The Pride Online

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also served as president of the LSC and on the national eligibility committee of the NAIA.

When Dr. D. Whitney Halladay stepped down as president of the University in 1972, the regents named McDowell as the University’s sixth president. He was inaugurated at homecoming, and the Lions swiftly presented him with a national football championship. He remains loyal to the Lion athletic program since his retirement in 1982.

The addition of Carolyn Brown Burt makes the first mother-daughter A&M-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame team. Silva Boze Brown, a basketball player in the ’20s, was inducted in 1985.

A Commerce High School graduate, she received a B.S. in 1958 and M.Ed. in 1965, both from A&M-Commerce. She joined the A&M-Commerce health and physical education faculty in the fall of 1965. When women’s intercollegiate athletics re-emerged on campus in 1970, she organized the volleyball program and coached that sport for five years before becoming the women’s track and field coach. During her 10 years as the track and field coach, she had three athletes honored as all-Americans.
Carolyn also is a key player in the Athletic Hall of Fame, creating the scripts and the multi-media presentations. She also serves on the Athletic Association Board of Directors and on the Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee.

She retired from coaching in 1986 but remained on the faculty. She now is fully retired after a 33-year teaching career. In 1993, she was honored with the A&M-Commerce Gold Blazer Award for her volunteer work with the Alumni Association.

Regarded by many as one of the most exciting basketball players in A&M-Commerce history, Larry McGhee blossomed his junior and senior seasons and took the Lions to the big dance both years.

With the 6-1 guard on the roster, Coach Jim Gudger posted a 90-35 record in four seasons. In 1977-78, he led the team in scoring with a 17.6 average as the Lions posted a 26-10 record and finished fourth in the NAIA national rankings. One of his most memorable performances was in the quarterfinal game of the 1978 national tournament when the Lions were down by four with 90 seconds to play against Drury (Mo.) He stole the ball three times and drove for unassisted layups to put the Lions in the lead.

Larry played 125 games in his career, scoring 1,580 points for a 12.6 per game scoring average. His best single game was 44 points against Benedictine (Kan.) in 1977-78. He now is a teacher at Jefferson High School in his hometown, Linden, N.J.

Perhaps the most decorated athlete in modern women’s sports at A&M-Commerce, Alice Fortes was All-LSC in volleyball as a junior and senior after winning second team honors as a sophomore and the 1985 LSC Freshman of the Year award. In basketball, she was second team all-conference once and honorable mention twice. And when the Lady Lions reached the quarterfinals of the 1987 NCAA volleyball tournament, she was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America team. Toss that in with such honors as All-LSC Academic Team, the Lib Huggins Award, the Lafferty Scholarship and a team MVP under Coach Kathy Goodlett.
When she finished her volleyball career, Alice held school records of 495 kills in a season (1988), 131 solo blocks in a season (1987), 11 match (vs. Eastern New Mexico, 1988), and 141 season (1988) assisted blocks and 1,327 career kills. She also ranked second on the all-time dig list with 888 when she graduated.

Among her basketball records under Coach Kelly Breazeale were 13 free throws scored in a game (vs. East Texas Baptist, 1986-87, and vs. Cameron, Okla., 1988-89), 62 free throws scored in a season (1987-88), 109 free throw attempts in a season (1987-88) and 3.0 four-year career assist average. She now is volleyball coach at her alma mater in Missouri City, Texas, Dulles High School.

Three Alumni Selected As
Outstanding Coaches