CLEVELAND -- The Mid-American Conference announced today the 2015 MAC Hall of Fame Induction Class as five new members will be inducted in the MAC Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 27 during the MAC Honor's Dinner at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.
The five inductees are Casey Cunningham (Central Michigan, wrestling), Bob Parks (Eastern Michigan, men's cross country, men's track and field), Ben Roethlisberger (Miami, football), Gary Pinkel (Toledo/Kent State, football) and George Dales (Western Michigan, men's cross country, men's track and field).
“It is only appropriate for our Conference to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of our former student-athletes, coaches and administrators, specifically these five individuals, and their achievements during their time competing in the Mid-American Conference,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, MAC Commissioner. “We are honored to welcome them to the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame.”
“The Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame is a testament to the achievements of those that have competed and served in this great Conference,” added Steinbrecher.
The MAC Hall of Fame was approved by the MAC Council of Presidents in 1987. The charter class was inducted in 1988 and subsequent classes were added in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.
After six induction classes, the MAC Hall of Fame maintained 52 members until it was reinstated in May of 2012. This year's class brings the number of MAC Hall of Fame inductees to 77 individuals from 10 classes.
Tickets are available for the MAC Honor's Dinner on Wednesday, May 27 at 6:00 pm ET at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. Individual tickets ($100 each) and a table of ten ($950) are available for purchase. Contact Julie Kachner at the Mid-American Conference office at 216-566-4622.
George Dales- Western Michigan (men's cross country and men's track and field):
George Dales led Western Michigan to the Mid-American Conference's first and second ever team Division I National Championships. He is responsible for two of three MAC team national championships.
Dales was one of seven charter members inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also a member of the Western Michigan University Athletics Hall of Fame (inducted 1984), the Miami University Athletics Cradle of Coaches (inducted in 2006) and the Drake Relays Hall of Fame (inducted in 1985 - first MAC coach ever).
The most prestigious honor a coach can receive from the USTFCCCA is the “George Dales Award.” The award is in honor of Dales for his relentless pursuit in the growth and development of track & field and cross country over more than half a century. This award is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to a distinguished individual who, through their efforts, has enhanced the profession of coaching track & field and cross country.
During his tenure, Western Michigan won back-to-back NCAA Cross Country Championships in 1964 and 1965, and accumulated 12 (out of 13 seasons) MAC titles in track & field and another eight in cross country. His cross country teams finished in the top 10 nationally on 13 occasions. He was the 1970 NCAA Track Coach of the Year.
Dales never experienced a losing season at Western Michigan, compiling an impressive career 113-35 record in dual track meets and 79-13-1 in cross country. Dales ended his coaching career with the winningest record in MAC history from the standpoint of team victories. His teams - both cross country & track - never finished lower than third in the conference.
Dales also directed Bronco athletics to six Central Collegiate cross country crowns (1953, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966), a pair of outdoor track titles (1962, 1968) and seven indoor championships (1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966).
Among the many athletes he coached was Olympic Gold Medalist Ira Murchison, world record holder in the 100m and 1956 Olympic winner in the 4x100m. Murchison also captured the NCAA 100 yard dash title in 1958 and another Dales' athlete, John Bork, won the 880m NCAA title three years later.
Dales' Broncos earned 25 All-American honors, producing 11 in track & field and another 14 in cross country. Dales' 1964 and 1965 NCAA championship teams were inducted into Western Michigan's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 becoming the first entire teams - rather than individuals - inducted into WMU's Hall of Fame.
Dales graduated from Miami University in 1942, where he took cum laude honors, and then served three years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following discharge, he coached at East High School in his native Cleveland for three years before attending the University of Michigan for his master's degree. Dales joined the Western Michigan staff as an Athletics and Physical Education Specialist in January 1953, and it did not take him long to build the Broncos into a national powerhouse.
Dales served as an advisor in both Greece and Mexico and in the latter assignment worked with Christos Papanicolaou, who went on to become the world's first 18-foot pole vaulter. Papanicolaou also worked under Dales at Western Michigan as a visiting student for several months.
Dales retired as Western Michigan University's head track and cross-country coach in June, 1970. He continued working at the university on the physical education staff until he retired as a professor in 1987.
Dales continued to serve and advance the sport for several years, holding positions as the commissioner of the Central Collegiate Conference, President of the International Track & Field Coaches Association, Editor-in-Chief of the Track & Field Review Quarterly and held the post of Secretary/Treasurer for the NCAA Division I Track & Field Coaches Association for 25 years.
Dales, age 93, resides in Kalamazoo, Mich.
