Dr. Richard M. Park has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a coach.
Park began coaching the FC men’s golf team in 1979-80 and guided a program that has been the standard bearer in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and a power among Midwest schools for more than two decades.
His Grizzly teams captured 10 conference tournament championships since 1988. He was five times named Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in each of Franklin’s league championship years of 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1997 and five times named the HCAC’s top coach in each of the Grizzlies’ league record five consecutive title years of 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
His golf teams qualified for the NAIA national championship event four straight years from 1985 through 1988. Steve Nelson a member of the FC Athletic Hall of Fame, competed in the NAIA nationals three times (twice as an individual qualifier).
Moreover, Park’s 2004-05 team earned the first berth to the NCAA Division III Championships in the history of the program, and Park was the recipient of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Eaton Golf Pride Regional Coach of the Year honor that season. He also coached one individual qualifier, Time Fish, in the NCAA III national competition in 2006.
During his tenure, Park has guided 11 conference Most Valuable Player honorees (Steve Nelson [twice], Wedell Mills, Matt Snavely, Ryan Easton, Phil Belk, Brett Widner, Fish [twice], John Lett and Justin Ridge), one NAIA All-American honoree (Steve Fardner), three NAIA Scholar-Athletes (Gardner, Chris Woolery, Ken Sandel) and three GCAA Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar awardees (Winder, Fish, and J.W. Moore).
He guided the Grizzlies program for 31 years until retiring during the 2009-2010 academic year while celebrating more than 50 years of being affiliated with the college in many capacities.
Park, who retired as a full-time mathematics professor in 2002, joined the Franklin College faculty in 1958. He also served as academic dean of the college and vice president of academic affairs for 14 years, the provost for teo years and the acting president for year and a half.
He graduated from Hanover College in 1951 and earned his master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1956 and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963.
He and his wife, Ruth, reside in Franklin and have 10 children, 16 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Joseph F. McConnell ’62 has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a friend.
McConnell began his career as a sports broadcaster while a student at FC. He was the first to describe the play-by-play action of Grizzly basketball games of WFCI. After graduating, he shortly was offered the job of broadcasting at Purdue University by his idol, John DeCamp.
He served as assistant sports information director for the school during 1965-1967 during the time of Purdue football greats Bob Griese, Leroy Keyes and Jack Mollenkopf.
McConnell went on to call the action for 23 years in the National Football League, including a tenure for the Indianapolis Colts. He announced for seven seasons in the National Basketball Association, including five NBA championship series for National NBA Radio, plus sevens season in Major League Baseball, numerous profesiional sports league all-star contests, and 14 major college football bowl games. He also announced golf, boxing and hockey. McConnell returned to Purdue to broadcast football in 1994.
He has worked numerous memorable events including five NBA championship series, three Super Bowls for the Minnesota Vikings, an American Basketball Association championship for the Indiana Pacers, Purdue’s 2000 Big Ten championship in football along with the Rose Bowl.
Moreover, McConnell had the call for Chicago Bear Hall of Famer Walter Payton’s record-breaking rush.
His awards include Sportscaster of the Year (Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana), Athletic Achievement Award from Franklin College, Loyalty Award (Northwestern), Sagamore of the Wabash (presented by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2009), numerous play-by-play honors by AP, UPI, Illinois and Indiana, and the Franklin College Pulliam School of Journalism’s Elmer David Award earlier this year.
In November of 2009, he retired as the “Voice of Purdue football” after the Boilermakers’ Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game with Indiana and after being a sports broadcaster for more than 46 years.
He and his wife, Suzi, live on the southeast side of Indianapolis. McConnell is the father of three children and the grandfather of seven.
Lanett (Stephan) Stewart ’97 has been inducted into the Franklin College Athletic Hall of Fame as a player.
Stewart was a top player for the Grizzlies women’s basketball team during her time at Franklin College, playing for head coaches Gene White ’58 and Lisa Mahan ’88.
For four season, she was a force under the basket, helping FC win the Hoosier Conference for Women title in 1993 as a freshman, capture Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference championships as a sophomore, junior and senior and ear NCAA Division III national tournament berths as a sophomore and junior.
She was recognized for her contributions to the team with the ICAC’s Most Valuable Player honor in 1996. She was also named to the NCAA Division III All-American Third Team in 1996, All-ICAC First Team in 1994 and 1995 and All-HCW First Team in 1993.
Stewart finished her collegiate basketball career third in all-time scoring at Franklin with 1,583 points, first in career rebounds with 1,089, first in single-season free throws made with 131 and first in single-season scoring average at 20.4 points per game. She also is Franklin’s single-season leader in blocked shots with 68 and career leader in blocked shots with 240.
Moreover, she was consistently ranked in the top 10 in individual field goal percentage among all Division III players throughout her career.
Since graduating from FC, Stewart was an eighth-grade girls basketball coach at Custer Baker Middle School form 1998-2000. She also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at her collegiate alma mater from 2001-03.
A native of Lynn, Ind., and a graduate of Randolph Southern High School, she is presently employed by the Franklin Community School Corporation.
