KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan Athletics will induct the 2015 Hall of Fame class on Friday, Oct. 9 at the Fetzer Center and this week wmubroncos.com will take a look at each of our inductees: Vinton Bennett (men's track & field), Shelly Klare (women's basketball), Bob Learman (men's tennis), Eldon Miller (men's basketball), Robert Sanford (football) and Kelly Thayer (softball).
SHELLY KLARE (CUMMINS)
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Shelly Klare (Cummins) was a standout on the women's basketball team from 1983-1987. She was a double figure scorer all four season, boasting a career average 13.6 ppg. Klare graduated second for points (1,459) and field goals (642), fourth for field goal percentage (.457), free throw percentage (.716) and assists (272). As of 2015, she ranks sixth all-time for career scoring, fifth for field goals and 10th in assists.
Klare was a member of the first women's basketball Mid-American Conference Tournament championship team in 1985 and averaged 11.9 ppg that season. After winning the MAC title, the Broncos went on to face No. 1 Texas in the NCAA Tournament, where Klare finished with 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
As a freshman in 1983-84, Klare was the team's second leading scorer behind Hall of Famer Vicky Musky. Her most productive year was in 1985-86 when she was named MVP after leading Western Michigan with 16.8 ppg. Academically, she was named to the all-region academic team in 1984 and was WMU's senior women's scholar-athlete in 1987.
Q & A with Shelly Klare
Q: What is a memory that sticks out from your time at WMU?
A: Winning the MAC Tournament, then watching on selection Sunday to find out that we were going to play the University of Texas (the #1 seed) at the University of Texas.
Q: Why did you choose WMU?
A: I chose WMU because my best friend and teammate from high school (Jenny Gilligan) had committed to Western the year before. Also, I really liked and felt very comfortable around head coach Jim Hess and assistant coach Pat Charity and felt that I could develop into a better player with their coaching.
Q: Who made your time special at WMU?
A: My teammates were my “family” for four years, so I would definitely say they made my time special at WMU.
Q: What was your reaction to being inducted?
A: My initial reaction was ... oh no, I have to give a speech! But I felt very honored to be selected as an inductee into the WMU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Q: The mid-1980's era of Women's Basketball had some of the top teams in school history. Talk a little about those teams, players and competition during those years.
A: During my time there, Central Michigan and Ohio University were always our toughest opponents in the MAC. There was never an opponent that we played that we thought would be an easy game. There were many great players in the league, but we also had some great players on our team. I played a couple of years with Vicky Musky who was an all around great player and played with a lot of heart. I played four years with Brenda Goldner and Tracy Wells. Brenda was our toughest rebounder, very good around the basket, and very physical, and Tracy was one of the best point guards in the MAC with her scoring ability and dishing the ball off.
Q: What advice would you give younger athletes?
A: The same advice I give my own teenage daughters. The most important advice is that you are a student-athlete, not an athlete-student. Your education is going to be your future, so put as much into school as you do practicing your sport. Another piece of advice I'd give younger athletes is to play hard and have fun. If the fun is lost, you really aren't going to enjoy what you are doing.
