Press Release courtesy of UAB Athletics
UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram and the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame Committee have announced the enshrinement of four Blazer legends into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2018 is comprised of men’s golfer Graeme McDowell, women’s basketball player Jacque Nero, volleyball player Patti Schroder and longtime play-by-play announcer Gary Sanders.
“As we continue to build our Hall of Fame, we are honored to have a group as distinguished as this join the elite list of UAB legends. Their enshrinement is an indication of the impact they had during their time at UAB as well as how they have represented their university following. We look forward to hosting an incredible event on Nov. 2 at The Club as we officially induct these four into the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame.”
McDowell competed for the UAB men’s golf team from 1999-2002. He won nine individual tournament titles, achieved the highest NCAA Nationals finish in UAB history in 2002 (t-4th) and still holds the UAB record as for yearly stroke average as the only UAB golfer ever to average under 70 strokes (69.90). He’s tied for first in the UAB record book for lowest 54-hole scores, tied for second in 36-hole scores, and stands alone in fourth for 18-hole scores.
McDowell has gone on to succeed on the PGA Tour where he won the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He has won 14 professional tournaments, including three wins on the PGA tour and reached as high as number four in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2011. For his services to the game of golf, McDowell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2011.
Jacque Nero played three seasons for UAB basketball (1990-92) but still finished as the third all-time scorer in school history with 1,939 career points after averaging 20.6 points per game for her career. She was the 1990-91 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and was a two-time First Team All-Sun Belt pick. Nero was also named to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament’s All-Tournament Team in 1990 and 1991. Upon UAB switching conferences, Nero was named the Great Midwest Player of the Year as a senior in 1992.
Nero went on to play professionally in the U.S. and abroad. She spent six seasons in Brazil and Israel, where she averaged at least 21 points and 11 rebounds per game each season, before being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1998 American Basketball League Draft by the Nashville Noise.
Patti Schroder played for UAB volleyball from 1985-86. She finished the 1985 season with 1,496 assists and 95 services aces, good for the seventh best and third best single season totals in UAB history. For her career, Schroder left UAB with 2,480 career assists, seventh most all-time even though seven of the women in the top ten were at UAB for longer than her two seasons. She was an All-Sun Belt Conference Performer in both 1985 and 1986 and earned Sun Belt Conference Female Athlete of the Year accolades in both of those years.
Schroder also excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on the Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll both of her years at UAB. Even more impressively, Schroder was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team in 1986. Her legacy continues to be honored by UAB volleyball, as her number four jersey was retired by the program.
Gary Sanders was a long-time announcer for WAPI-AM and called basketball and football games for UAB from 1979 to his retirement from UAB in 2006. He called more than 1,000 UAB athletic events in his 27 years with the Blazers, including NCAA Tournament wins over Kentucky in 1981 and 2004, UAB football’s win over LSU in 2000, and the 1992 NCAA East Regional Final game between Duke and Kentucky when Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater gave Duke a 104-103 win.
These four inductees will be honored at the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame dinner on Nov. 2 at The Club in Birmingham, and once again the following day at halftime of UAB’s football game against UTSA.
Tickets to the Hall of Fame dinner are on sale by clicking here. Individual tickets are $100 to the general public and $50 to former Blazer athletes. Larger groups who wish to sit together can purchase a table of eight for $800. For additional questions, call Blazer Boosters at 205-996-9969.
The next Hall of Fame class will be announced in 2020.
UAB Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees:
2018:
Graeme McDowell – Men’s Golf
Jacque Nero – Women’s Basketball
Patti Schroder – Volleyball
Gary Sanders – Announcer
2017:
Daniel Gaitan – Men’s Soccer
Deanna Jackson – Women’s Basketball
Jerome Mincy – Men’s Basketball
Mirela Vladulescu Booker – Women’s Tennis
Roddy White – Football
2013:
Vonetta Flowers – Track & Field
Dr. Charles “Scotty” McCallum – Former UAB President
Steve Mitchell – Men’s Basketball
Harry “The Hat” Walker – Former UAB Baseball Coach
2009:
Gene Bartow – Former UAB Men’s Basketball Coach and Director of Athletics
Dr. S. Richardson Hill – Former UAB President
Oliver Robinson – Men’s Basketball
Wanda Hightower Jordan – Women’s Basketball
Dr. Jerry D. Young – Former UAB Senior Vice President
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