 The event is open to the public, and the deadline for reservations
is 5 p.m. Nov. 1. The cost is $25 for adults and $15 for children
age 18 and younger. Seating is limited, so early reservations are
recommended. To make reservations or for more information, contact
Mary Jo Werth in the college advancement office at 217-732-3155,
ext. 217, or call 877-522-5867 toll-free, or email
mjwerth@lincolncollege.edu.The Athletic Hall of Fame
recognizes and celebrates the long and exemplary history of
athletics at Lincoln College. In naming the inaugural class, the
committee selected individuals whose accomplishments and involvement
represent as much of Lincoln College's athletic history as possible.
The inductees are:
 Jan Bowers, female athlete from the class of 1981
As a Lincoln College student athlete, Bowers played volleyball,
basketball and softball. She played on the 1981 softball team that
took third place in the NJCAA national tournament. She was named to
the all-regional tournament team and received the Sportsmanship
Award. She received several LC awards, including Most Dedicated
Athlete, Captain's Award, Volleyball MVP and Rotary Club Female
Athlete Academic Award, and she was the 1981 class valedictorian.
After graduating from Lincoln College, Bowers attended Illinois
State University, where she was a two-year varsity basketball letter
winner. She played on the 1983 GCAC Conference Champions team and in
the NCAA national tournament.
After college, Bowers coached high school and college basketball
and golf in Lincoln and Springfield, and was selected to the
Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for Outstanding
Achievement in Illinois Basketball in 2009. Bowers has been a member
of the Lincoln College faculty since 1984. She received LC's Jack D.
Nutt Educator of the Year Award in 2010 and a Lincoln College Alumni
Achievement Award in 2002.
 Matt Hughes, male athlete from the class of 1995
Hughes was a wrestling all-American for Lincoln College, placing
third at the NJCAA national tournament in 1995.
After graduation from LC, he continued to wrestle at Eastern
Illinois University, where he was an all-American as a junior and
senior.
Hughes went on to a successful Ultimate Fighting Championship
career, fighting competitively from 1998 until retiring in 2013. He
holds the record for most wins in the UFC, with 18, and was the UFC
welterweight champion twice, successfully defending the title seven
times.
Hughes has received many honors and awards, including being
inducted into the EIU Hall of Fame in 2008, the UFC Hall of Fame in
2010, the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2012 and the George Tragos/Lou Thesz
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013. Hughes received Lincoln
College's first Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2009.
 Tom Flynn, male athlete from the class of 1962
Known as the "Winchester rifle" for his ability to accurately
fire off shots with the basketball, Flynn was a member LC's 1962
team that won the Illinois state basketball championship, played at
the national junior college tournament and was inducted into the
Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
Flynn still holds Lynx basketball records for best individual
game average, most individual points scored in one season, most
individual points scored in two seasons and most points scored in a
national tournament -- records set years before American basketball
organizations adopted the 3-point field goal. He also holds Lynx
records for most rebounds (sophomore), most rebounds (career) and
most rebounds in a single game. He is a member of the Super Lynx
1,000 Point Club.
Flynn is being inducted posthumously.
 Joni B. Comstock, female coach from 1979 to 1983
During her tenure at LC, Comstock coached Lynx softball,
volleyball, women's basketball and men's tennis, and also served as
the assistant director of athletics.
She earned a master's degree from Illinois State University in
1981 and went on to pursue a doctorate and a career in collegiate
athletics administration.
Since 2006 she has been the senior vice president for
championships for the NCAA, where she oversees 84 championships
played each year by teams from over 1,000 member institutions.
Comstock was named a Lincoln College Honorary Alumna in 2002. She
has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Eastern Illinois
University in 2007, an EIU Top 10 honoree in 40 years of Title IX,
WACDA Regional Director of Athletics of the Year and Ohio Valley
Conference Title IX honoree in 2012.
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 Charles "Chuck" Lindstrom, male coach from 1961 to 1983
After a brief career in Major League Baseball, Lindstrom came to
Lincoln College in 1961 to teach geography and coach baseball. In
1963 he took on the additional role of director of athletics. During
his tenure, competitive athletics at Lincoln College grew from just
men's basketball, swimming, tennis and baseball to include soccer,
golf, wrestling, women's basketball, softball and volleyball.
Lindstrom's philosophy of coaching laid a foundation for the
athletics program at Lincoln College that continues today. Under his
guidance, LC athletics received both state and national recognition,
and LC athletes have been successful in both collegiate and
professional athletics and in their post-athletic careers.
Lindstrom was named the American Legion Baseball Player of the
Year in 1953 and was made an Honorary Alumnus of Lincoln College in
2009.
 Jack D. Nutt, Lincoln College president from 1982 to 2002
Nutt was a visionary leader and administrator and has been widely
credited with reviving and preserving Lincoln College as one the
country's few private junior colleges. During his two decades as
president, Nutt oversaw the development of the Lincoln
College-Normal campus, the establishment of Midwest College of
Cosmetology and the addition of several new buildings on the Lincoln
campus, including the Meyer-Evans Student Center, Dooley Hall,
Gehlbach Hall, the Behrends Admissions Building, and the Heritage
residence halls and student services offices.
In 2001, he started the Lincoln Center campaign to raise funds
for a larger athletic facility and larger space for the Lincoln
museum on the Lincoln campus. The Lincoln Center, with its Jack D.
Nutt Arena, opened in 2010. The Lincoln Heritage Museum is scheduled
to open in the Lincoln Center in 2014.
Nutt was inducted into the Highland Community College Athletic
Hall of Fame in 2001 and received an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degree from Lincoln College in 2004.
Nutt is being inducted posthumously.
 Dominic "Doc" and John Guzzardo, longtime friends and
supporters of Lincoln College athletics
From the time Guzzardo's Italian Villa opened in Lincoln in 1957,
the Guzzardo family has been a friend to Lincoln College athletics
and a pillar of the local community. Family patriarch Dominic, or
"Doc," was active in local government, the chamber of commerce and
several prominent organizations.
He was also an avid sports fan who regularly attended Lynx games
in Lincoln and on the road -- including traveling to Hutchinson,
Kan., in 1962 when the Lynx basketball team competed in LC's very
first national tournament -- and would often provide meals at the
restaurant for teams when they returned late from away games.
Doc Guzzardo was recognized by LC as an Honorary Letterman in
1981.
He is being inducted posthumously.
 John
has continued in his father's footsteps: managing the
restaurant; serving the community of Lincoln, including eight years
as mayor; and supporting Lincoln College athletics, including
helping kick off the Lynx basketball Hall of Fame Club in 2010.
John Guzzardo was made an Honorary Alumnus of Lincoln College in
2006.
The Lincoln College Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes student
athletes, teams, coaches, managers, administrators, faculty, staff
and friends who have distinguished themselves in the field of
athletics at Lincoln College, either by their performance on an
athletic team or by meritorious efforts in supporting the athletic
program at the college.
The Hall of Fame banquet is part of the 2013 Homecoming and
Family Weekend activities taking place Nov. 4-10 on the Lincoln
campus.
[Text from file received from
Lincoln College]
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