For more than a decade five former Ball State University athletes had to wait to receive the university's highest athletics honor. With Friday's induction ceremony at the Alumni Center, the wait was finally over.
Football's Brent Baldwin and Brad Maynard, men's tennis' John Noble, gymnastics' Sarah Mikrut (Doyle) and men's volleyball's Phil Eatherton were inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame as the class of 2007-08 in front of family, friends, coaches and many others.
"I was honored and I enjoyed it very much," Noble said Sunday. "It was a very humbling experience. It was a special evening."
The close to three-hour ceremony began with an hour-long reception during which the inductees chatted with everyone in attendance, sharing stories from their playing days and what they are currently doing in their lives.
After the reception everyone headed into a large hall for dinner. Just before eating, however, Ball State President Jo Ann Gora spoke about the inductees. She highlighted each career with the achievements and statistics the athletes gathered while playing and congratulated them on their honor. Noble said it was humbling to hear Gora talk about what he accomplished.
"[It was] kind of a little bit of an out-of-body experience," he said. "It brought back a lot of memories, fond memories ... It's kind of neat to hear them talk about it."
After Gora's speech and the dinner, it was the athletes' turn to speak.
Brent Baldwin
Baldwin was the first inductee to speak to those in attendance. During his speech Baldwin remained modest, talking about not being that gifted of an athlete, but just a leader.
At one point he said another quarterback on the team for which he started might have had a better arm, but Baldwin made up for it in leadership.
He said it was especially special to go into the hall of fame with Maynard.
"That was special because we were good friends and still are but also because he's so good. He's been in the league for what, 11 years. I don't think I would have gotten in without Brad because if we got to fourth down I knew he would come in and punt the opponent back deep," Baldwin said.
Baldwin had the audience chuckling when he talked about the year he had a broken jaw, which caused him to play most of the season with his mouth wired shut. Baldwin told the crowd it must have been nice for the coaching staff to have a starting quarterback who couldn't talk back.
Phil Eatherton
Following Baldwin was Eatherton, who was the one of the five unable to attend the ceremony. Eatherton, who is playing professional volleyball in Poland and who had a match Friday night, had two of his coaches, Don and Steve Shondell, take his place at the podium.
Both coaches talked about Eatherton being a fun player who always smiled.
"The thing about Phil, he is such a humble guy," Don Shondell said Sunday. "We loved him as a teammate and player. He was always fun."
Steve Shondell shared a story about how Eatherton was almost not a Cardinal. He said he saw Eatherton play for the first time when Eatherton played in Muncie with a club team.
Steve Shondell said Eatherton wasn't skilled at volleyball then but with a 6-foot-9-inch frame and natural athletic ability. he had loads of potential and went to the other coaches begging them to offer him $1,000 in scholarship money to come to Ball State.
During Don Shondell's speech he relayed Eatherton's thanks to those who helped him and his regret for not being able to attend.
"He was so apologetic and wanted to come so badly, but he had an obligation," Don Shondell said. "Phil said this is one of the greatest things to ever happen to him, along with being selected to the Olympic team [in 2004] ... Ball State meant so much to him."
Brad Maynard
Maynard, who the emcee said used to train by punting from the field over Scheumann Stadium's old press box to the parking lot, was the third speaker.
Maynard said his former teammate and roommate at Ball State, Baldwin, stole most of what he had planned to say and he just wanted to thank those who helped him along the way.
One story Maynard did share was about an incident with former coach Bill Lynch. Maynard said at the beginning of practice they did special teams and after that the punters and kickers were free to go in and lift weights.
However, Maynard said that's not really what they did inside. He said they watched television or played darts most of the time.
Thanks to a coach's son who had hung out with them while inside, Lynch found out what they really did.
Maynard said the next day while stretching Lynch walked by and without stopping alluded that he knew they didn't really lift weights. Lynch then said he didn't care what they did as long as he continued dominating games with his punts.
Maynard also added it wasn't just the coaches, but Baldwin's roommates, who benefited from the quarterback's mouth being wired shut.
Sarah Mikrut (Doyle)
Doyle, who played with the last name Mikrut, had the shortest of all the speeches. She told the audience that she was going to stick strictly to her notes, because being a new mom after having her first child in October, she might struggle to hold in her emotions.
Even with sticking to her notes, Doyle got choked up when thanking her parents, who she said have been instrumental in what she has been able to do.
While her speech lasted just a few minutes, the crowd she brought was likely the largest among the five.
Not only did her newborn son, her husband and other family members, including her three brothers, make the trip, but the current Carmel Catholic High School gymnastics coach in Illinois brought many members of her team, including her assistant coach, along.
John Noble
Noble was the last of the 2007-08 inductees to step up to the podium. During his speech he talked about his love for tennis and shared a story from when he was very young that demonstrated that.
Noble said when he was at a country club with his parents he would beg anyone and everyone to play him. Finally his mother allowed him to play and he lost. When he began to cry his mother gave him some sharp advice. She told him he can't cry every time he loses because losing is part of the game. Noble said after a few sniffles he stopped crying and began begging people to play him again.
At the induction, Noble repeated something that all of the inductee's said during their speeches.
"I just really want to express my thanks to ... everybody that made it possible," he said. "It was a great experience."
All five are now forever among the fewer than 200 people who have been immortalized in the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame.
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