DePauw to induct six alumni into Athletic Hall of Fame
October 7, 2004
GREENCASTLE, Ind. - This Saturday evening six DePauw alumni will be inducted into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2004 class is the 19th to enter the Hall since the charter class in 1986.
The 2004 inductees include Mark Bills '23, Joy Rowe Blang '92, Brad Hauter '87, Robert Kirk '71, Dr. Steven Overman '72 and Dr. Carla Weaver. Each inductee will be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame located on the second floor of the Lilly Center.
Listed below is the biographical information that is included on each inductee's plaque.
Mark W. Bills ’23 earned four letters in basketball and baseball during his DePauw University career. He earned reputations as a clutch field-goal shooter and a strikeout-throwing pitcher. In 1922 he was selected to the Indiana All-State Third Team at center, at a time when players from all Indiana colleges and universities were considered for one team. Bills also was a four-year Rector Scholar. After graduation he coached high school football and basketball, winning city championships with two Ft. Wayne (Ind.) high schools, along with two sectional championships and a regional championship in basketball. An accomplished singer (baritone), Bills also served as choir director and soloist with Trinity English Lutheran Church in Ft. Wayne, and performed many concerts with churches and symphonies in the Midwest. In 1935 Bills earned a bachelor of music degree from the University of Michigan, continuing with a master’s degree in 1943, and a Ph.D. in 1944, both from the same institution. After teaching music at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Central Michigan and Purdue University, Bills turned to educational administration. From 1944 through 1968 he served as superintendent of schools in Flint, Mich., Kansas City, Mo. and Peoria, Ill. The recipient of many awards and honors, including an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bradley University, perhaps his greatest tribute is the Mark W. Bills Elementary School in Peoria, Ill. Bills died in November 1976, in a hunting accident.
Joy Rowe Blang ’92, in the course of earning four varsity letters in golf, also was a three-time All-American by virtue of top-ten finishes in the Division III National Golf Coaches Association Championships in 1990, 1991 and 1992. Her team also earned top three finishes in that tournament in each of her four years at DePauw. Blang graduated with a B.A. in elementary education, and served her senior year as vice president of the education honorary society Kappa Delta Pi. She earned a master’s of public affairs (M.P.A.) with a concentration in non-profit management from Indiana University (1996). Blang has taught 5th and 6th grade, has held several positions with Executive Service Corps, a non-profit organization of retired executives serving as volunteer business consultants and youth mentors, and she was director of Americorps National Service Program, overseeing 36 volunteers working in the area of child abuse and domestic violence prevention. She has been an active volunteer, receiving the Starlight Award for outstanding contribution to the Junior League of Cincinnati for grant writing and fund-raising efforts, and serving as both president and vice president of community service projects with the Milford (Ohio) MOMS Club. She also has represented DePauw at college fairs. Blang and her husband, David ’92, and their two children, John (4) and Caroline (2), live in Milford, Ohio.
Bradley D. Hauter ’87 was a four-year starter at goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team and was most valuable player in 1985 and 1986, and named team captain in 1986. He recorded 33 shutouts during his career, including 12 in 1986. He was an All-Conference selection in 1985, 1986 and 1987, all-area in 1986, and all-state in 1985 and 1986. He also punted for the football team his senior year (and led the nation for part of the season). After graduation Hauter played professional soccer for 10 years for the Chicago Power, Illinois Thunder, Dayton Dynamo and Rockford Raptors, earning player of the game and week honors on numerous occasions. He was a player/coach his last two professional seasons, while also coaching for several colleges and professional teams. He turned to full-time coaching after retirement. Hauter joined the staff at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2000, coaching women’s and men’s soccer and softball. In 2002 he was named head coach of men’s soccer, while continuing as assistant coach of women’s soccer. In 1990, during his professional soccer career, Hauter founded Off the Streets, a non-profit theater which puts homeless people in paying roles on the stage. Hauter set a Guinness Book World Record in 1999, by riding a lawnmower 4,000 miles cross-country to raise money for Keep America Beautiful. In 2003 he broke that record with a 5,000-mile trek which raised $200,000. In September 2004, Hauter published a new book, Counter Terrorism, which is about a squirrel that teaches a boy a better way to live. Hauter and his wife, Charlotte, live in Terre Haute, Ind., with their twins, Christian and Anna.
Robert C. Kirk Jr. ’71 was a four-year track standout at DePauw, competing in the high jump and sprint relays, but excelling as a horizontal jumper. He set indoor and outdoor triple jump records, and set a new outdoor long jump record his senior year on his last jump at Blackstock Stadium. Starting his sophomore year he won three consecutive indoor GLCA long jump titles. His junior year he placed 8th in the triple jump in the Division III NCAA Championships. Kirk was elected track team co‑captain both junior and senior years and was named Most Valuable both years. He received Coach Robert Harvey’s coveted Gold Brick award twice. He also played varsity football for two seasons. Kirk graduated from DePauw with a degree in psychology, and after earning an athletic coaching degree and a teaching certificate, began his career in 1975 at the Columbus (Ohio) Academy, his alma mater, as an elementary school English teacher and varsity track coach. He later completed a master’s degree from The Ohio State University in English education, and he was one of only 12 teachers selected from an international pool to receive a Klingenstein Fellowship to Columbia University where he earned a master’s degree in private school leadership. His coaching highlights include 13 league championships, 10 district championships, four regional championships, three state championship runners-up and two state championships. He was named Central District Coach of the Year 11 times. He and his wife Lucinda (Tucker) ’71 live in the Columbus, Ohio area with heir daughter Carmen.
Dr. Steven S. Overman ’72 pitched for the DePauw baseball team for four years, was a three-time All-Conference selection, and named to the first team his junior and senior years. He was named most valuable player his junior year. He set a career record with 201 strikeouts, a mark which stood until 2002. Overman also played center on the basketball team for three years. He was a Rector Scholar, was elected to Gold Key and Phi Beta Kappa, and he graduated with a degree in mathematics and premedical science. He also was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. Overman received his medical degree in 1975 from the University of Alabama, and after graduate study at Hammersmith Hospital in London, he performed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has practiced medicine for 25 years in Seattle in rheumatology and clinical investigation, and was peer-selected as one of Seattle’s best doctors. He is currently director of Musculoskeletal Planning and Development, and medical director of rheumatology for Northwest Hospital & Medical Center. He also is clinical associate professor with University of Washington School of Medicine. He is a frequent lecturer and conference speaker on a range of topics including arthritis, osteoporosis and musculoskeletal disease. He received the Arthritis Foundation Award of Appreciation and the Providence Medical Center Award of Appreciation. He has served as a Sunday school teacher, a youth basketball coach and a Boy Scout troop leader. He was vice chairman of the Growth and Prevention (GAP) Theater board of directors, and committee chair of the Arthritis Foundation. Overman and his wife, Holly (Horton) ’72, have three sons, including Matt, a 2002 DePauw University graduate. He enjoys cycling, fly fishing, hiking, skiing and family travel.
Dr. Carla J. Weaver ’92 was a four-year letter winner on the DePauw University women’s basketball team. Upon graduation she held career-scoring and assists records with 1,381 points and 322 assists. Her 82.9 career free-throw percentage ranked in the all-time NCAA Division III top five. She also played volleyball her senior year, and rode in the Little 5. She graduated cum laude with a degree in biological science. She earned her medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine, performing her residency in pediatrics at Methodist Children’s Hospital/ Indiana University School of Medicine – Indianapolis. Weaver also received fellowship training in primary care sports medicine with Methodist Sports Medicine Center, serving as team physician and trainer with a number of high schools and colleges. She has worked at the Women’s Hospital of Indianapolis in delivery coverage and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and also was student health physician with the Purdue University Student Health Center. Weaver currently is a pediatrician with St. Vincent Neonatal Physicians in Indianapolis, covering the Level II Special Care Nursery. Although she has hung up her basketball shoes, she remains an avid runner, and she also enjoys music, especially local talent and outdoor shows.
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