Five Named to Sports Hall of Fame

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UAM Names Five To Sports Hall Of Fame

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Media Services

Photo courtesy of Media Relations Jack Allen

Three football All-Americans, a basketball star who led his team to the brink of a national championship, and the second athlete in school history to be an All-American in two sports as well as an Academic All-American highlight the University of Arkansas at Monticello Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2006.

The 2006 inductees are quarterback Jack Allen, defensive tackle Charlie James, quarterback Sean Rochelle, basketball center Ikie Corbin, and basketball and track All-American Lisa McClure.

The six will be inducted at a banquet in the John F. Gibson University October 26 as part of UAM’s homecoming weekend. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased by calling Jim Brewer, UAM director of media services, at (870) 460-1074, or Bill Wisener, president of the Boll Weevil Sports Association, at (870) 367-5334.

Allen earned first team All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference and NAIA honorable mention All-America honors in 1955 while leading the Boll Weevils to the first of four consecutive AIC football championships. Allen completed 74 of 134 passes for 1,109 yards and nine touchdowns as the Weevils rolled to a 7-2 record and the second conference football title in school history.

“Jack Allen was probably the best small quarterback to ever play in the AIC,” said Charles Dearman, a teammate who protected Allen from his position at offensive guard. “I always thought he could have played Division I ball. He had a strong arm and could about knock you down at 40 yards.”

Two moments in Allen’s career stand out for Dearman.

The first came in the 1954 season opener at War Memorial Stadium against Little Rock Junior College. Ecil Burchfield, who led the Boll Weevils to the first AIC title in school history in 1953, was slated to be the starting quarterback but broke three ribs on the opening kickoff. Allen trotted out to the huddle, looked his linemen in the eye and said, “If you guys block for me, we can beat these guys. He just had a way bringing out the best in you,” said Dearman.

In Allen’s All-America season of 1955, he suffered a broken nose in a 40-6 win over Hendrix. The injury was a closely guarded secret leading up to a showdown with Arkansas Tech in Russellville the following week. “Jack made the comment during the week that if we could keep Tech’s defense off him, we’d beat ‘em,” Dearman remembered. “When the game was over, the only dirty place on his uniform was his right knee where he would kneel in the huddle to call the play.” The Weevils beat Tech 20-7.

Jimmy “Red” Parker coached Charlie James from 1961-64 and called him “the best defensive tackle I ever saw in that conference. He had an intensity that made him play to the absolute limit of his ability on every play. And he had a mean streak that all great defensive players have. It’s hard to compare players from small colleges and big schools, but when I was at The Citadel, we didn’t have anybody as good as Charlie.”

At 6-3 and 265 pounds, James was much bigger than most linemen of his era. In 1963, he anchored what Parker and his assistant coach, Larry Lacewell, have called the best defense in school history. That unit posted four shutouts and held another four opponents to seven points or less. James earned honorable mention All-America recognition after the ’63 season and repeated the honor in 1964 for a defense that set school records that still stand for fewest yards and fewest passing yards in a season.

James signed with the Houston Oilers but saw his career end with a knee injury prior to the start of his first season.

Sean Rochelle was a head coach’s dream, a whip-smart leader who was equally dangerous passing or running. Rochelle quarterbacked UAM to its only 10-win season in 1988, leading the Boll Weevils to a 10-2 record and the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division I playoffs.

Photo courtesy of Media Relations Lisa McClure

Rochelle accounted for 4,615 total yards during his career, including 1,674 yards rushing, making him the most prolific running quarterback in school history. He was the AIC co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1988 when he set the UAM single-season scoring record of 98 points, a mark that still stands. He was All-AIC and a first team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1988 and a two-time first team NAIA Academic All-American in 1987-88.

“Sean was about the perfect quarterback for our offense,” said Tommy Barnes, who coached Rochelle from 1985-88. “He could run, he could throw, and he could get us out of a bad play and into a good one by checking off at the line. He was a competitor and a great guy to coach.

Photo courtesy of Media Relations Corbin-Rodman

Ikie Corbin was lightly recruited after playing just one season of basketball at Dumas High School, but UAM coach Doug Barnes saw something in the soft-spoken 6-7 center and offered him a scholarship. Four years later, Corbin was the leading scorer, third leading rebounder, and the school’s first two-time All-American in men’s basketball.

Nineteen seasons after his final game, Corbin is still second in career scoring with 1,770 points, fifth in career rebounding with 825, and along with Danny Reed, one of two players to earn multiple All-America honors. Corbin was an NAIA honorable mention All-American following his sophomore and junior seasons in 1986 and ’87 and a three-time All-AIC selection. “Ikie’s one of the finest young men I ever had the privilege to coach,” said Gary Sharpe, who coached Corbin his final three seasons at UAM. “I can’t say enough good things about him.”

In Corbin’s sophomore season of 1985-86, he led the Boll Weevils to an improbable run at the NAIA Division I national championship. First Corbin and the Weevils upset Scottie Pippen and UCA in the finals of the District 17 tournament in Conway to advance to the national tournament in Kansas City. Seeded 25th in a 32-team field, UAM reeled off four straight wins to advance to the championship game before losing to David Lipscomb 67-54 in the finals. Along the way, Corbin battled future NBA star Dennis Rodman to a standstill in the Weevils 67-61 win over Southeastern Oklahoma in the semifinals.

Lisa McClure was that rare athlete who excelled in two sports and in the classroom. She was a first team NAIA All-American in track and field as a high jumper, a second team NAIA All-American in basketball, and an NAIA Academic All-American.

“Lisa was just a great athlete,” said Alvy Early, UAM’s director of athletics and former women’s basketball coach. “She made everything look easy. She could run, she could jump, she was an outstanding rebounder and was hard for other teams to match up with.”

McClure scored 1,185 career points for the Cotton Blossoms and shot 54.8 percent from the field for her career, including 63.4 percent (135 of 213) as a junior in 1984-85. She had 1,033 rebounds, one of five players to surpass 1,000 in that category, and averaged 10.1 rebounds a game for her career.

McClure was a two-time NAIA track and field All-American, twice finishing in the top six in the nation in the high jump. She was an NAIA Academic All-American in basketball in 1985, joining Darrell Rhodes as the only athletes in school history to earn All-America honors in two sports as well as being an Academic All-American.

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