FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2005

The National Junior College Athletic Association Football Coaches have named six men and one team to the 2005 NJCAA Football Hall of Fame.

Selected as coaches are Parker Dykes of Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, MS and Dale Patterson of Northeast Oklahoma A&M in Miami, OK.

Players named to the list are Matt Blair of Northeast Oklahoma A&M, Billy Burt of Kilgore Junior College in Kilgore, TX, and David Dill of Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, KS.

Tapped for team honors this year is the 1988 Glendale College Gauchos of Glendale, AZ. Chosen as a contributor is Chuck Bowman of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Coaches

Parker Dykes grew up in Bay Springs, MS where he played football for the Bulldogs. After high school, Dykes attended Jones County Junior College where he was an honorable mention All-State football player. Dykes continued playing football at Mississippi College where he received the Danna X Bible Outstanding Blocker Award and was president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees at MC.

With the exception of a five-year stint in the insurance business, Dykes has been a football coach since 1965. On the prep level, he was an assistant for three years at Forest, MS High and head coach for two years each at Ackerman and Monticello. Dykes then went on the college ranks where he was an assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi, Arkansas State University, and the University of Richmond. He came back to his juco roots in 1987 as an assistant at Hinds Community College.

In 1992, Dykes returned to his alma mater, JCJC, as the head coach. During his 13 years thus far, Dykes’ teams have posted an impressive 89-46-1 record. This includes one national title in 1998, two state and Region 23 titles in 1998 and 2002, and four post-season bowl appearances.

Professional honors for Dykes include being named Coach of the Year in 1998 by the MS High School Activities Association Junior College, the MS Association of Community/Junior Colleges and the All-American Football Foundation. He has held various offices as a member of the NJCAA Football Coaches Assn. including treasurer, secretary, vice president, president (2001-03) and past-president. He was president of the American Community College Football Coaches Assn. in 2004 and is presently serving as immediate past-president. Dykes is also very active in FCA at the local, state and national level.

Dykes and his wife, Jane, have three sons and three grandchildren.

Dale Patterson was an All-State football player at Okmulgee, OK High before attending Northeast Oklahoma A&M. He went on to graduate from Drake University where he also played football.

Patterson was a high school coach for 12 years before joining the NEO staff as defensive coordinator in 1981. He held that position until 1996 when he became the college’s head football coach. During his eight seasons as head coach, Patterson’s teams were 60-26 including three conference championships in 1998, 2002 and 2003. He is the third winningest coach in NEO history, behind NJCAA Hall of Famers S. A. (Red) Robertson who was also Patterson’s NEO A&M coach, and Glen Wolfe.

Patterson was named NCJAA District 6 Coach of the Year in 1998, 2002 and 2003. Patterson was awarded the Merv Johnson Integrity in College Coaching Award in 2004 by the OK Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Players

Matt Blair is a former NEO Golden Norseman and is one of the all-time greats at the school. While at NEO in 1968-69, he led his team to a national championship in 1969. He was also a starter on the basketball team that finished seventh in the nation that year.

After NEO, Blair played at Iowa State where he was a second round draft pick in 1974 for the Minnesota Vikings. He played his entire 12-year professional football career with the Vikings. Playing in six consecutive Pro-Bowls and two Super Bowls, Blair was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team, Miller “Man of the Year” for community service and Most Valuable Linebacker in 1981. He is second on the Vikings all-time list for tackles with 1,452, and made 23 ½ blocked kicks, good for third in the NFL and tops in Vikings stats.

Blair is president of Matt Blair’s Celebrity Promotions, Inc... Based in Edina, MN, MBCP is an event planning and marketing company specializing in the management of golf tournaments as well as other events.

Charity work is a high priority for Blair who has worked with the Children’s Miracle Network, Multiple Sclerosis Society, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Lupus Foundation of MN, the Salvation Army, United Way, International Hearing Foundation, Homeward Bound, The First Tee, the MN Literacy Council and Volunteers of American Minnesota.

Billy Burt played for Kilgore Junior College from 1961-62. He was a two-time All Texas selection and a two-time NJCAA All-American. In 1962, Burt was also named to the JC Gridwire All-American team. He has also been named to the Kilgore Hall of Fame.

After Kilgore, Burt played at Stephen F. Austin where he was the team’s co-captain and second team Lone Star Conference his senior year. Burt also set a new school rushing record for a nine-game season. He is a member of the SFASU Letterman’s Association and has received its Jacks Hall of Honor.

From 1967-76, Burt was an assistant high school coach in Jasper, TX. He also coached the track team which won the 3-A state title in 1975. That same year he was named Track Coach of the Year by the Texas Sportswriters Association.

In 1976, Burt left coaching to pursue a career in school administration. From 1976-82, he was an assistant principal at Jasper High School, from 1982-95 he was principal at Jasper Middle School, and from 1995-2002 he was the director of maintenance.

After playing prep ball at Columbus (KS) Unified High School, David Dill was a defensive back on the 1970 National Champion team at Fort Scott Community College. At Fort Scott, Dill was a two-time Kansas Junior College All-Conference selection. In 1971, he was a first team All-American defensive back when he led his conference in interception (8) and was second in unassisted tackles (139). After junior college, Dill played football at Duke University where he was named Outstanding College Athlete of America in 1972.

After college, Dill served his country as a jet fighter pilot for the United State Air Force. He flew air combat sorties in Northern Iraq and was awarded the Aerial Achievement Medal. Other USAF awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Air Force Commendation Medals, two Combat Readiness Medals, two National Defense Service Medals and two Southwest Asia Service Medals. He retired from the USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Dill earned his master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Oklahoma and is presently flying as a captain for Southwest Airlines out of Chicago’s Midway Airport.

Team

In 1988, the Glendale (AZ) Community College Gauchos ascended to heights never before achieved by a football team in the school’s history. Prior to that year, Glendale had never won a Western States Football League title. The Gauchos had never beaten conference foes Phoenix, Ricks, Dixie or Snow. In fact, their record for the three previous seasons was 2-7, 1-8 and 3-6.

Entering the 1988 campaign, Glendale was unranked and not expected to contend for a title. However, 1988 proved to be the turning point in the Gauchos’ program. The team went undefeated, coming from behind to defeat Snow in the final regular season game and claim the WSFL title. Glendale went on to win the Valley of the Sun Bowl and was named the NJCAA National Champion.

Since that pivotal year, Glendale has become the dominant force in Arizona football. The Gauchos have won or shared the conference title in Arizona nine times and made 11 post-season bowl appearances.

Contributor

Following a prep career at Ponca City, OK, Chuck Bowman attended the University of Oklahoma. Playing football under the legendary Bud Wilkinson, Bowman was on teams that won two national titles and two Orange Bowls. He coached high school ball for nine years before going to NEO in 1967 as head coach.

During five seasons, Bowman’s teams went 41-8, won two national championships (1967 and 1969) and three bowl games. He was National Coach of the Year in 1967 and 1971. Following his five seasons at NEO, Bowman was called into the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and did not coach again.

Bowman’s honors and awards include the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Hall of Fame Foundation, Abe Lemons Award from the Jim Thorpe Foundation, and the Salt and Light Award from the Christian Businessman’s Association of Oklahoma.

From 1972-2003, Bowman was the Oklahoma Regional and State Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was instrumental in the formation of the State and National FCA.

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