Five former Hoosiers join Hall Athletic Hall of Fame

Friday evening at Assembly Hall, one coach, Sam Bell and four athletes, Calbert Cheaney, Collette Goudreau-Murphy, Earl Mitchell and Anthony Thompson, were inducted into the IU Hall of Fame. \nOriginal paintings of the inductees were unveiled at the ceremony as well, which will hang in Assembly Hall.\nAs a cross country and track coach at IU from 1970 to 1998, Bell is no stranger to the hall of fame scene. Inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1992 and U.S. Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000, Fischer asked if maybe Bell wondered what took IU so long.\nHe coached teams to 11 indoor Big Ten Championships and eight outdoor Big Ten Championships. He also served as head coach of the U.S. World Cup team in 1979 and coached the U.S. Junior Pan-American team in 1987.\nBasketball player Calbert Cheaney, unable to attend, had his sister Elizabeth Cheaney accept the award on his behalf. Elizabeth said she was honored to represent her brother.\nCheaney is the IU and all-time Big Ten career-scoring leader with 2,613 points and is the only four-time MVP in IU history.\n"IU is one of the finest basketball programs in the country," Elizabeth read from a speech Cheaney had prepared. "Despite all that's happened in the past few years, Indiana will always be No. 1 to me."\nCheaney's mother, Gwendolyn, said it meant a lot to the family to see her son inducted. \n"We always went to his games, and he ended up the No. 1 scorer ever," Gwendolyn said. "I'm so happy to be a part of this tonight." \nCheaney has spent the last 10 years playing in the NBA and will open this season playing for the Golden State Warriors.\nGoudreau-Murphy was a track and cross country great at IU from 1984 to 1988. The five-time All-American in women's cross country said the most memorable moment for her at IU was no individual race that she won, but being a part of the 1988 Indoor Big Ten Championship Team. \nShe also had an emotional moment accepting her award.\n"I would like to dedicate this award in memory of my son James," Goudreau-Murphy said. "He will always occupy the greatest memory of my life."\nPerhaps the most outwardly excited inductee, cross country and track runner Earl Mitchell, said that the moment was way beyond his hopes and dreams.\nA true Hoosier, born in Anderson, he was the first Hoosier to win two cross country titles. In 1943, Mitchell won the Wanamaker mile in a time of 4:08.6, 1.2 seconds off the world record at that time.\n"I was asked by someone tonight when I was happiest, when I won the Wanamaker mile or tonight?" Mitchell said with a grin. "And it has to be tonight because the Wanamaker mile was just another race, and I was too tired to be this happy."\nOne of many people suffering the wrath of Hurricane Isabel was ex IU football player Anthony Thompson. He was in Virginia Beach for a family emergency and didn't make it back for Friday night's ceremony, but did make it in time to be honored at half time of the IU football game Saturday.\nHis wife Lori accepted the award for him.\n"He's been dreaming about this for a long time," Lori said. "He wanted to be here so bad."\nThompson made his mark in IU football history when he won football letters in 1986-89. He finished eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1988 and second in 1989. He is the IU career leader in rushing yards, carries, points and touchdowns.\nThompson is the only athlete in IU history to officially have his jersey retired.\nAfter serving as an assistant football coach at IU for five years, Thompson became the pastor of Lighthouse Church and is also currently the assistant director of the IU Varsity Club.\nThe Varsity Club began recognizing IU's outstanding athletes in 1982. \n"The idea was that we have all these tremendous athletes, and we need to have a Hall of Fame that these athletes could be awarded membership to, to recognize their work." said Varsity Club President Jeff Wells.\nWells said this year's inductees all have the qualities the Varsity Club hope to instill in all the student athletes at IU: character, determination, leadership, dedication and success.\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.