2017 Hall of Fame Class Announced

AMHERST, Mass. – On Friday, University of Massachusetts Athletics announced the six new members that will be inducted into the George "Trigger" Burke UMass Athletics Hall of Fame as the Class of 2017. The official ceremony will be held Fri., Sept. 29, at 6 p.m., in the Campus Center Auditorium.

The Class of 2017 includes Clarence Brooks (football, 1969-72), Judy Dixon (head tennis coach, 1992-2017), Tim Edwards (men's basketball, 1963-67), Bob Hansen (baseball, 1967-69), Mike Stone '82 (head baseball coach, 1988-2017) and Jane Welzel (cross country, 1975-77; track and field 1976-77).

Clarence Brooks (football, 1969-72)
New Bedford, Massachusetts native Clarence Brooks was a four-year letterwinner on UMass' offensive line. He was selected first-team All-Yankee Conference and first-team All-New England as a senior in 1972. Also in his final campaign, he led the Minutemen to the Yankee Conference Championship with a conference record of 5-0 and overall record of 9-2. As a team captain, he also guided UMass to its' first-ever postseason win at the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl.

Brooks spent 1993-2016 on staff with the Ravens, Dolphins, Browns and Bears of the National Football League, primarily working with the defensive line. In the collegiate ranks, he spent the 1976-1992 campaigns on staff at Arizona, Syracuse and with the Minutemen. He was passionately active in the Baltimore inner city community, promoting social responsibility and personal accountability to young adults.

Upon his passing in September 2016 after a year-long battle with esophageal cancer, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Brooks, "one of the finest coaches I have ever met, he changed the lives and influenced players and coaches for the better. He was a great man, loving husband and devoted father. He was as tough and determined in adversity as you'll ever see and as loyal a friend as there is."

Judy Dixon (head tennis coach, 1992-2017)
Judy Dixon's 316-227 record in 25 seasons makes her the winningest tennis coach in UMass history (356-241 overall, 28 seasons). Her coaching tenure at UMass began in 1993 as the head of both the men's and women's tennis programs – a role she continued until 2001. In her time coaching the men's team, she posted a 95-90 record leading the Minutemen to the 1996-97 New England Championship title.

The 2017 Wilson/ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year, Dixon paced the squad to the program's second conference title and second appearance at the NCAA Championships. During her tenure, she mentored 60 players who earned All-Atlantic 10 or All-Academic Team honors, including two Performers of the Year, six Rookies of the Year and one A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year.

Dixon eclipsed the 300-win mark on April 2, 2016 in a home victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. She is a six-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. With a mark of 17-5 overall in 2014-15, Dixon's Minutewomen posted the second-most wins in a season and were on the verge of winning the Atlantic 10 title before an injury cut short the championship match for UMass. Following the year, Dixon was recognized for the fifth time as the A-10 Coach of the Year (1998, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2017). Her squad was bolstered by Ana Yrazusta who was named the A-10 Rookie of the Year and senior Chanel Glasper who set the new program win record for singles play with 77 career victories. In 2001, Dixon led the Minutewomen to the NCAA Tournament and a program-record 20-win campaign.

Tim Edwards (men's basketball, 1963-67)
Tim Edwards was a member of former head coach Jack Leaman's first team at UMass, pacing his squads to a 39-34 record during his tenure. He sits second all-time in rebounding with a 12.5 per-game average, behind only Julius Erving, and is a member of the 1,000-point club, averaging 14.2 points (1,022 total) over his career. He was named to the 1967 All-Yankee Conference First-Team and NABC AllDistrict Third-Team.

Edwards went on to earn his MBA at Harvard Business School and work for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Defense, Interior, Commerce, Energy, Housing & Urban Development and AT&T. He was selected to participate in the prestigious Congressional Fellows Program and received a Vice Presidential NPR Hammer Award for his exemplary work for the Department of Defense.

Bob Hansen (baseball, 1967-69)
A star on the baseball diamond, Bob Hansen led UMass to the College World Series in 1969. He was named an All-American in 1969 in addition to being named to the All-College World Series Team. In the World Series, he was key to UMass upsetting No. 1-ranked Southern Illinois. He was an All-Yankee Conference selection and All-New England pick in both 1968 and 1969. He led the NCAA in slugging percentage in 1969 with a remarkable .798. He led the team in batting, home runs and runs batted in both of his varsity seasons. Hansen was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 21st round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft in 1969. He went on to play two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1974 and 1976. He finished his playing career in Japan.

Mike Stone '82 (head baseball coach, 1988-2017)
In his 30 seasons as head coach, Mike Stone compiled a 697-695-3 (.500) record and a 358-307-2 (.537) mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Minutemen won eight Atlantic 10 regular season titles, two Atlantic 10 Tournament crowns and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. He has also guided the Minutemen to the Beanpot Championship six times, most recently in 2012. He became the all-time winningest coach in UMass history when the Minutemen swept a doubleheader from Saint Joseph's on May 8, 2001. On May 16, 2017, Stone won his 750th career game as a head coach, a 6-5 victory over Fairfield at Earl Lorden Field.

From 1994-1996, Stone was a three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year selection. He became only the second coach to win the award three consecutive years. His student-athletes have earned 10 All-America nods, 16 all-region selections, 47 All-New England honors and 52 All-Atlantic 10 accolades with three Atlantic 10 Pitchers of the Year, one Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and one Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.

After his graduation from the Taft School in Connecticut in 1974, Stone was selected in the third round of the MLB draft and signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a catcher in the Cardinals' system for three years and played in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league organization for two seasons. At the completion of his professional career, Stone enrolled as a physical education major at UMass, where he played football for three seasons, from 1979-1981. He graduated cum laude from UMass in 1982.

Jane Welzel (cross country, 1975-77; track and field 1976-77)
Jane Welzel participated in four sports and co-captained the 1975-76 water polo team and 1977 cross country team. The 1977 cross country Most Valuable Runner, she was an inaugural member of the program in 1975 and the track and field program in 1976. She was also a member of and starter on the inaugural UMass water polo team in1974.

Welzel led UMass to a top-10 finish at the EIWA National Championships in the program's first year of existence (1975), placing 25th individually. She placed second at the New England Intercollegiate Cross Country Meet in 1975 and competed in the New England, Eastern and National Championships for UMass in 1976.

Welzel qualified for and competed in five consecutive Women's Marathon Olympic Trials (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000) and was the first American and 10th overall woman to finish the 1992 Boston Marathon (2:36:21). She was also a four-time marathon champion and won the 2000 Avon World Masters 10K in Rome, Italy. Runner's World's Comeback Runner of the Year in 1988, Welzel served stints as cross country coach at UMass (1978), Penn State (1979), Dover (N.H.) High School (1981) and Wellesley College (1985).

For more information, please contact Jason Germain in the Minutemen Club (413-577-0267). For continued coverage of UMass Athletics, follow the program on Twitter and Instagram @UMassAthletics and on Facebook at facebook.com/MassachusettsAthletics.

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