General Release - 2005 Hall of Fame Induction - Guilford College

• GUILFORD COLLEGE ANNOUNCES 2005 ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS

      Greensboro, NC (10/28/05) -- Guilford College will recognize five former student-athletes and one former coach as the 35th class inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday. Bruce Baden '77 of Kernersville, NC, Michael Beaver '87 of High Point, NC, Geoff Miller of Baldwin, MD, Danny Surface '67 of Murfreesboro, NC, Deborah Tyson '78 of Charlottesville, VA, and Walt Wiggins '63 of Rocky Mount, NC, are this year's inductees.

      The group will be formally inducted at a 10:00 a.m. ceremony in Guilford's Bryan Auditorium and honored prior to the start of the Quakers' football game versus Randolph-Macon later in the day.

Baden was a two-time All-Carolinas Conference selection during his four-year baseball career at Guilford. He earned the nickname "Home Run Baden" as his two homers helped the Quakers win the 1976 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Area 7 Tournament and advance to the NAIA World Series.  Baden became the first player to hit a grand slam in an NAIA World Series and helped the Quakers finish fourth. He ranks fourth on Guilford's all-time home runs list (20), eighth in career RBIs (105) and 10th in career hits (148). Baden was an all-conference baseball player at Frederick Douglas (MD) High School in 1973 and also played football as a prepster. A dean's list accounting major, Baden won Guilford's Nereus C. English Athletic Leadership Award in 1976. He is currently a finance director for Sara Lee branded apparel and is active in the North Carolina Association of CPAs and the Knights of Columbus.

      Beaver was a two-time NAIA All-America golfer who helped Guilford to three straight District 26 titles and three straight second-place finishes in the NAIA Championships. He won the 1986 NAIA District 26 individual title by shooting a two-round 139, which ranks seventh Guilford history, but broke a 29-year-old school record at the time. He was a Carolinas Conference medalist in 1986 and 1987 and represented the United States in the 1987 World University Games in Sardinia, Italy, where he finished eighth. Beaver was an all-district golfer at High Point Central (NC) High School. A business management major, Beaver won Guilford's English Award in 1987. Today he imports furniture for Yorkshire House and serves on the High Point Theatre Art Gallery's Board of Directors.

As Guilford's men's lacrosse coach from 1981-87, Miller posted a school-record 63-27 coaching mark in seven seasons. He won the 1986 Francis L. (Babe) Kraus Award as the Division III coach of the year and led the Quakers to a sixth-place ranking in the final United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll, which remains Guilford's highest rating. The Quakers captured the 1981 and 1982 Tri-State League titles under Miller's tutelage. He coached seven All-Americans at Guilford and three North-South All-Star Game participants. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Miller served as Guilford's assistant athletic director and Physical Education Director. He came to the Greensboro school after receiving a master's degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts. A two-sport standout for Amherst College, Miller was a Little School All-America as an offensive tackle on the gridiron and earned All-Snively Division honors in lacrosse. He received Amherst's Mossman Cup, presented to the senior who brought the greatest honor to the college through athletics. Now the athletics director at Goucher (MD) College, Miller is active with Habitat for Humanity and serves on the boards of Maryland's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the USILA.

      Surface transferred to Guilford from William & Mary and became a two-sport star for the Quakers. He played defensive back and running back on Guilford's 1965 football team that went 8-2, the program's first winning campaign in 18 years. Surface also played three baseball seasons and helped the Quakers to an Area 7 title and a fourth-place finish in the 1966 NAIA World Series. He was a three-sport star at Blacksburg (VA) High School, where he combined to win 10 letters in baseball, basketball and football. Surface twice won Guilford's Richard Joyce Sportsmanship Award and the football squad's Best Hustler prize. He is an associate professor for health and physical education at Chowan College, where he also serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Operations. Surface is active in the Murfreesboro Exchange Club and the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

After transferring to Guilford from Louisburg Junior College, Tyson starred on Guilford's basketball, volleyball and club softball teams. However, her most outstanding sporting achievements have come after her playing career. She served as a volleyball coach at four different colleges after receiving her master's degree from East Carolina. Tyson is now the athletics director at Albemarle (VA) High School. This past year she received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association State Award of Merit along with Albemarle's Super Patriot Award. Tyson also won the 2004 Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (VIAAA) Athletic Administrator of the Year prize. She has held many positions within the VIAAA and the Virginia High School League. Tyson is active in the Virginia Education Association and Delta Kappa Gamma honor society.

      Wiggins started four years as a guard on Guilford's football team and also competed with the track and field squad. He was a football co-captain his senior year and earned honorable mention Little School All-America recognition that season. After college, Wiggins coached scholastic football, most notably at Rocky Mount Senior High, where he guided six teams to conference crowns in 13 seasons. He later served as Rocky Mount City Schools' athletic director and was named the 1986-87 Athletic Director of the Year for Region Three. A 1993 Goldsboro Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Wiggins starred in three sports at Goldsboro (NC) High School and was a three-year starter in football. After retiring in 1995, he entered politics and served as a member of Rocky Mount's City Council, including a year as Mayor ProTem. After eight years in office, Wiggins retired again and currently enjoys playing golf.

      This year's class raises Guilford's Athletics Hall of Fame membership to 193. Past inductees include NBA stars M.L. Carr '73 and World B. Free '76, major-league baseball players Ernie Shore '13, Rick Ferrell '28 and Tom Zachary '18, and professional golfer Lee Porter '89.