New Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame Class Set for Enshrinement on Friday

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest and the Winston-Salem community are set to enshrine the latest class of inductees into the storied Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame on Friday evening. The class also includes Barbara Trautwein, the recipient of the Gene Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Hall of Fame inductees includes four-time All-American and two-time ACC Champion in the heptathlon, Trina Brindel; two-sport letter winner in baseball and basketball, Alton "Tunney'' Brooks; Arnold Palmer Award recipient and three-year NFL veteran, Mike Elkins; the 2021 American Football Coaches Association's Outstanding Achievement Award recipient, 2012 Gene Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award winner and long-time athletics administrator and coach, Bill Faircloth; the first four-time All-ACC selection in Wake Forest women's soccer history, Emily Taggart; finally, Ron Wellman, who served as Wake Forest Director of Athletics from 1992-2019 and oversaw numerous historic achievements including five team NCAA Championships and seven individual national titles.

Additionally, Barbara Trautwein will receive the Gene Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award. Trautwein served in the Wake Forest music department from 1985-2005. Today, she is an advisor to the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black.

"We are excited to celebrate this year's diverse group and welcome them into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame," said Dr. Peter Brubaker, Wake Forest Faculty Athletics Representative and Chair of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee. "Each of these inductees has made a lasting impact on Wake Forest Athletics and our University community. I would like to thank our entire committee for their hard work during this process and we look forward to welcoming these individuals and their families back to Winston-Salem this weekend for a special induction ceremony and weekend."

During their Wake Forest careers, this incredible group of Demon Deacons featured 10 All-America selections, six First Team All-ACC honorees and multiple broken school records. Along with those numbers, during the 27 years (1992-2007) that Wellman served as the director of athletics Wake Forest produced nine national players of the year, four national freshman of the year awards, and 171 first team All-Americans, 607 first team All-ACC selections, 41 ACC Players of the Year and 36 ACC Coaches of the Year, 38 ACC Freshman of the Year awards, 18 ACC Tournament MVPs and 27 Academic All-Americans.

It is safe to say this year's Hall of Fame Class is one of most decorated classes in the school's history.

Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Trina Bindel

Held nine school records while competing for the Deacon women's track team in the mid-1990s.
Still holds school records in high jump and heptathlon.
Holds the school indoor and outdoor records in the high jump.
Ranked in the top three all-time at Wake Forest in the long jump, 100-meter hurdles and javelin.
Won All-American honors in 1993, 1995 and 1996 in the heptathlon, and was All-American in 1995 for the indoor high jump.
Named All-ACC four times.
Two-time ACC outdoor track heptathlon champion.

Alton "Tunney" Brooks

Baseball, 1949-52 (also a member of the basketball team).
Native of Wilson, NC (Coon High).
Wake Forest catcher.
Hit .243 for his career with 2 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Best offensive season was 1951 when he hit .333 (8-24).
Was slated to be Wake Forest's starting catcher in 1951 when the team represented the USA at the Pan American Games.
Broke his thumb in the opening game of the tournament and missed several weeks of the regular season.
Second-leading scorer on the 1951-52 basketball team at 11.6 points per game behind only Dickie Hemric.
Scored 789 points in his 3-year varsity career.
Wake Forest baseball and basketball captain in 1952.
Went on to a successful high school coaching career including stops at Edenton Holmes and Lumberton.
Coached football, basketball and baseball at Edenton Holmes from 1953-58.
Won football state championships in 1954, 1956, 1957.
Coached football, basketball and baseball at Lumberton High from 1960-1989.
Went 73-39 in football and won eight consecutive conference championships from 1962-69.
Won four conference championships in basketball and was twice named state coach of the year.
Also served as Athletics Director at Lumberton for 30 years where the football stadium bears his name.
Inducted into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2010.
Named to the North Carolina Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 2005.

Mike Elkins

At the conclusion of his career in 1988, Elkins ranked first in Wake Forest history in total offense (7,170 yards) and passing yards (7,304), and second in pass completions (609) and touchdown passes (43).
Elkins' 19 wins as a starting quarterback ranks second in program history to just Riley Skinner (25).
Earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 1988 as he threw for 2,205 yards, 14 touchdowns and completed 58.9 percent of his passes.
Following his senior season, Elkins was named the Arnold Palmer Award recipient.
Still remains ranked in the top 10 of 17 offensive categories in Wake Forest history.
The second quarterback taken (behind Troy Aikman) in the 1989 NFL Draft (32nd overall) by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Played three years in the NFL for the Chiefs, Browns and Oilers.

Bill Faircloth

Named the 2021 American Football Coaches Association's Outstanding Achievement Award recipient.
- The AFCA Board of Trustees created the Outstanding Achievement Award in order to recognize AFCA members, past and present, who have achieved outstanding success while coaching football.
Three-year letter winner at Wake Forest as an offensive lineman from 1961-63. He was team captain in his senior year and earned Academic All-ACC honors. Faircloth earned his master's degree from Alabama in 1965.
Known affectionately to Wake Forest players for decades as "Big Daddy," has been directly affiliated with Demon Deacon football since 1960.
Hit a milestone in 2012 when he attended his 400th consecutive Wake Forest football game on Nov. 3 when the Demon Deacons took on Boston College.
In April 2004, the foyer of the Mark C. Pruitt Football Center was dedicated as the "Faircloth Foyer" in honor of Faircloth's dedication and long-time service to the Wake Forest football program and University as a whole. Additionally, the coaches locker room inside Bridger Field House at Truist Field is named in his honor.
Coached previously at Catawba College from 1966-75, including three years as head coach (1973-75), and was an assistant at Duke in 1976 and 1977.
Worked under head coaches John Mackovic and Al Groh in his five seasons as an assistant. He helped the Demon Deacons earn a spot in the Tangerine Bowl in 1979 after going 8-4 that season. It was Wake Forest's first bowl game in 30 years. In 1983, Faircloth moved away from coaching and became assistant athletic director for football, a position he would hold for 38 years.
Faircloth and his wife, Becky, have three sons -- all Wake Forest graduates -- Scott and wife Tricia, Woody, and Barry and wife Beth. They also are the proud grandparents of Rhett, Stowe, Grace, Mary Scott, Mac, Catherine, Spencer, Sophia, Olivia, Luna and great grandchildren Boone and Thatch.

Emily Taggart

Four-year letterwinner from 1998-2001.
Native of Pleasanton, CA.
Member of the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team.
Finished her career ranked second in career points with 76 (currently sixth).
Finished her career with a school record 29 goals (currently 4th).
Holds the school record for most shots in a career with 268.
Owns the school record by scoring two goals just 31 seconds apart vs Duke in 1998.
Holds the school record with three 3-goal games in her career (also had two 2-goal games).
Led the team in points, goals and assists in 2000.
Named ACC Rookie of the Year in 1998.
First team All-ACC in 1999 and 2000.
Second team All-ACC in 1998 and 2001.
Named to ACC All-Tournament team in 2001.
Was Wake Forest's only women's soccer player to earn All-ACC each of four years until Katie Stengel tied the record in 2014.
Named a Freshman All-American.
A four-time All-Southeast Region selection.

Ron Wellman

Ron Wellman led the Wake Forest University athletic department from 1992 until 2019.
In that time, Wake Forest emerged as a national powerhouse in golf, tennis, men's soccer and field hockey; the football team made history with bowl wins in three consecutive years and past members of the Wake Forest men's basketball team populated professional leagues.
During his 27 years, Wake Forest won 22 ACC Championships and five NCAA team championships as well as seven individual national titles. The team titles came in field hockey in three consecutive seasons from 2002 through 2004, in men's soccer in 2007 and men's tennis in 2018.
Under Wellman's leadership, Wake Forest produced nine national players of the year, four national freshman of the year awards, and 171 first team All-Americans. In addition, during his 27-year tenure, Wellman oversaw:
- 607 first team All-ACC selections.
- 41 ACC Players of the Year and 36 ACC Coaches of the Year.
- 38 ACC Freshman of the Year awards.
- 18 ACC Tournament MVPs.
- 27 Academic All-Americans.
Served as chairman of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship committee, the NCAA Division I Management Council, the NCAA Baseball Committee and the NCAA Baseball Academic Enhancement Committee.
Former president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association and also served on the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee.
In 2007-08, he was honored by two organizations: Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal named him College Athletic Director of the Year and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) selected Wellman as its AstroTurf AD of the Year for the Southeast Region—the second time in his career he received that honor.
During his tenure at Wake Forest, the Graduation Success Rate was always 92% or higher, placing Wake Forest in the top 10% of all DI schools and always above the DI averages. Team GPAs also rose during Wellman's time at Wake Forest with 10 of 14 teams having a cumulative GPA above 3.00.
During his tenure, Wake Forest raised over $400 million in philanthropic support for athletics. With that, Wake Forest invested $250 million into athletics construction projects between 2008 and 2019, ranging from McCreary Tower at Truist Field, to the purchase of David F. Couch Ballpark and the LJVM Coliseum from the City of Winston-Salem.
In September of 2020, Wellman was selected by the board of the LEAD1 Association to receive the 30th Homer Rice Award, a national honor awarded annually to retired athletics directors with transformative contributions to intercollegiate athletics.
Additionally, Wellman's service to Wake Forest University and his care and respect for the many student-athletes and coaches that he worked with were recognized by the presentation of the first Ron and Linda Wellman Life Teammate Award. Awarded annually, the award recognizes a male and female student-athlete who best represents the characteristics of being a life teammate.
Born in Celina, Ohio, Wellman earned his undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University, where he was a pitcher on the baseball team. After receiving a master's from Bowling Green, he joined the faculty and coaching staff at Elmhurst (IL) College in 1971, serving as head baseball coach, assistant basketball and football coach and associate professor of health and physical education. Wellman was the director of athletics his last five years at Elmhurst.
Prior to coming to Winston-Salem and Wake Forest, he compiled a 210-136 record in baseball before leaving to become the head baseball coach at Northwestern University. In five seasons with the Wildcats, Wellman's teams posted a 180-97 record and 15 players signed professional contracts. Among those moving to the Major Leagues was Joe Girardi, an Academic All-America catcher who became the manager of the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies.

Gene Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

Barbara Trautwein

After nearly 40 years of service to Wake Forest University, Trautwein will be honored as the 2021 Gene Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Trautwein moved to Winston-Salem with her husband, George, in 1981 and landed a job in Wake Forest's music department. After latching onto ACC basketball early in her time in the Triad, Trautwein is credited with starting the women's basketball pep band 36 years ago.
Originally hired to help teach music students, Trautwein saw her responsibilities continue to grow during her time at Wake Forest.
In 1987 she was named the assistant director of athletic bands, which she held until 2005.
During her time as director, Trautwein made a huge impact on the program. She devised the current arrangement of the Wake Forest fight song, "O, Here's to Wake Forest", followed by the Alma Mater, "Dear Old Wake Forest."
Some of her most memorable moments working with the band came on road trips to the NCAA Tournament with the women's basketball program in 1988 and to the Orange Bowl in 2006.

Wake Forest Athletics

New Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame Class Set for Enshrinement on Friday

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