Clarksville, Ark.-Three alumni have been selected to be inducted into the University of the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Friday, September 29, 2023.
The University's Sports Hall of Fame committee selected Vickie Alston '86, Jack Jones '79 and George "Bubba" Terry '32 to join the hall during the Ozarks Awards Ceremony in September, part of Homecoming 2023. The additions bring the total of Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame members to 74 individuals.
The Sports Hall of Fame committee is made up of Jimmy Clark, director of athletics; Brian Henderson, director of annual giving and alumni engagement; Dr. Sergio Molina, professor of health science and athletic faculty representative; Hannah Smith, student-athlete representative; alumnus Dr. James Cook; Alumni Association Board representative Cyleste Coppage; and alumnus and hall of fame member Johnny Johnson.
The inductees for the 2023 University of the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame include:
Vickie Alston '86 was a standout on the women's basketball team from 1982 to 1986. After helping lead her hometown Clarksville team to a high school girls overall state championship in 1980, Alston went on to help Ozarks compile a 61-44 record over her four seasons. Her versatile play on the court led Ozarks to one of its most successful seasons in school history as the Mountaineers went 20-5 during the 1982-83 season. She is 12th in the school's career scoring books (1,165), 14th in career rebounding (599) and ninth in career assists (246). She is one of four players in program history to rank among the top-15 in career points, rebounds and assists. She was All-AIC Honorable Mention in both 1985 and 1986 and earned NAIA All-District 17 during her senior season.
Jack Jones '79 is one of the winningest coaches in Ozarks history, compiling a 369-285 (.564) record in 25 seasons as head women's basketball coach from 1979 to 2004. Jones won at least 19 games six different seasons. He was named NAIA District 17 Coach of the Year in 1994 after leading Ozarks to a 25-6 record and was named American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Eagles to a co-championship in the league's first season. The Eagles 25 wins remains the most in a single season for the women's basketball program. From 1996-2004, Jones was among the winningest active women's basketball coaches in all of NCAA Division III. Jones coached every All-American within the women's basketball program. During his record-setting coaching span, Jones led the program to 17 post-season appearances and had 15 winning seasons. He had more than 30 All-Conference players during his coaching stint. Jones played basketball at Ozarks in the mid-1970s and served one year as an assistant women's basketball coach before taking over the program in 1979. An early advocate for collegiate women's sports, he also served as athletic director and golf coach at Ozarks. He was also named District 17 Administrator of the Year.
George J. "Bubba" Terry '32 was a three-sport standout at College of the Ozarks from 1930-32. He was born in Newport in 1909, and his 1927 Batesville High School basketball team won the state title and was the runner-up in the National Tournament at Chicago. He received letters in football, basketball, and baseball at George Washington University in 1927-30 before transferring to Ozarks. Terry later coached at Sloan Hendrix Academy in 1933; Pine Bluff in 1934-38; Greenville, Mississippi, in 1939-42; and was the Pine Bluff head coach from 1946-54. After his Pine Bluff High School football teams went 49-12-6, which included a state championship in 1951, Terry worked as an assistant coach at Louisiana State University, West Point, and University of South Carolina. He also coached in the Canadian Football League where helped Ottawa to a Grey Cup Championship in 1960. LSU won the 1958 national title and Head Coach Paul Dietzel called Terry "the finest football scout and perhaps the best defensive coach I've ever seen." After Terry's death, University of South Carolina named its spring sports facility after him. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Batesville Area Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
A special plaque unveiling ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the gym. The awards ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Rogers Conference Center.
