BRANDON – Brandon University Athletics is proud to announce their 2017 Wall of Fame inductees, which includes eight individuals and two teams.
 
The 2017 induction class includes:
 

• Neil Andrews Community Leader: Football (1965-1966)
• Debbie Baker (nee Morris) Athlete: Basketball, Field Hockey (1975-1980)
• Karen Dunbar (nee Anderson) Athlete: Basketball, Field Hockey (1968-1972)
• Peter Hagberg Athlete: Football (1969-1973)
• Doug Hedley Athlete: Hockey (1977-1982)
• Lorne Lagimodiere Athlete: Football (1968-1973)
• Ron Westcott Community Leader: Curling (1965-1969)
• Rick Williamson Community Leader: Judo, Football (1968-1972)
• Bobcat Men's Hockey Team (1980-81)
• College Caps Football Team (1950-51)

The Dick and Verda McDonald Sports Wall of Fame is located on the second level of BU's Healthy Living Centre. The display features team pictures, artifacts, and uniforms from past teams and athletes of Brandon University and Brandon College.

Tickets for the Wall of Fame brunch on Saturday, October 14 at the Victoria Inn Imperial Ballroom can be purchased from the Customer Service Centre at the Healthy Living Centre for $50.
 
Tables of eight can be reserved for $350, and those travelling from outside of Brandon can reserve tickets by calling (204) 727-7354.
 
PROFILES

Neil Andrews' contributions to his community are legendary. For his efforts, Andrews will be inducted into the Wall of Fame posthumously.
 
A passion for sports was engrained in Andrews at a young age as he served as co-captain of the Elton Elks football team and skipped many curling teams during his days at Elton Collegiate.
 
After high school graduation in 1965, he played one season with the Brandon College Caps football team, while earning his teaching certificate.
 
Andrews and College Cap teammate Larrie Pilling coached the Brandon Krugers football team together and led the team to a runner-up finish for the league championship.
 
Andrews founded the Brandon Marlins in 1995, leading them to four Manitoba Senior Baseball League championships between 1999 and 2005. He also coached minor baseball in Brandon, and guided teams to gold medals at the western Canadians in 1988 and 1991. He was inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
 
Andrews 'pride and joy' was Westbran Stadium. In 2007, the ballpark was renamed Andrews Field in his honour.
 
His other true sports love was curling. He was co-chair of the 1982 Brier in Brandon, served as chair of the 2004 provincial men's curling championship in the Wheat City and in 2008 was recognized with the Curler of Distinction award at the provincial men's championship.
 
Andrews was a two-time Manitoba senior men's curling champion. In 1999, he played third for Ron Wescott and the rink captured a national bronze medal. Andrews, Westcott and the rest of the team were all selected as all-stars in an unprecedented feat at the time.
 
In 2004, he captured his second senior men's provincial title, this time as skip. Neil, his brother Darryl, Jim Horn and Doug Carvey represented the Brandon Curling Club at the national championship.
 
Following his time at Brandon College, Andrews had a short tenure as a teacher before finding his true calling as a prominent businessman.
 
He formed Guild Insurance Brokers in 1990 and held the title of CEO. The Brandon Chamber of Commerce named Neil and his brother Darryl as Business Persons of the Year in 2007. 
 
Andrews passed away in 2007 at the age of 58 from a rare and fatal brain disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, but his legacy is everlasting on the sports community.
 
Souris-born Debbie Baker (nee Morris) seemed destined to excel at any sport she chose to compete in.
 
As a standout Bobcat from 1975-1980, she was a member of the field hockey and basketball teams.
 
Baker was honoured as BU's Female Athlete of the Year in 1976-77, but she was not able to build off that success as a knee injury forced her to the sidelines the following season.
 
Despite the setback, Baker kept herself motivated and involved with the Bobcats, serving as an assistant coach until she got back to full health.
 
She did not miss a beat once the 1979-80 season arrived. Baker guided BU to their best-ever season at the time in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Bobcats posted a 9-and-7 record and Baker finished third in the conference in defensive rebounds.
 
At the end of the season, she capped off her career by being bestowed a historic honour, becoming the first-ever recipient of the prestigious H. Stewart Perdue Memorial Award for sportsmanship.
 
She started a family tradition at BU by motivating her daughters Kellie and Jodie to achieve their dreams. They followed in their mom's footsteps and became Bobcats by playing on the women's volleyball team.
 
Outside of her accomplishments on campus, the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame inducted Baker in 2009. She started playing at the age of 13 with her hometown Souris Blues senior ladies team and never looked out of place. She later joined the Winnipeg-based Smitty's Terminators and won numerous western Canadian championships. Baker also gave back to the game as coach of the Westman Magic.
 
She took part in the Canada Summer Games on two occasions; representing Manitoba in track and field in 1975 and in 1977 she played on the provincial softball team.
 
Baker also made a tremendous impact in the classroom for 37 years in the Brandon School Division. She taught 14 years at Harrison, one year at Waverly Park and 22 at Kirkcaldy before announcing her retirement this year.
 
Karen Dunbar (nee Anderson) is the true definition of a multi-sport star.
 
The Hamiota, Man. product was named most valuable player of the Bobcat women's basketball team in three of the four years she played. In 1971-72, she was recognized as BU's female athlete of the year.
 
Dunbar represented Manitoba eight times at national curling championships and won a Canadian masters title in 2011. In 2016, she was inducted into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame. She remains an inspirational leader in the curling community as the Westman Regional Rep for Curl Manitoba.
 
The Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame's 2006 induction class included Dunbar following an outstanding career as a pitcher and cleanup hitter with the Souris Blues. She guided the team to a number of provincial titles and to numerous appearances at western Canadians. She also passed on her knowledge while serving on the coaching staff for Manitoba's softball team at the 1976 Canada Summer Games.
 
She left an inspiring mark in the classroom where she taught in Souris for 35 years. Her passion for sports remained strong during that time as she coached the school's basketball, fastball and curling teams.
 
Peter Hagberg helped legitimize the Bobcat football program as a punishing middle linebacker.
 
He was recruited out of Hudson Heights in Quebec by coach Doug Steeves and became a staple on the BU football team from 1969-73. In 1970-71, he was recognized as the Bobcats' most valuable player.
 
Before BU, Hagberg helped his high school team capture a city championship in '69 where he played on offence, defence and special teams.
 
Hagberg became a teacher after his time with the Bobcats and spent three years in Snow Lake, Man. before his longtime mentor, coach Steeves contacted him about a teaching and coaching opportunity back in Brandon.
 
He served as Neelin's football coach from 1977-81 and played a vital role in the storied Spartans' football program.
 
His final year was special, as he led the mighty Spartans to a perfect season en route to winning the league and provincial championship. For his efforts, Hagberg was named the South West Football League's coach of the year.
 
Doug Hedley has a long history of hockey success including an impressive run with the Bobcats.
 
The Sandy Lake, Man. product had a solid first year with the men's hockey team in 1977-78. He was named the team's rookie of the year and led the Great Plains Athletic Conference with 20 goals.
 
Hedley's fourth season was his finest as he helped guide the Bobcats to the GPAC championship, while being ranked #1 in Canada. He was third in team scoring and finished sixth in league scoring with 14 goals and 42 points.
 
Following his career at BU, Hedley joined the coaching ranks and has spent over 20 years behind the bench at various levels.
 
In 2000-01, he led the Nipawin Hawks to a runner-up finish for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League championship.
 
He also served as co-coach of the SJHL Selects who competed in the prestigious Camrose Viking Cup in 1999 and 2001 in Alberta. Hedley's SJHL squad won the 1999 championship in a tournament that featured the top junior teams from around the world.
 
Hedley later made his way to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League where he was named coach of the year in 2009 with the OCN Blizzard. Hedley returned behind the OCN bench in 2016-17 and led the Blizzard to a spot in the Turnbull Cup Final.
 
He also had a coaching run in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League with the Parkland Rangers. In 2015, he prepared the team to host the 2015 western regional championship.
 
Hedley also played a key role as event coordinator of the RBC Cup National Junior 'A' Hockey Championship in Dauphin in 2010.
 
Lorne Lagimodiere was one of the top running backs to ever play football at Brandon University.
 
Lagimodiere was a key recruit for the Bobcats out of Montreal and helped take the BU program to greater heights on the gridiron.
 
Bobcat coach Doug Steeves brought Lagimodiere to Brandon from Quebec where Steeves coached Lagimodiere at Hudson Heights. In 1964, they captured a city championship together.
 
Lagimodiere had a standout career with the Bobcats from 1968 to 1972 and was described by his former BU teammates 'as the smallest guy on the field, but played with the biggest heart.'
 
Among his major highlights was becoming the highest scoring Bobcat for a single season in 1969 when he broke the previous record held by Jim Haynes in 1965. In 1970-71, Lagimodiere won the prestigious Jim Casey Award for sportsmanship.
 
After his Bobcat career, Lagimodiere was instrumental in helping the Rural Manitoba High School Football League thrive.
 
He coached the Neepawa Tigers for close to two decades and led them to numerous league titles. In his final season in 2003, Lagimodiere was named RMFL coach of the year and the Tigers won the championship with an undefeated record.
 
Lagimodiere taught school in Neepawa for 17 years and prior to that spent 11 years in Binscarth. Between whistles on the football field, he coached junior high school basketball for 30 years.
 
Ron Westcott's curling track record includes an important chapter at Brandon College and Brandon University.
 
In 1965, the Douglas, Man. product played second for Gary Lumbard's Brandon College rink that captured the Grand Aggregate at the Brandon Men's Bonspiel. It was an unprecedented feat at the time for a college team to win the championship with such a stacked field of 152 teams.
 
Shortly after, Westcott and the team took part in the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship in Saskatoon. They finished in second place behind 1986 world men's champion Ed Lukowich.
 
As Brandon College transitioned to Brandon University in 1967, Westcott continued his winning ways. In 1968, Westcott skipped the Bobcats to the Manitoba Small Colleges Championship. BU also hosted the westerns that year where Westcott and crew finished in third-place.
 
Westcott's long and successful run with the roaring game includes over 40 appearances in provincial championships at various levels. He won the Manitoba senior men's title in 1999 and captured four masters championships during an impressive stretch from 2010-2015. Westcott would add a national masters title to his resume in 2015 after finishing the Canadian championship with an unblemished 11-and-0 record.
 
The Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame inducted Westcott as a player in 2016, and the following year he found success while stepping away from the hack. He coached Michelle Englot's rink to the championship at the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts. At nationals, the Manitoba rink finished runner-up to Ontario's Rachel Homan. It was Wescott's second coaching appearance at the Canadian women's championship after helping Jill Thurston qualify in 2010.
 
Rick Williamson was born and raised in Belmont, Man. and the small town farm boy took a unique path to the BU Sports Wall of Fame.
 
Williamson took up the sport of judo when he was 13-years-old and over 50 years later his passion for martial arts remains as strong as ever.
 
He represented Manitoba four times at national championships and in 1971 attended the Canada Winter Games in Saskatoon.
 
Williamson also had a big year in '71 as a member of the judo team at Brandon University. BU hosted the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship and Williamson won the middleweight division. The following year, he successfully defended his title at the westerns in Winnipeg.
 
After graduation, Rick became a teacher and spent 29 years at Arthur Meighen High School in Portage la Prairie.
 
He became the head jiu-jitsu instructor in Portage where he has trained over 40 of his students to black belt level.
 
Williamson's contributions were recognized in the spring of 2017 by the World Kobudo Federation, who promoted him to seventh-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu. The highest ranking in the world is tenth degree and Williamson is among a select few in Canada to reach seventh degree or higher.
 
The 1980-81 Bobcat men's hockey team was arguably the best one to ever lace up their blades at Brandon University.
 
It was the high point for the program as the team achieved a No. 1 ranking in Canada for the only time in school history under the guidance of Great Plains Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Andy Murray.
 
BU went a near perfect 23-and-1 in the regular season, won the GPAC and earned a berth at nationals.
 
Brandon started their season with a bang in October. The team travelled to Grand Forks and defeated the defending NCAA national champions, the University of North Dakota, 7-5 in an exhibition game.
 
Another major highlight was a journey to Finland during the Christmas break. BU played a number of Finnish Division 1 and Division 2 teams during that trip.
 
After returning from Finland, the Bobcats cemented their top ranking in Canada by winning a holiday tournament hosted by Concordia University in Montreal. 
 
Brandon won the conference title in a best-of-three final over the Manitoba Bisons. The Bobcats beat the Bisons 6-3 and 7-4 to sweep the series and advance to the University Cup. BU came up short of winning the Canadian championship after going 0-and-2 in the round-robin at nationals.
 
The Bobcats were loaded with talent, with the roster including all-Canadians Vernon Mott and Rich Little.
 
Mott and Little were named league all-stars along with Brad White, Rod Winkler, John Swan, Tim Morrison and Garry Kaluzniak.
 
Kaluzniak won the GPAC scoring title with 48 points, and served as co-captain along with White and Kit Harrison.
 
Three team members went on to become Olympians with three different countries at the 1988 Winter Games. Vaughn Karpan played with Canada; Mott was on Norway's roster and Bruno Rogger represented Switzerland.

1950-51 College Caps Football Team The athletic landscape at Brandon College entered exciting territory in 1950-51 when football was first introduced as a major sport on campus. It marked the first time in 15 years that organized football was played in the city of Brandon and brought the college into the sporting spotlight in western Manitoba.
 
Former Athletic Director Dr. E.J. 'Curly' Tyler and senior men's representative Johnny MacLean led the way off the field in helping organize the team and working with the Brandon business community to obtain equipment.
 
On the field, coach Al Tyler embraced the opportunity of building the team from the ground up. It started at square one as he taught the players the basic fundamentals of the game with only five of them having any experience. Coach Tyler had a short window to groom his team for the season and his player's rose to the occasion.
 
History was made under the lights of Kinsmen Stadium when the Caps made their first appearance a successful one as they defeated the highly tested Dauphin Aristocrats 27-0.
 
Brandon continued their winning ways with 22-6 victory over the Moosomin Badgers followed by a rematch in Dauphin against the Aristocrats. The Caps overcame a first quarter deficit to defeat Dauphin 52-12.
 
The biggest challenge was against the Portage Plainsmen, who boasted a strong lineup of veteran players. The Caps prevailed 18-0 to finish the season undefeated.