Charlotte, NC - The NJCAA has announced seven individuals and one national championship team as the latest honorees into the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 hall of fame class announcement has been postponed until now. Read below for more on each coach, student-athlete, and team that have contributed and continue to contribute to football at the two-year college level.
2020 NJCAA FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
1960 National Championship Team | TYLER (TX)
Tyler's 1960-61 football team, led by head coach Floyd Wagstaff and Assistant Coach "Babe" Hallmark, had an unforgettable season, going 12-0 before punching a ticket to the Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. The Apaches finished the season as national champions over Cameron State (OK). Known as the "winningest football team in America" at the time, Tyler's team was exciting to watch and highly favored. Even though the Apaches were defeated by the Long Beach City College Vikings that season in the bowl game, they continue to be remembered for their stellar athletic achievements and sportsmanship to this day.
Wagstaff was a beloved coach from 1946–75 and served as athletic director until retiring in 1984. Wagstaff was the inaugural football and basketball coach for the Apaches and was inducted into various prestigious hall of fame classes: Stephen F Austin University Lettermans Hall of Fame (1974), Texas Sports Hall of Fame as the only two-year college coach inductee (1979), NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame Inaugural Class (1984). The victorious squad was recognized by the college's alumni association in 2018 for their outstanding professional achievements, contributions to society, and/or service to their community thus bringing honor to the college.
The members of the 1960 National Championship Football Team include: Tom Anderson, halfback; Dwain Bean, fullback; Henry Boxley, halfback; James Braswell; Frank Brewer, fullback; Patrick Brinkley, guard; Tommy Brown, guard; Mack Cope, center; W.A. Dempsey; Timothy Falgout; Richard Farris, tackle; Larry Harwood, guard; Robert Hillis; Paul Isbell, center; Frank Jackson, center; Kenneth Jones, halfback; Gary Kinne, tackle; James Lyons, quarterback; Carlee Manchester; Rusty Owens, fullback; Eugene Patterson, tackle; Harold Price, end; Robert Price, tackle; Ronald Pritchard, end; Donald Pritchard, end; Aubrey Rawls, tackle; James Robinson; Robert Sanders; Conny Seal, guard; Gene Staples, end; Anthony Tremont, quarterback; Robert Tucker; Joseph Turney, tackle; Donnie Wallace, halfback; Wally Whitley, tackle; and James Wright, halfback.
Damien Williams, Student-Athlete | Arizona Western
Damien Williams achieved the ultimate goal of any NJCAA student-athlete when he reached the NFL level, getting signed by the Miami Dolphins after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. The San Diego area prep initially committed to Arizona State for college but decided to attend Arizona Western in 2010 to finetune his skills and education. In his first season, Williams rushed 95 times for 723 yards (7.6-yard average) and 10 touchdowns. Additionally, he caught seven passes for 183 yards (18.3) and two scores and returned nine kickoffs for 323 yards (35.9) and one touchdown. Williams earned NJCAA First-Team All-America status in 2011 after dominating the field, rushing 259 times for 1,931 yards (7.5) and 26 touchdowns, catching 20 passes for 317 yards, and four TDs in 12 games.
In 2012, Williams joined Oklahoma, leading the Sooners in rushing with 176 carries for 946 yards (5.4) and 11 TDs, posting 34 catches for 320 yards and a TD in 13 games (nine starts). In 2013, limited by an ankle injury, the running back had 114 rushes for 553 yards (4.9) and seven TDs and nine catches for 90 yards. Williams spent four seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2014-17), before joining the Kansas City Chiefs for three seasons (2018-20, 2020 Super Bowl LIV Champions).
Williams joined the Chicago Bears in 2021 as an eighth year running back after sitting out 2020. He has appeared in 85 games with 13 starts over six NFL seasons, has rushed for 1,355 yards and 14 touchdowns on 306 carries, while catching 142 passes for 1,136 yards and 10 touchdowns. Williams possesses 251 career postseason rushing yards, the second-most in Chiefs history.
Zackary Bowman, Student-Athlete | New Mexico Military Institute
Zackary Bowman started his football career at New Mexico Military Institute before attending the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for two years. With the Broncos, Bowman earned NJCAA All-American status in 2005 and helped his team capture critical wins. Following success there, Bowman shined with the Huskers from 2006-08, tallying 56 tackles, 20 pass break ups, three interceptions, with 22 game appearances and nine starts.
In 2008, the cornerback was selected 142 overall by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Bowman played for the Bears from 2008-13, then joined the New York Giants for the 2014 campaign, and the Miami Dolphins for the 2015 season. Bowman was waived later that year, completing his memorable playing time in the NFL. In his career, Bowman had 205 tackles, two forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 29 pass deflections, 13 interceptions, and three defensive touchdowns.
Scott Strohmeier, Coach | Iowa Western, North Iowa Area
A player himself, Scott Strohmeier played football at then Fergus Falls (MN), known today as Minnesota State Community and Technical College, and then at the University of Minnesota at Crookston. The coach enters the 2021 season as the only head coach at the helm of the Reivers' 13 seasons. 'Coach Stroh' has guided Iowa Western to a national power in his time in Council Bluffs and the Minnesota native, entering his 22nd season in college football, hit the century mark for career wins with a 36-19 victory over Northwest Mississippi in the 2017 Graphic Edge Bowl and won his 100th game with the Reivers in a 31-10 victory at Ft. Scott Community College in October of 2019. Since the beginning of the football program in 2009, the Reivers have appeared in two NJCAA National Championship games.
The Reivers have accounted for the most wins by any NJCAA football program since 2010, winning the NJCAA Football National Championship in 2012 after going 12-0. Strohmeier has collected many accolades throughout his career. In 2017 and in 2018, the coach was named NJCAA Region 11 Coach of the Year. In 2012 and in 2017, Strohmeier earned ACCFAC Coach of the Year. Strohmeier is currently No. 2 on the NJCAA Football active coaches list with the most victories at 128. Prior to coaching with the Reivers, Strohmeier coached at North Iowa Area for three seasons, helping the Trojans to postseason play in years two and three at the helm. Most recently, Strohmeier led the 9-0 Reivers to the association's first-ever NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs.
George Hawthorne, Student-Athlete | DuPage (IL)
Offensive lineman George Hawthorne made the most of his two-year college athletics career from the moment he stepped on DuPage's campus. The Chicago native played football for legendary head coach Bob MacDougall in 1985-86, while also wrestling for the Chaparrals. Success on and off the field led to 1986 NJCAA First Team Offense Football All-American honors.
Hawthorne earned a full-ride scholarship to continue his academic and athletic career at Big-Ten member Iowa, where he played for two seasons after redshirting the 1987 season. He also earned an MBA from Western International University. Hawthorne started in 10 of 11 games his senior year at Iowa before he joined the Cleveland Browns' preseason teams in 1990-91. Hawthorne also spent one season (1995) in the Arena Football League, playing for the Arizona Rattlers under former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White.
Time in Arizona allowed Hawthorne to become a member of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, where he was for 25 years. At the time of his retirement, Hawthorne was the first sworn African American deputy to make captain in the department's history. Since retirement from law enforcement, Hawthorne has continued his love of football through coaching at the high school and community college levels.
2021 NJCAA FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Kwamie Lassiter, Student-Athlete | Butler (KS)
Born in Hampton, VA, Kwamie Lassiter was an American football safety who played two years at Butler (1989-90) before transferring to the University of Kansas (1992-94). With the Grizzlies, Lassiter was a two-year starter where his team went 18-6 and was named champions of the RC Cola Bowl and the East Bowl. In 1990, he collected KJCCC First Team All-Conference and 1990 NJCAA and JC Gridwire All-American honors. With the Jayhawks, Lassiter was a two-year starter and ended his career with 7 total interceptions and 1994 NCAA Second Team All-Big 8.
In 1995, Lassiter was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and became a starter during the 1998 season, when he led the team with eight interceptions. In the Cardinals' final regular-season game that year, Lassiter helped Arizona secure a three-point win over the Chargers to pick up a spot in the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons. Following a decorative career with the Cardinals from 1995-2002, Lassiter played for the Chargers (2003) and ultimately the St. Louis Rams (2004). Lassiter was a 2002 Pro-Bowl alternate and finished his career with 413 tackles, 25 interceptions with 2 of those returned for touchdowns.
Lassiter established the Lassiter T.A.C.K.L.E. (Teaching All Children to Kickoff Leadership in Education) Foundation in 1999 to provide books for college students, school, and physical education supplies for Title I students. In 2012, he established the Kwamie Lassiter Foundation to raise awareness of Sickle Cell Anemia and childhood cancer. This annual fundraiser is a charity sponsored bowling event and has allowed his organization to make countless contributions to different charities.
Tom Minnick, Coach | DuPage (IL), Joliet (IL), Arizona Western, Garden City (KS)
In 25 years of service, coach Tom Minnick has made history across the NJCAA. The current head football coach at Garden City, Minnick had coaching stops at DuPage, Joliet, and Arizona Western. With the Chaparrals, a team that Minnick played for as a star quarterback up until 1991, he joined forces with NJCAA household name Bob MacDougall. DuPage played in a bowl game every year during his campaign, and in 1994 they went 11-0, being named Midwest Bowl Champions.
In 2002 Minnick followed MacDougall to Joliet, where the Wolves became the first non-scholarship program in the NJCAA to win a national championship. Following MacDougall's retirement, Minnick stepped up, winning 10 games in 2007 and winning the Graphic Edge Bowl. The coach was named NJCAA Region 4 Coach of the Year following the season's success. At the 2007 season end, the Fort Wayne, IN native took the head coach position at Arizona Western, a job he held for eleven seasons.
In the saddle, Minnick was the only coach in program history to lead the team to multiple NJCAA Football Championship games (2011, 2016, 2017) and is also the only coach in program history to lead the Matadors to nine straight bowl appearances, to win back-to-back-to-back conference titles (2009-11, 2016-17) and to win a WSFL Championship. Minnick's teams finished in the top-20 eight out of eleven seasons. Minnick left Yuma, AZ as the all-time winningest coach and is now in his third season at the helm of the Broncbusters program. Minnick holds the third highest winning percentage among active NJCAA coaches.
Gene Murphy, Coach | Hinds (MS)
Gene Murphy spent 38 years serving at Hinds as the football coach and then the school's athletic director before retiring last year. Upon retiring as head coach in 2017, the school named the football field after the coach and at that time, he was the winningest current active coach in the NJCAA, tallying 172 wins. Murphy's extended coaching career began in 1983 when the Eagles hired him as defensive coordinator.
Murphy led the Eagles to a four-peat in MACJC state championships from 1994-199 and he also hoisted the state honor in 1988 and in 2000. In his time at the helm, Hinds went to the state playoffs 14 times to also accompany eight bowl game appearances. Under Murphy's leadership, he has guided the Eagles to six NJCAA Region 23 Championships, six MACJC State Championships, six Region 23 Coach of the Year, eight NJCAA Bowl Game Appearances, over 75 current and or former NFL players, two first round NFL Draft Picks, and nine NFL players that participated in the Super Bowls.
Additionally, Murphy coached alongside his wife, Dot Murphy, for 32 years and she was the first female football coach at any collegiate level. While Murphy may have had various opportunities to advance his coaching career in the SEC and NCAA Division I FBS level, he dedicated his career and efforts to helping student-athletes at the two-year college level. Murphy's heart for bettering people guided him through membership with Mississippi FCA, as a Sunday school teacher at Hinds Independent Methodist Church, and as a volunteer at Read Across America.