Former women's basketball coach Shirley Huyett will go into the SOU Sports Hall of Fame.
Huyett Leads 2009 SOU Hall of Fame Class
A group of four individuals and a football team have been selected for induction into the Southern Oregon University Sports Hall of Fame.
Former women’s basketball coach Shirley Huyett, former men’s basketball and baseball player Dave D’Olivo, former baseball player Neil Rivenburg, former wrestler Roger Duvall and the 1983 SOU football team will all go into the Hall of Fame.
The induction banquet is scheduled for Sept. 25 and the team will also be honored at halftime of the Southern Oregon/Linfield football game Sept. 26.
Huyett served as head coach of the SOU women’s basketball team from 1990-91 to 2000-01. During those 11 years, Huyett led the Raiders to a 220-111 record and a .665 winning percentage. The 220 wins rank as the most in the program’s history. The Raiders advanced to the NAIA National Tournament three times (1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99) during her tenure and the 1996-97 team advanced all the way to the NAIA Final Four. The Raiders advanced to the conference playoffs each of her 11 years, won two conference titles and never finish worse than fourth in the league standings.
D’Olivo was a star on both the basketball court and the baseball field for the Raiders from 1956 to 1959. D’Olivo led the Raiders in rebounding as a sophomore, junior and senior and still ranks second on SOU’s career rebounding list with 999 rebounds. He also led the team in scoring with 15.1 points as a senior. D’Olivo was named Oregon Collegiate Conference All-Star as a junior and senior. In baseball, D’Olivo was an All-Conference pitcher as a sophomore, junior and senior. In 1974, D’Olivo was inducted into the NAIA Division II Hall of Fame.
Rivenburg was a baseball star from 1964 to 1967, earning Oregon Collegiate Conference honors all four years and NAIA District II honors as a sophomore and senior. As a senior, Rivenburg earned NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors. Rivenburg could go down as SOU’s best hitter ever, leading the Raiders in batting all four years and leading the team in home runs as a freshman, junior and senior. As a senior, Rivenburg led the Nation in stolen bases with 25. Following his junior season, Rivenburg was drafted by the New York Mets, but decided to return to school. The Boston Red Sox drafted him after his senior season and Rivenburg played in the Red Sox organization until injuries ended his career.
Duvall wrestled for the Raiders during the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons as a junior and senior. As a junior, Duvall won the Evergreen Conference championship at 177 pounds and then went on to win the NAIA District II title. Duvall was named captain as a senior and after taking second at the conference championships, went on to again win the district crown and helped the Raiders claim the program’s first NAIA District II team title. At the NAIA National Championships, Duvall earned All-American honors with a fourth place finish.
The 1983 football team earned the NAIA District II Championship after going 9-2, the program’s first-ever nine-win season. The SOU offense was led by All-Americans Martin Turner (wide receiver) and Jeff Southern (running back) and All-Conference and All-District quarterback Jeff McClellan and averaged 416 yards of total offense and nearly 33 points per game. The Raiders started off the season going 5-0, including a victory over defending NAIA National Champion Linfield, and earned SOU’s first-ever Top 10 National Ranking. After a pair of mid-season setbacks, the Raiders won four straight to close out the season and wrapped up the District Championship with a 22-7 victory over Western Washington. Head coach Chuck Mills earned NAIA District II Coach of the Year honors and 10 players earned All-Conference honors.