Whitworth’s Bill Johnson Inducted Into Naia Hall Of Fame

Bill Johnson, who has served as Whitworth College’s faculty athletic representative for more than a quarter of a century, Monday was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame during the association’s 55th annual convention in Salt Lake City.

“Twenty-seven years ago,” Johnson, a Whitworth alum, told the gathering during the ceremony in his honor, “a college president asked a brash, young psychology professor to be the school’s faculty athletics representative. Not knowing any better, I accepted. Six presidents and 10 athletic directors later, a lot has happened to me and the NAIA.”

Johnson, who just completed his term as chair of the NAIA’s national coordinating committee, said “a person has very few truly red-letter days in his life. … This is one of those days for me.”

Johnson, a former District 1 (Washington state) chair, added, “During my tenure with this association, I’ve been privileged to be a part of some significant changes, including the start of women’s championships. …

“The NAIA occupies a special place in intercollegiate athletics and there will always be a need for the association.”

Baseball

Whitworth College is looking for former baseball players interested in playing in the school’s annual fall alumni game, which will be Oct. 14.

Info: (509) 466-3235.

Basketball

The Yakima Sun Kings, 1995 Continental Basketball Association champions, will hold a free-agent tryout camp Oct. 7-8 in Yakima.

Info: Coach Calvin Duncan or assistant George Whittaker, (509) 248-1222.

Northwest Basketball Camps will put on a coaching clinic Oct. 21 at Centennial Middle School, 915 N. Ella Road, for coaches of boys and girls teams of all levels.

Cost is $30 for AAU coaches, $40 for all others and includes lunch and a basketball manual. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. with sessions ending at 4 p.m. Coaches should wear workout gear to participate in the hands-on learning.

Info: Spokane Regional AAU office, (509) 927-9167.

College scene

Eastern Washington University’s athletic department has hired Cheney High School graduate Andy Neubauer as an athletic trainer and elevated Carla Baker to the head trainer position after Tom Embree left for a position at the University of Oregon.

Neubauer, a 1989 graduate of Western Washington, most recently served as athletic trainer for the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League. Baker is in her second year as a trainer at EWU. Embree had been Eastern’s head trainer since 1988.

Jake Schmidt, a junior goalkeeper at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., from Spokane (Mead High School), was a winner in his first two career starts for the Mules’ men’s soccer team. He allowed three goals and made eight saves.

In five games, he has a 2.17 goals-against average and 70.6 save percentage. The Mules are 5-2, 2-0 in league.

Chad Zlateff, a Seattle Pacific freshman from Spokane (Gonzaga Prep), has three goals in the NCAA Division II eighth-ranked Falcons’ 6-4 soccer start, two of them game-winners.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo