Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Winter 2002

Rice Inducts Hall of Famers - Scoreboard
Winter 2002
VOL.58, NO.2
Rice Inducts Hall of Famers
Three athletes who were influential in Rice’s athletic resurgence in the
1990s have been inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jose Cruz Jr., Kareem Streete- Thompson, and Valerie Tulloch became the
newest members of the hall on October 5 at ceremonies in the Owl Club.
Also honored were former football lettermen Dan Drake and Matt Gorges
as Distinguished “R” Men. Carl Isgren received an honorary “R.”
Cruz, now the starting centerfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, was a threetime
all-American during his Rice career (1993–95), leading the Owls to
their first NCAA play-off appearance in 1995. He ended his career as the
Owls’ all-time leader in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in—
records that all have been eclipsed in the past six seasons.
Thompson, still one of the top long jumpers in the world, won the 1995
NCAA championship in the event for the Owls. His jump of 28' 3 3/4" in
1994 stands as the Rice school record. Thompson also shares the Rice
record in the 100-meter dash at 10.16 seconds, and he represented the
Cayman Islands in the 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney Olympics in the
two events.
Tulloch was a three-time NCAA champion in the javelin, winning the event
in 1992, 1994, and 1995. The four-time all-American and three-time
Southwest Conference champion still holds the Rice record of 198' 9", set
at the 1995 Pan American Games while competing for Canada.
Drake, a successful Houston businessman, quarterbacked the Owls in 1951–
52, while Gorges was an all-SWC guard for the Owls’ 1957 conference
championship team. An Edinburg, Texas, businessman, Gorges has been a
long-time Owl supporter in the Rio Grande Valley. Isgren, a 1961 Rice
graduate, has been an avid booster of all Rice athletic programs.
Owls flew high during
the 2001 campaign, going
8–4 overall and 5–3 in
the Western Athletic
Conference. Despite
being bowl eligible for
the first time since 1997,
the Owls were passed
over for a postseason trip.
Linebacker Dan Dawson
and defensive end
Brandon Green were
named to the WAC allleague
first team.
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