Wake Forest Athletics News - Wake Forest University Athletics

Four Will Be Inducted Into WFU Sports Hall

Andrade, Austin, Leonard, Rioux-Straub will join elite company Sept. 12

Aug. 28, 2003

Billy Andrade (golf), Jake Austin (baseball), Bob Leonard (basketball) and Jennifer Rioux Straub (cross country/track and field) will be inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 12.

The official induction ceremony will take place Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. with the Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at Forsyth Country Club. The four honorees will also be recognized at halftime of the Sept. 13 Wake Forest-Purdue football game.

Austin, who played baseball for the Deacons from 1989-92, was named to the ACC??s 50th Anniversary Team last fall. A four-time All-ACC selection, Austin is Wake Forest's all-time leader in triples (13) and at bats (919). In fact, until Jamie D'Antona passed him last spring, Austin held WFU's home runs title for 11 years with 55. In ACC history, only eight players have hit more home runs and only eight have collected more RBI (236). A lifetime .345 hitter, Austin also ranks among Wake's all-time leaders in sacrifice flies, base hits and runs scored. He was named a third-team All-American in 1989 by Baseball America. Austin helped lead the Deacons to four straight 30-wins seasons - something the Deacons had accomplished just once previously. Following his outstanding college career, Austin was selected in the 17th round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rioux Straub was a cross country and distance runner standout for Wake Forest from 1985-88. One of Wake Forest's most prolific cross country champions, she earned All-American honors in cross country in 1987. Straub led the Deacons that fall to a 10th-place finish in the NCAA Cross Country Championship. She was part of Wake cross country teams that finished second in the ACC in both 1986 and 1987 and third in 1985. Last fall Straub was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team. She was a two-time ACC champion in track and field, winning the 1988 indoor 3,000-meters and the outdoor 10,000-meters, becoming the first Deacon women's track and field athlete to win all-league honors in both seasons. All told, Straub was named All-ACC five times, including three times in cross country. She returned to Wake Forest in 1992 to serve as assistant cross country and track coach. She was named third alternate on the U.S. National Team at the 1984 National TAC Championships.

One of the top players in Wake Forest and ACC history, Billy Andrade continues to enjoy an outstanding career on the PGA Tour. Named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Team last fall, Andrade helped lead Wake Forest to the 1986 NCAA Championship. A four-time All-ACC selection, Andrade was named third team All-American in 1984 and honorable mention All-America in both 1985 and 1986. After graduating Wake Forest in 1987, Andrade joined the PGA Tour in 1988 and has since earned more than $8 million, ranking him among the top 50 on the career money list. He has won four PGA Tour events, most recently the 2000 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas. Andrade claimed back-to-back tour titles in 1991 -- the Kemper Open and Buick Classic. He has also emerged as one of television's top golf analysts. Joining fellow Deacons Lanny Wadkins and Curtis Strange in the TV booth, Andrade has done work this year for ABC and ESPN. Andrade teams with fellow tour member Brad Faxon to run the Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children, Inc., which has donated more than $4 million since its inception in 1991.

Leonard is considered one of the best overall and most versatile players in Wake Forest basketball history. A two-time first team All-ACC selection, Leonard was the leader of Demon Deacon teams in the mid-1960s. In both 1965 and 1966, Leonard enjoyed outstanding seasons. He scored more than 600 points in both seasons, helping him earn back-to-back all-league honors. He was a first team All-ACC Tournament selection in both 1964 and 1965. During his three-year career, Leonard scored 1,637 points for an average of more than 20 points per game. At 6-2, Leonard was an amazing athlete who could dunk and was often assigned to defend the opponent's top player - regardless of his height. And despite his own lack of height, Leonard managed to pull down 514 career rebounds. Former Deacon coach and player Jack Murdock called Leonard "the best all-around guard that Wake Forest has ever had."

Established in 1970, the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame will have 97 inductees with the addition of Andrade, Austin, Rioux Straub and Leonard. Eligibility for the Hall is defined by 10 criteria, which include being out of school for 10 years, receiving national recognition as an athlete, coach or administrator, being of good character and reputation; and having no stronger connection with another university.