Bowden headlines 2015 inductees into WVU hall

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2015 class of six inductees, including college football coaching legend Bobby Bowden.

The other additions were former NBA player Jerome Anderson, swimming coach Kevin Gilson, football standouts Ken Herock and Amos Zereoue, and decorated distance runner Megan (Metcalfe) Wright

Induction ceremonies will take place Saturday, Sept. 26 before the West Virginia-Maryland football game.

Bios for the latest honorees, who make WVU’s hall 162 strong:

Jerome Anderson

Jerome Anderson
The Mullens, W.Va., native averaged 12.6 points during a three-year WVU career from 1973-75 and twice served as captain.

After scoring 14.1 points as a senior, the 6-foot-5 Anderson was chosen in the third round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics and in the seventh round of the ABA draft by the San Diego Sails. He played two NBA seasons with the Celtics and Indiana Pacers, appearing on the Boston team that won an NBA championship in 1976.

Anderson shot 45.2 percent from the field for his college career, averaged 34.8 minutes per game, had 202 career assists and averaged 6.4 rebounds per game. He was a member of the 1966-75 all-decade basketball team at WVU.

He later played and coached professionally in Sweden and Norway.

Anderson died in Heisinborg, Sweden, in 2009 at age 55 after a long illness. He left behind three sons, Julius, TeJay and Denzell and two daughters, Terri and Tony.

Bobby Bowden

Bobby Bowden
Before transforming Florida State into a college football powerhouse, Bowden spent 10 seasons at West Virginia—four as offensive coordinator and six as head coach—from 1966-75.

He guided the Mountaineers to Peach Bowls in 1972 and 1975, with his 1975 team finishing No. 20 in the nation, and posted a 42-26 record. Bowden was the first coach to lead WVU to multiple bowl games, and his 1972 team ranked fourth nationally in scoring (36.5) and sixth in passing (227.8 yards).

A native of Birmingham, Ala., Bowden began his head coaching career in 1956 at South Georgia College, where he went 22-11 in three seasons. He then posted a 31-6 record at Howard College (now Samford University) from 1959-62 before becoming an assistant coach at Florida State from 1963-65 and then joining WVU.

Bowden left West Virginia to become the head coach at Florida State, where he compiled a 315-98-4 record from 1976-2009, including national championships in 1993 and 1999. He is credited with a 377-129-4 record in 44 years as a Division I head coach.

In 44 seasons as a Division I head coach, Bowden had 40 winning seasons (including 33 consecutive at Florida State), and 36 Division I-A winning seasons.

Bowden is the only coach in Division I to lead his team to 15 consecutive New Year’s Day bowl games (1991-2005), the only to win 11 consecutive bowl games (1985-95), the only to compile 14 straight 10-wins season (1987-2000), the only to take his team to 28 consecutive bowl games and the only to compile 14 straight top-five finishes in the AP poll from 1987-2000.

Bowden received the National Football Foundation’s highest award – the Gold Medal – in 2006. He was the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year in 1980, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year in 1991 and won the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 2011. Bowden led Florida State to 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

In 2004, Doak Campbell Stadium at Florida State was named Bobby Bowden Field. Among the awards named in honor of Bobby Bowden are the Bobby Bowden National Coach of the Year Award, presented by The Mountain Touchdown Club of Birmingham and the Bobby Bowden Athlete of the Year Award, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

A 1953 graduate of Howard, Bowden and his wife, Ann, have six children (Terry, Tommy, Jeff, Robyn Hines, Steve and Ginger Madden) and 21 grandchildren.

Kevin Gilson

Kevin Gilson
Gilson served as head coach of the men’s swimming and diving program from 1967-96 and the women’s swimming and diving program from 1980-96, a career that produced six All-Americans (Rick Hyser, Kreg Lewis, Debbie Scott, Kim Kaufman, Aileen Convery and Renee Riccio) and 27 NCAA qualifiers.

Gilson compiled a 290-153-1 record as coach of both programs, going 197-100-1 with the men and 93-53 with the women.

Gilson won a combined 10 Eastern League championships, led the men to four Atlantic 10 team titles and guided the women to three Atlantic 10 championships.

In 1976, he was selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the West Virginia Coach of the Year. He was honored as the Eastern Conference Coach of the Year four times and was the 1994 Atlantic 10 Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. Gilson earned Atlantic 10 Women’s Coach of the Year honors in 1993.

In 1992, he received the Distinguished Coach Award from the College Swimming Coaches’ Association of America, the highest honor given in the coaching profession chosen by his peers.

Gilson led two teams to undefeated seasons (1980 and 1983) and at the time of his retirement, every single men’s and women’s team record was accomplished during his tenure.

Gilson earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Maryland in 1964 and received his master’s and doctoral degrees from WVU. He continued teaching for 10 more years as an associate professor in the WVU School of Medicine.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three daughters, Erin, Shawn and Tara, and five grandchildren, Molly, Kevin, Jane, Owyn and Bella.

Ken Herock

Ken Herock
The former tight end/linebacker was the first Mountaineer to appear in a Super Bowl—playing for the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II— and spent 38 years in various scouting and front-office capacities with the NFL.

His WVU career spanned 1960-62 and closed with Herock earning All-Southern Conference honors as a tight end and linebacker.
Herock had a six- year NFL playing career with the Raiders (1963-67), the Cincinnati Bengals (1968) and the Boston Patriots (1969).

Following his playing career, he has been respected throughout the NFL for his expertise as a talent hunter and administrator. Herock was named the Raiders’ director of player personnel in 1975. In 1976, he became the first director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Within three years, he helped build the Bucs into a playoff contender, reaching the NFC Championship in 1979. Herock remained with Tampa Bay through 1984 and was responsible for supervising the first scouting combine.

He returned to the Raiders from 1984-86 before he was named the director of player personnel for the Atlanta Falcons in 1987. Herock then became the team’s vice president of player personnel a year later, a position he held through the 1996 season.

Herock returned to the Raiders for a third time in 1997, leaving Oakland following the 1998 season. Herock joined the Green Bay Packers and was named vice president of personnel where he remained until 2001. In 2002, Herock established Pro Prep, a service which prepares future professional prospects for the National Football League.

He also has served on the College Relations Board for the NFL.

A native of Munhall, Pa., Herock is a member of the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences Hall of Fame, the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame.

Herock and his wife, Barry, now live in Gainesville, Ga. They have two sons and five grandchildren.

Megan Metcalfe Wright

Megan (Metcalfe) Wright
With a national championship and nine All-America honors, Metcalfe remains the most prolific distance runner in West Virginia women’s track and field history.

Competing at WVU from 2000-05, Metcalfe became the first Mountaineer to achieve two All-America honors in cross country. The Edmonton, Alberta, native earned her first All-America accolade as a member of the 2001 distance medley relay team, which finished in eighth place. Metcalfe’s second All-America award, and first individual, came with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter race at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Her third All-America honor came with a ninth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships, making her just the second female cross country All-American in school history and only the fourth Mountaineer to earn All-America honors in two sports.

Metcalfe earned her fourth and fifth All-America accolades in 2003 by finishing fourth in the 3,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and was a part of the then-school record setting distance medley relay team in that same meet.

Her sixth and seventh awards came in March 2004, when she placed fifth in the 3,000 meters and again was a member of the distance medley relay team.

Metcalfe’s eighth and school-record setting All-America honor came at the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships, where she recorded a 16th-place overall finish.

Metcalfe capped her brilliant career with a ninth All-America honor and a national championship when she won the 5,000 meters at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Metcalfe earned first-place finishes in the Canadian Senior Championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010, the Pacific World Cup in Burnaby, British Columbia, and at the 2007 Pan-American games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Metcalfe competed in the final at the World Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters in Valencia, Spain. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for Canada, making the finals of the 5,000-meter race and running a personal-best time of 15:11.23 in the opening heat.

One of three track and field national champions in school history, Metcalfe earned numerous honors at WVU: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 All-Big East, 2000 Big East Freshman of the Year and the 2003 Big East Most Outstanding Female Track Performer.

Metcalfe won the 3,000 meters at the 2002 and 2003 Big East Indoor Championships, captured the 5,000 meters at the 2002 Big East Outdoor Championships and won the 10,000 meters at the 2003 Big East Outdoor Championships.

Metcalfe still holds school records in the 3,000 meters indoor (8:58.17), the 1,500 meters outdoor (4:12.00), the 3,000 meters outdoor (9:04:02) and the 5,000 meters outdoor (15:47.64).

Metcalfe earned magna cum laude honors with a bachelor of arts degree, and graduated with a master’s degree in physical therapy from WVU in 2005.

Metcalfe is married to Jonathan Wright of Fairmont, who she met while Jonathan was competing for the WVU men’s cross country team. They have one son, James and are expecting a daughter in October, and they reside in Morgantown. Metcalfe works part-time as a physical therapist at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

A three-tie 1,000-yard rusher at West Virginia, Amos Zeroue ran for 234 yards against Notre Dame in 1997.

Amos Zereoue
Zereoue became WVU’s all-time rushing leader in 1998 despite leaving for the NFL draft as a junior. He’s now fourth all-time with 4,086 yards. His 4,628 all-purpose yards are now fifth in program history and he’s third in rushing touchdowns with 42.

A native of Hempstead, N.Y, Zereoue became WVU’s first three-time, 1,000-yard rusher—with 1,035 yards in 1996, 1,589 in 1997 and 1,462 in 1998. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 123.8 yards per game. Zereoue caught 55 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns.

Zereoue rushed for a career-high 234 yards at Notre Dame in 1997, which now stands as the seventh-most rushing yards in a game at WVU. He ranks third and fifth in single-season rushing yards. Zereoue’s 283 rushing attempts in 1998 are still the second-most rushing attempts in school history. He and Pat White hold the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season (18), and his 252 career points rank fifth among non-kickers.

Zereoue was All-Big East in 1996, 1997 and 1998, Big East and Rookie of the Year in 1996, one of 12 players to be named to the All-Big East first team three times, was a Heisman finalist in 1997 and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. He was voted member of the WVU all-decade team for 1990-99.

Zereoue was drafted with the 34th pick in the third round, 95th overall, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1999. He played for the Steelers from 1999-2003 and rushed for a career-high 762 yards and four touchdowns in 2002. He spent 2004 with the Raiders and 2005 with the New England Patriots. His NFL career stats: 2,137 yards on 553 carries with 10 touchdowns.

Following his NFL career, he owned a restaurant in Manhattan, and came back to WVU to receive his regents bachelor of arts degree on May 17 as part of the student-athlete degree completion program.