Bowling Green State University Athletics
Varsity BG Club To Recognize Four
August 24, 2000 | General
Aug. 24, 2000
The Varsity BG Club, which has membership of over 550 former Bowling Green State University letterwinners, will recognize four people as part of their annual Varsity BG Day activities on Saturday, Sept. 9 during the BG - Pittsburgh football game.
The honorees include Jim Whittaker '49, who is being honored as the Golden Letterman, Bob Hill '72 as the Silver Letterman, and Bill & Helen Lloyd as the Honorary Letterwinners.
The honorary award is presented annually to someone who has made significant contributions to Falcon athletics, but is not a letterwinner. The silver award is presented annually to a letterwinner who graduated at least 25 years ago, but after 1949. The golden award goes to a letterman who graduated at least 50 years ago.
Jim Whittaker was a four-year track letterwinner (1946-49) graduating in 1949 with a degree in education and in 1951 with a master's degree. He was a pole vaulter and set the track and school mark at 12-feet 10 3/4 inches in 1948. Whittaker also helped as an assistant coach for football and basketball. He and his wife, Frances, reside in Flint, Michigan.
Hill earned six letters from 1969-71 at BGSU (three each in basketball and baseball). He scored 125 points during his basketball career, and played 100 games with the baseball team driving in 56 runs. As a junior, he led the team with 28 hits, 23 RBI and six home runs. Hill spent two seasons as the graduate assistant basketball coach at BGSU after graduation and two seasons as a full-time assistant.
He had stints as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh and Kansas in the collegiate ranks and the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic in the NBA. Hill has also served as the head coach of the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA and the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He was a color commentator for Turner Broadcasting before being named to his current post, head coach at Fordham University, in July 1999.
Bill and Helen (Morrow) Lloyd both graduated from BGSU in 1948 and have been avid supporters of Falcon athletics for more than 50 years. Eventhough "home" for the Lloyd's is West Unity, Ohio, about 50 miles from Bowling Green, they travel to campus about three times each week for meetings and athletic contests. All three of their sons received degrees from BGSU.
Helen devoted 30 years to a teaching career and is widely-known through her puppeteering. Bill is a retired vice president and treasurer of Winzeler Stamping Co. and currently serves as secretary-treasurer at Herbson Manufacturing. They earned the Community Service Award from the BGSU Alumni Association in 1999.
