart of America Athletic Conference first team honors in 2006 & 2007. In 2006, Nekuda helped lead William Jewell College to a conference championship, regional championship and a national Final Four appearance.

"Kevin has been a great player for our program," said William Jewell's head coach Chris Cissell. "He's going to be a great player for Orlando." This is the third time in the last four years that a William Jewell College soccer player
Kevin Nekuda
has been drafted in the MISL College Draft. In 2007 former William Jewell All-American midfielder Allan Nekuda, Kevin's older brother, was drafted by the Detroit Ignition; in 2005 former William Jewell All-American midfielder Blake Ryan was drafted by the Kansas City Comets. Nekuda played high school soccer at Liberty High School and youth club soccer for the KC Legends. He also excelled in the Olympic Development Program and with the Kansas City Brass men's soccer team.



Andrew Trapp Qualifies for National Track and Field Competition


Andrew Trapp 		Junior Andrew Trapp has qualified to compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Outdoor Track and Field Nationals slated to be held May 22-24, 2008 at Ralph Korte Stadium in St. Louis, Mo.

Trapp will be representing WJC at the national event in the Half-Marathon.

Trapp qualified by running the half marathon in 1:14.43 and won his age group at the 3M Half Marathon in Texas on Sunday, January 27.

"This is such a great achievement," said assistant coach Terry Yee. "He has worked very hard to improve his time and it is great to see that hard work paying off."


Soccer Players Earn Academic All-American Honors

Five William Jewell College women's soccer players and two men's soccer players have earned Academic All-American status from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Players honored from the women's team are seniors Megan Gray, Erica Greco and Nicole Revenaugh, along with juniors Kathleen Hatfield and Anne Henry. Seniors Garrett Jahn and Jacob Patton were selected from the men's team.

In order to earn NAIA Academic All-American status, a player must be a junior or above in academic standing, be in attendance at their nominating institution for one full year, and have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year.

"We are very proud of our student athletes," said William Jewell's head coach Chris Cissell. "We recruit the best soccer student-athletes and encourage and enable high achievement on the field and in the classroom."

Jahn and Patton are repeat winners of the award after being named Academic All Americans in 2006. Megan Gray, Erica Greco and Nicole Revenaugh are also repeat Academic All-Americans.

In addition, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has announced their NSCAA Team Academic awards for 2007. Both the men's and women's WJC soccer programs received the team academic honor.

Of the 1,100 four-year colleges in the nation with varsity soccer programs (NAIA, NCAA I, II, III), only 71 schools were given the NSCAA Team Academic Award in men's and women's soccer. William Jewell College is one of only five NAIA schools in the nation to have both their men's and women's teams earn the award. Teams must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to be eligible for the award.