By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Athletics will welcome five new members into the Tiger Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 13, 2018. The inductees include Carolyn Bird (contributor), Weston Harding (wrestling), Dave Nehls (baseball), Jose Salcido (football), and Ed Schumacher (men’s basketball). The induction ceremony will take place the morning of October 13 at the Memorial Union Ballroom on the campus of Fort Hays State University at 10 am. The inductees will be recognized at halftime of the football game vs. Pittsburg State at 2:00 pm.
Carolyn Bird (Contributor) – Posthumous
Carolyn Bird spent 23 years of her career working with Fort Hays State’s student-athletes and 25 years total at the university. She started a study program for student-athletes at FHSU in 1991 at the request of then FHSU President Dr. Edward H. Hammond and Athletic Director Tom Spicer. Under her guidance as Academic Coordinator for Athletics, the program continued to grow, creating the need for a Technology and Learning Center created in 2002. The center was renamed the Carolyn Bird Technology and Learning Center in her honor in the spring of 2015. Bird was an Assistant Athletic Director, Senior Woman Administrator, and Director of Compliance at FHSU, while serving on numerous athletic committees for FHSU at the conference and NCAA level. Working closely with coaches and administrators, her efforts made an impact on the lives of many student-athletes through the years, while graduation rates and grade point averages improved significantly as a result of her leadership.
Weston Harding (Wrestling, 1987-91)
A native of Salina, Kansas, Harding was a three-time All-America performer and four-time national qualifier for Tiger Wrestling, compiling a career record of 130-40-4, winning 76 percent of his matches. At 134 pounds, he finished sixth nationally in 1988-89 as a sophomore, was the national runner-up as a junior in 1989-90, and then placed fifth his senior year in 1990-91. He was a three-time all-district performer and two-time all-conference performer. Harding won at least 25 matches each year, with a senior record of 43-7 being his single-season best. As a junior, he finished 35-8-2 overall. Following his career as a student-athlete, he served as an assistant coach at Fort Hays State from 1992 to 1994. Harding is now one of the top high school coaches in the state of Oklahoma, guiding Collinsville High School to seven 5A state championships over the last eight years (2011-16, 2018). Collinsville has also claimed five state dual championships in that run. Harding has been named the Tulsa World All-Metro Coach of the Year seven times.
Dave Nehls (Baseball, 1985-86)
A native of Longmont, Colorado, Nehls earned NAIA All-America honors in 1985 as a shortstop, setting the single-season record for stolen bases at FHSU with 52, a record that still stands today. But the All-America honor was not just based on speed as he led the team in batting average (.387) and runs scored (71), while tying for the team lead in extra-base hits with 31 (17 doubles, 6 triples, and 8 home runs) and drawing 30 walks. He added 42 RBIs to his impressive offensive onslaught that season, playing in all 66 games. He put together a solid senior year to follow, hitting .320 with 30 extra-base hits (10 doubles, and a team-best 7 triples and 13 home runs). He drove in 60 runs, scored 64, drew 45 walks, and stole 23 bases. Nehls stole 75 bases in his two years at FHSU, caught just eight times for a success rate of 90.3 percent. For his two-year career at FHSU, he finished with a .356 batting average, 27 doubles, 13 triples (tied for the FHSU career record with Brian Keck), 21 home runs, 131 runs scored, and 102 RBI. Nehls was a two-time all-conference and all-district performer, and a member of Fort Hays State’s only two teams to win more than 40 games in a season during the program’s NAIA history. He helped the Tigers to a 45-21 record in 1985 and a 47-16-1 mark in 1986.
Jose Salcido (Football, 1993-95)
A native of Douglas, Arizona, Salcido played three years for the Tigers from 1993 to 1995. He ranks third in tackles during the NCAA Division II era at Fort Hays State with 342 over three seasons (averaged 114 per season), leading the team in the category all three years. He also accumulated 35 tackles for loss, tied for fourth in the NCAA era at FHSU, and 11 interceptions, tied for third most in the NCAA era. He was an all-region first team selection as a senior in 1995 and all-region second team selection as a junior in 1994. Salcido was a three-time All-RMAC First Team selection at linebacker. As a senior, Salcido earned All-America Third Team honors from the Football Gazette. He owns the FHSU career (9) and single-season (5) records for blocked kicks in a season. He also recorded six interceptions in 1993, tied for second most in a season at FHSU.
Ed Schumacher (Men’s Basketball, 1974-76)
A native of Hays, Kansas, Schumacher was an All-American for the Tigers in men’s basketball for the 1974-75 season as a junior. He averaged 18.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game as a junior, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 73 percent at the free-throw line. Schumacher was a two-time All-GPAC First Team and All-District 10 selection alongside teammate Barton Snow. As a senior, he averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. In two years with the Tigers, he averaged 17.9 points per game (9th on the career scoring average list at FHSU) with a total of 930 points, and pulled down 467 rebounds for an average of 9.0 per game.