UAM ANNOUNCES HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2021

Connor McGinnis

MONTICELLO, Ark. – The UAM Sports Hall of Fame will welcome four new individual members in an induction ceremony October 14. UAM will add baseball star Corey Wood, football standouts Jerry Bingham and Art Kaufman, and softball sensation Julie Bowen. The UAM Hall of Fame will also recognize Spirit Award honorees, Tim and Roxanne Smith.

This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony will honor the inductees for 2021 as well as 2020 since there was not a ceremony to honor the last’s years class due to COVID-19 regulations. To see all of the inductees for the Class of 2020 click HERE.

The Class of 2021 includes:

Corey Wood – (Graduating Class of 2016)

Jerry Bingham – (Graduating Class of 1980)

Art Kaufman – (Graduating Class of 1980)

Julie Bowen – (Graduating Class of 2002)

2021 UAM Spirit Award Honorees:

Tim and Roxanne Smith

Corey Wood

Wood played baseball for the Weevils from 2014-2016. Upon graduation in 2016, he held the program record for career home runs with 35. Wood is still the record holder for home runs (26), runs scored (65) and RBI (90) in a single season as at UAM and ranks in the top five in program history in single season hits (79) and doubles (19). In his stellar 2016 season Wood set the school record for home runs, RBI, runs scored, total bases and slugging percentage en route to winning the Josh Willingham Award, which is given to the Division II Most Valuable Player. Among his other accolades on the field, Wood earned All-American and All-Region honors by three different outlets, All-GAC First Team, GAC Player of the Year and MVP honors for the GAC Championship Tournament and the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament. Wood was also named the Male Athlete of the Year at UAM.

Jerry Bingham

Bingham played football for the Weevils from 1976-1980. Bingham made an impact on the gridiron for UAM with tough rushing with great speed and the ever-looming possibility of a big play. He still holds a tie for the longest run play in team history with a 98-yard touchdown run against Southern Arkansas in 1978. In his best performance as a Weevil, Bingham still holds the second-best rushing performance at UAM after posting 261 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 10 yards per carry. His four touchdowns in that game sits as a tie for points scored (24) by a junior and the third most in a single game by a Weevil.

As a member of the 1979 AIC Championship team, Bingham played a more prominent role as a ball carrier leading the Weevils in rushing that season with 1,019 yards. Bingham’s ground performance during the 1979 season still ranks in the top-10 in program history for rushing yards in a season at UAM. Big games were the usual for Bingham as he ranks eighth all-time for the Weevils in 100-yard rushing games with eight in his career. He also found the end zone 16 times during the championship run which puts him third among scoring leaders for a single season with 96 points. Bingham matched his previous high for points scored in a single game (24) with another four touchdown performance in 1979 against Harding.

Off the field, Bingham was the President of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity during his time at UAM. Following his graduation, Bingham helped establish the Al Peer/Kappa Alpha Psi Scholarship which was the first African American fraternity to have an endowed scholarship. Bingham also served as the President and Vice-President of the Kappa Alpha Psi Alumni Chapter in Amarillo, Texas.

Art Kaufman

Kaufman played football for UAM from 1976-1980. Kaufman played a leading role for the Weevil defense as a linebacker during his entire career at UAM as one of the only four-year starters in school history. His named is etched in the record books for the Weevils as the second-leading tackler in program history with 543 career tackles (321 solo, 222 assists).

As a leader on the defense for the 1979 AIC Championship team, Kaufman earned First Team All-NAIA District 17 and First Team All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference honors. Kaufman finished his career at UAM with two All-American nods and three-consecutive seasons with more than 100 tackles which all rank in the top 10 in Weevil history for a single season (1979 – 147 tackles, 1978 – 145 tackles, 1977 – 136 tackles.)

After graduating from UAM, Kaufman went on to have a 35-year coaching career in college football. He started coaching at Ole Miss as the linebackers and defensive ends coach. While with the Rebels, the team made appearances in the 1989 Liberty and the 1991 Gator Bowl. Under his tenure, Kaufman helped Ole Miss appear in four straight bowl games from 1997 to 2000. In 1999 Kaufman’s defense ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense. Kaufman moved to the University of North Carolina as the Defensive Coordinator in 2009 when he finished as a finalist for the Broyles Award given to the top assistant in college football. Kaufman’s most impressive years came as the Defensive Coordinator at Texas Tech where he took a defense that ranked 114 out of 120 in total defense and took them to fourth in the country in total yards allowed in 2012.

Julie Bowen

Bowen played softball at UAM from 1999-2002. Since her graduation in 2002, Bowen has been atop the Blossoms record books for career RBI (205) and career at-bats (749). Bowen also still holds a tie for the record for RBI in a single season with 71 in 2000. The career record book for UAM is littered with Bowen’s name as she sits in the top 10 in nine different career categories – including RBI (205), at-bats (749), hits (283), doubles (63), total bases (446), runs scored (144), home runs (30), games played (224) and triples (5). As part of her stellar 2000 season, Bowen still holds top-five spots in Blossom history for doubles (21) and hits (85) in a single season.

Spirit Award Honorees

Tim and Roxanne Smith are this year’s recipients of the UAM Spirit Award. The Smith’s are regulars at all UAM athletic events. They are both UAM graduates each receiving a degree in accounting in 1991.

Tim and Roxanne love to attend all of the different sporting events UAM has to offer and enjoy supporting each of the different sports. The Smith’s have a passion for getting to know the UAM players, coaches and staff. They love to support the Weevils and Blossoms on and off the field in any way they can including feeding all of the separate teams any time they get the chance. Tim said it best when it comes to building relationships with the student-athletes, “the way to an athlete’s heart is food.”