Bowling Green State University Athletics
Erik White: BGSU Hall Of Fame Inductee
September 10, 2003 | General
Sept. 10, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome five new members on Friday (Sept. 12), BGSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Paul Krebs has announced. The 2003 class will be inducted during a formal dinner on the BGSU campus.
The class of 2003 will include coach and administrator Fred Beyerman, men's swimmer Hank Reest '61, football standouts Mark Szlachcic '93 and Erik White '93 and hockey coach Jerry York.
The official induction ceremony will take place Friday (Sept. 12) in the grand ballroom of BGSU's Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of Saturday's (Sept. 13) BGSU-Liberty football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game begins at 6:00 p.m. and is designated as Varsity BG & Hall of Fame Night.
Tickets for Friday's dinner are $35 and advance reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7063. Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office at 1-877-BGSUTICKET or 372-0000.
The following is the fourth in a series of articles profiling each of the 2003 inductees:
Erik White, a native of Massillon, Ohio, teamed with fellow 2003 inductee Mark Szlachcic to form one of the top duos in MAC history. Like Szlachcic, White helped the Falcons to back-to-back MAC titles and bowl berths in 1991 and 1992. And, like Szlachcic, White was a two-time All-MAC First-Team selection.
In fact, White earned the Vern Smith Award as the league's Most Valuable Player in each of his last two seasons, becoming one of only two two-time winners of the award (joining BGSU's Brian McClure). White played sparingly in his freshman season of 1989, completing 8-of-21 passes, but assumed the starting role as a sophomore in 1990. As a starter, he guided BGSU to a 24-7-2 record over the next three years, including a 21-3 mark his last two seasons. He led BG to 16-straight MAC wins in 1991 and 1992, tying the league record for consecutive victories.
White threw for 299 yards, the highest total in the MAC in 1990, in the final game of that season, providing a glimpse of things to come. In 1991, he completed 185 of his 323 passing attampts, for a total of 2,204 yards through the air and 17 touchdowns. In the Falcons' California Bowl win at Fresno State, White threw for 263 yards and two more scores. White threw at least one TD pass in all 12 games that fall.
In addition to the Vern Smith Award and the All-MAC First-Team honors, White was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year in 1991, and also was a UPI honorable mention All-American.
In 1992, White again earned all four of the aforementioned honors in leading the Brown and Orange to another MAC title and bowl win. He completed 195 passes in 344 attempts, amassing 2,380 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air. White threw 11 TD passes over the final four regular-season games, including three in each of the last three contests. He had a career-high 312 yards passing in the title-clinching win over Kent. In the Las Vegas Bowl win over Nevada, White had 24 completions for 245 yards and a pair of scores.
White led the MAC in total offense in each of his last two seasons. He ended his career ranked second in school history with 39 TD passes and third in both completions (515) and attempts (950). He was also third in school history, and sixth in MAC history, with 6,072 career yards passing. Entering the 2003 season, White still ranks third in completions, attempts and yards, and is third in touchdowns on the BGSU passing charts as well.
White participated in the NFL combines following his senior season, and signed with the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent, before being cut in late August of that year.
