Aug. 14, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Five outstanding individuals will be inducted into the University of Louisville Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 4 at the Louisville Downtown Marriott Ballroom.
The list includes Anthony Bridges, an All-America cornerback for the Cardinals in 1993 when he picked off seven passes; Joan Dunaway Burks, an impressive guard who became the second 1,000-point career scorer for the Cardinals' women's basketball program; Damien Kalvar, a three-time Metro Conference champion and U of L record holder in the hammer throw; Tyrus McCloud, a powerful linebacker who twice earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors; and Stephanie Storen Jett, the career assists leader as a setter for the U of L volleyball team who led the Cardinals to their first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
The event will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m. and the induction ceremony to follow. Tickets are $40 per person and may be obtained by calling U of L Athletics at (502) 852-8460. The inductees will also be recognized at the Cardinals' Oct. 5 home football game against Utah.
"We always look forward to welcoming back an impressive collection of former student-athletes who have left an enduring legacy to the tradition of Cardinal Athletics," said U of L Director of Athletics Tom Jurich.
Anthony Bridges (1991-93) earned second team All-America honors by AP, UPI and Football News in 1993 after leading the Cardinals with seven interceptions and recording 71 tackles, third best on the team that season. He helped the Cardinals post a 9-3 record and win the Libery Bowl over Michigan State in 1993, when his seven interceptions are still tied for third best in a single season at U of L. The 5-9 cornerback from Moultrie, Ga. was named the Cardinals' most outstanding defensive back as a sophomore. He played parts of five seasons in the Arena Football League for Anaheim, Grand Rapids and Buffalo.
Joan Dunaway Burks (1977-81) scored 1,185 points , just the second player in school history to score 1,000 career points. At the time of her graduation in 1981, the 5-8 guard held U of L career records in scoring, assists (356) and field goals made (531) and still ranks in the top 11 in each of those categories. U of L won an average of nearly 17 games in her four years and she helped the Cardinals to two Metro Conference Tournament Championships in 1980 and 1981. A Louisville native who prepped at Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Burks scored a career-high 24 points against Northern Kentucky as a junior. She is currently 11th on the Cardinals' all-time scoring list.
Stephanie Storen Jett (1993-96) was a four-year starting setter for the University of Louisville volleyball team from 1993-1996 as the dominant team leader, floor general and an outstanding blocker. She is widely regarded as the cornerstone of Cardinal Volleyball as her four year run at U of L firmly established U of L as a national volleyball power. She led U of L to its first Sweet Sixteen NCAA Appearance, four consecutive conference championships and Four NCAA Appearances. The native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan wwas the 1995 and 1996 Conference USA Setter of the Year and the 1994 Metro Tournament MVP, a rare honor for a setter. An outstanding student in mechanical engineering, she was a National USA Today Positive Performer, the Metro Conference Volleyball Scholar of the Year and never missed a semester of being on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the Metro Commissioner's List and the Conference USA Commissioner's Medallist. She left U of L as the career leader in assists with 4,881, single season assists (which she set and reset three times - 1531, 1473 and 1463 respectively) and assists in a match (74 versus the University of South Florida).
Damien Kalvar (1991-95) was the Cardinal men's track and field program's first ever conference champion in a throwing event and still stands as one of the program's top throwers ever. A native of Louisville, Kalvar was a three-time Metro Conference champion and a four-time provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships during his four-year career as a Cardinal. As a sophomore in 1993, Kalvar won the weight throw title at the Metro Conference Indoor Championships to become the Cards' first conference champion in a throwing event. In 1995, he closed his collegiate career with another Metro Conference indoor weight throw title and then added his first outdoor title with a win in the hammer throw at the Metro Conference Outdoor Championships. Kalvar still holds the U of L record in the outdoor hammer throw with a career best mark of 204 feet, 2 inches set in 1993 in Charleston, Ill., and was the indoor weight throw record holder for more than 10 years. Following his competitive career at U of L, Kalvar served as an assistant coach with the Cards for five seasons.
Tyrus McCloud (1993-96) was a defensive force at linebacker as the Cardinals' leading tackler for three straight seasons. A two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and team co-captain in 1995 and 1996, McCloud earned earned All-America honors (The Sporting News second team, AP third team) as a senior in 1996 when he led a Cardinal defense that ranked fourth in the nation in total defense. He recorded 144 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries as a senior. His 21 tackles in U of L's season opening victory over Kentucky in 1996 -- a game in which he also had two sacks and two pass break-ups -- ranks as the seventh-best single game effort ever for the Cardinals. He is fourth all-time at U of L with 36 career tackles for a loss and his 405 career tackles is the seventh best for the Cards. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, where he played for two seasons (1997-98).