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Mid­American Conference Hall of Fame Class includes former NFLers Brad Maynard and John Offerdahl, former NBAer Gary Trent Starting Blocks By Starting Blocks Follow on Twitter on May 28, 2013 at 8:09 PM, updated May 28, 2013 at 8:16 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio ­­ The Mid­American Conference will induct seven former players or coaches into its Hall of Fame on Thursday at the MAC Honors Dinner at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.

The seven inductees are Dave Keilitz (Central Michigan, baseball), Kim Knuth (Toledo, women’s basketball), Bill Mallory (Miami/Northern Illinois, football), Brad Maynard (Ball State, football), John Offerdahl (Western Michigan, football), Christi Smith (Akron, track and field) and Gary Trent (Ohio, men’s basketball).

The group will boost MAC Hall of Fame membership to 65.

For ticket information, call Julie Kachner at the Mid­American Conference office at 216­566­4622. Mid­American Conference headquarters are in Cleveland.

Brad Maynard was an NFL punter for 15 years, including his final season, 2011, as the Cleveland Browns' punter.

John Offerdahl made the Pro Bowl and earned various first­team All­NFL and All­AFC recognitions at linebacker in each of his first five seasons (1986­90) with the Miami Dolphins, before being slowed by injuries.

Gary Trent had a lengthy NBA career, playing mostly at forward.

From the MAC, bios on the 2013 Mid­American Conference Hall of Fame Class:

DAVE KEILITZ ­ Central Michigan (baseball):

Dave Keilitz has represented Central Michigan University with success throughout his entire career. From his time as an award­winning baseball student­athlete to his years as a coach, then administrator, and now his role within the baseball community on a national level, Keilitz has impacted the athletics landscape a local, conference and national levels.

Keilitz became Central Michigan’s first All­America baseball player as a senior in 1964, earning first­team NAIA honors. He then served Central Michigan as a graduate assistant coach then coach of the freshman team and eventually head baseball coach in 1971. As head coach for 14 seasons, Keilitz compiled a 453­203­6 record, won blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html 1/6 5/30/13 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html four MAC titles and was named MAC Coach of the Year four times and twice was Regional Coach of the Year.

Throughout his coaching career, Keilitz never had a losing season. He opened his head coaching career by leading the Chippewas to a No. 1 national ranking and into the NCAA College Division national championship game, and 28 years later led that 1971 squad into the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame. It was the first of six NCAA tournament appearances for Keilitz’s Chippewas.

Keilitz was hired as Central Michigan’s athletics director in 1984, leading the Chippewas to 26 MAC championships throughout his 10 years, a span in which every coach was named MAC Coach of the Year at least once.

Both during his time as coach and as athletics director, Keilitz also served on several American Baseball Coaches Association committees and was president of the organization in 1982. It was during his term that the ABCA Board of Directors was established, and he still serves as Executive Director today. Major legislation accomplishments have also taken place under his watch – bracket expansion in all divisions, change of season legislation in Division I, ball and bat standards for college play, and recruiting, practice and playing rules.

Keilitz also served as a member of the NCAA Council from 1989­92, where he chaired the NCAA Baseball Committee, was a member of the NCAA Post­Graduate Scholarship Committee, the NCAA Committee to Review Legislative Process, and served on the NCAA Television Committee. In 1992, chaired the committee to ‘Fine Tune’ Legislation from the 1991 NCAA ‘Reform’ Convention.

Keilitz and his wife, Sue, have two sons, Craig and Brad. The couple currently resides in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

KIM KNUTH ­ Toledo (women’s basketball):

Kim Knuth was a two­time MAC Player of the Year (1997­98 and 1998­99), a three­time first­team All­MAC selection and the MAC Tournament MVP in 1999 and was named honorable mention All­America by the Associated Press in 1998­99.

Knuth is the MAC’s all­time leading scorer (2,509 points) for women’s basketball. She also ranks first in MAC history in steals (368) and field goals made (899); third in three­point field goal percentage (42.6%); sixth in free throws made (548) and 19th in assists (484).

In Toledo career annals, Knuth ranks first in points scored (2,509), eighth in rebounds (779), fifth in assists (484) and first in steals (368). She led the team in scoring as a sophomore (20.4), junior (22.0) and senior (25.4).

Knuth played on NCAA Tournament teams in 1996, 1997 and 1999, and on the WNIT team in 1998. During her four years with Toledo, the Rockets’ record was an amazing 101­23, including 60­10 in MAC play.

Knuth was named second­team Academic All­America as a senior in 1998­99. She was a three­time Academic All­ MAC selection and graduated Cum Laude from Toledo’s College of Engineering in 1999. blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html 2/6 5/30/13 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html

Knuth married former Rocket football player Ryan Klaer following her graduation in 1999. The couple reside in St. Joseph, Mich.

BILL MALLORY ­ Miami/Northern Illinois (football):

Bill Mallory witnessed personal and team success, first as a football co­captain and assistant football coach, then as a head coach at four different universities – including two Mid­American Conference institutions—Miami and Northern Illinois.

Mallory (1953­56) won three varsity letters as a player at Miami University and earned first­team All­MAC honors and served as team co­captain in 1956. Following graduation in 1957, Mallory served as an assistant coach on the staffs of College Football Hall of Famers Woody Hayes, Doyt Perry and Carm Cozza.

Mallory was named Miami’s head football coach in 1969 and established a 39­12 overall record in five seasons (1969­73), including a MAC title in 1973 (11­0 record), defeated Florida in the Tangerine Bowl (final ranking of No. 17) and the seventh best winning percentage (.765) in Miami football history—better winning percentage than Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and Terry Hoeppner.

Mallory continued his head coaching career at Colorado for five seasons (1974­78), with an overall record of 35­ 21­1, including a Big Eight title in 1976 and two bowl appearances (1975 and 1976). Mallory joined Northern Illinois as head coach in 1980 for four seasons (1980­83) and had an overall record of 25­19, a MAC title in 1983 (10­2 record) and a victory over Cal State Fullerton in the California Bowl. He was head coach at Indiana for 13 years (1984­96) with an overall record of 69­77­3. His first year as head coach the Hoosiers posted an 0­11 record and went on to produce seven winning seasons, six bowl appearances—All­American Bowl (1986), Peach Bowl (1987, 1990), Liberty Bowl (1988), Copper Bowl (1991) and Independence Bowl (1993).

During his collegiate head coaching career, Mallory collected an overall record of 166­120­4 (.579) in 27 seasons as head coach. His teams defeated a dozen Top 25­ranked schools, including both No. 9 Ohio State and No. 11 Michigan in 1987. Mallory was named Conference Coach of the Year four times (MAC, 1973 at Miami; MAC, 1983 at Northern Illinois; Big Ten, 1986 and 1987 at Indiana).

Mallory was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame (1980), the Northern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame (1999), the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame (1993), the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (1993) and Miami University’s ‘Cradle of Coaches’ Association (1995).

Mallory and his wife, Eleanor, have three sons, Mike, Curt and Doug. The couple reside in Bloomington, Ind.

BRAD MAYNARD ­ Ball State (football):

Brad Maynard was a four year starter (1993­96) for Ball State University as a punter and was the first punter in blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html 3/6 5/30/13 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html the history of college football to be named an NCAA Division IA conference most valuable player.

During his collegiate career, Maynard ranks first in school history for punt yardage and punts in a career, and set the school and Conference record for career punt average. Maynard participated in two bowl games and following his senior season was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.

Maynard was a first team consensus All­American in both 1995 and 1996 and a second team All­American in 1994. Maynard was the Nation's No. 1 punter in 1995, No.3 punter in 1994 and the No. 6 punter in 1996.

In 1996, the MAC named Maynard the conference's Most Valuable Player and also the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was a first team All­MAC selection in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Maynard also earned second team honors in 1993. He was selected as an Academic All­MAC first team selection in 1994.

Maynard was drafted in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. During his NFL career, Maynard set NFL records for most punts in a Super Bowl, most punts by a rookie (1997) and most punt yards by a rookie (1997). During his 15­year NFL career Maynard played for three different NFL teams ­­ the New York Giants (1997­2000), Chicago Bears (2001­2010) and Cleveland Browns (2011).

Ball State inducted Maynard into the Ball State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Maynard and his wife, Karen, have three children and reside in Chicago, Ill.

JOHN OFFERDAHL ­ Western Michigan (football):

John Offerdahl (1982­85) was a third­team Associated Press All­American linebacker in 1984 and second­team in 1985, along with being the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Offerdahl set conference career record for tackles (694) and Western Michigan career leader for recovered fumbles (8) and second for forced fumbles (17).

Offerdahl topped the MAC in tackles (1983­84­85) and was second as a freshman in 1982. His 192 stops in 1983 is a Bronco season standard. His college No. 49 was retired by Western Michigan in 1995. Offerdahl was picked to play in the East­West Shrine and Senior Bowl All­Star games and was Defensive MVP of the Senior Bowl.

Offerdahl was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second­round, 53rd overall, of the 1986 NFL Draft. Offerdahl was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1986 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons in the league. Offerdahl retired prior to the start of the 1994 season, following three consecutive years of injuries.

Offerdahl started a successful chain of bagel shops in 1989, which became part of the coast­in­coast Noah Bagel Company. In 1990, the Offerdahl’s co­founded Offerdahl’s Bagel Gourmet and grew the concept to 10 stores before joining three other bagel entrepreneurs in March of 1995 to form Einstein Bros. Bagels, a national bagel retailer.

From March 1995 to June of 1996, Offerdahl served as VP of Operations for Florida. He was involved in growing 27 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html 4/6 5/30/13 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html stores in the Florida market during that time. The public company currently operates over 400 stores system­ wide. Offerdahl served on Einsteins’ Board of Directors until the spring of 1997. Offerdahl currently operates seven quick­casual restaurants named Offerdahl’s Café Grille.

Offerdahl was inducted into the Western Michigan Hall of Fame in 1996. He graduated from Western Michigan in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Science. Offerdahl and his wife, Lynn, have three children, Alexandra, Drew and Jameson. The couple reside in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

CHRISTI SMITH ­ Akron (track and field):

Christi Smith is one of the most decorated student athletes from the University of Akron while lettering four years in track. As an undergraduate from 1997­2000, Smith was the first NCAA I national champion in school history and the first multiple All­American in Akron track and field history.

Christi made an impact early on the Akron program under the guidance of Head Coach Dennis Mitchell by setting six school records as a freshman, which included a 20’ 4 ½” effort in the long jump that provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships. Smith established five more school records in 1998 and, in addition, scored 29 points to earn the Most Valuable Performer at the Mid­American Conference Indoor Championships.

As a senior in 2000, Smith captured the heptathlon (100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800 meter run) with a school and MAC record­breaking 5,797 points at the NCAA I National Championship in Durham, N.C. This achievement was rewarded by being named an All­American for the fourth time in her collegiate career.

Smith also earned All­America accolades by finishing ninth in the NCAA I heptathlon as a sophomore in 1998, by finishing second in the event at the 1999 national championship and with a ninth place finish in the long jump at the 1999 NCAA I Indoor Championship. In addition, Smith, who had 11 wins in the long jump, triple jump, pentathlon, and heptathlon events at the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships between 1998­2000, earned first­team All­MAC honors seven times.

As a result, the Columbus, Ohio native became the first female athlete in school history to be voted the Caroline Pardee Female Athlete of the Year three times from 1998­2000. In 2000 Smith, who carried a 3.36 GPA in physical education, earning first team Academic All­MAC honors, was the first Akron female athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials and was a finalist for the NCAA’s James E. Sullivan Leadership Award.

After graduating in 2002, Smith entered the college track coaching ranks, first at Ohio University then Kent State and for the last four seasons at the University of Iowa. Smith currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa.

GARY TRENT ­ Ohio (men’s basketball):

Gary Trent established many Ohio University and Mid­American Conference accolades during his collegiate career blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html 5/6 5/30/13 blog.cleveland.com/sports_impact/print.html?entry=/2013/05/mid-american_conference_hall_o.html (1992­95) in Athens, Ohio. Trent is one of just three players in conference history with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and is the only three­time MAC Player of the Year in MAC history. Trent was a three­time MAC scoring champion and two­time MAC rebounding leader.

Trent is Ohio’s third all­time leading scorer with 2,108 points and third all­time leading rebounder with 1,050 in just three seasons of play. Trent is Ohio’s all­time leader in career points per game (22.7 avg.).

Trent was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 1993 and also earned All­MAC first­team honors. Trent repeated as an All­MAC first team selection in 1994 and 1995, and also was named Honorable Mention All­American in 1995. Trent averaged 22.9 points and 12.8 rebounds as a junior in 1994­95, leading Ohio to a preseason NIT title and a berth in the postseason NIT.

Trent was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 11th overall selection of the 1995 NBA Draft and was dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers. Trent went on to enjoy an 11­year NBA career averaging more than eight points and four rebounds per game with Portland, Toronto, Dallas, and Minnesota.

Trent graduated from Ohio University in 2011 following his NBA career with a degree in management. In 2012, Ohio retired Trent’s No. 20 jersey and he was inducted into the Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Trent is a positive role model for at­risk youth as Assistant Principal and Cultural Intervention Specialist at Dayton’s Bluff Elementary School in St. Paul, Minn. Trent and his wife, Natalia, have four sons, Gary Jr., Garyson, Grayson and Graydon. The family resides in Apple Valley, Minn.

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