Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony Set for Feb. 28

The Baylor University Athletic Hall of Fame will present Karen Aulenbacher-Heintz, who played basketball and softball from 1976-1978, and the other three hall of fame inductees for 1997 at the Baylor women's basketball game against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
The athletes were officially inducted at a formal ceremony on Nov. 21, 1997, and presented the following day at the Baylor vs. Oklahoma State football game without Aulenbacher-Heintz. She was unable to attend because The Woodlands High School basketball team, which she coaches, had a game. At Baylor Athletic Director Tom Stanton's request, another ceremony was planned for Aulenbacher-Heintz.
An induction dinner will be held earlier Saturday at the Letterman's Lounge at Floyd Casey Stadium to present the 1997 class and to officially induct Aulenbacher-Heintz. All of the inductees will be in attendance, including Alfred Anderson, Bill Menefee, and F. B. Strickland, Jr., who will represent his father, the late F.B. Strickland Sr. Following dinner, the hall of famers will watch the Lady Bears take on the Texas A&M Aggies at the Ferrell Center.
Aulenbacher-Heintz was the catcher for her softball team, but her most outstanding accomplishments were on the basketball court. Under the coaching of Olga Fallen, she led her team to the AIAW Final Eight where they won seventh place in 1976. In 1977, they were fifth in the nation. Aulenbacher-Heintz was a tenacious and aggressive defensive player and the leading rebounder. She holds the Baylor record for the most free throws in a career (388), and she is in the top five of most points scored in a career (1,608).
She played professional basketball with the Houston Angels in 1979 and now coaches the girls' basketball program at The Woodlands High School.
The Baylor Chamber of Commerce started the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960 in order "to recognize and honor those persons whose participation enriched and strengthened the university athletic program." Athletes are considered for this honor only after they have been ineligible for 10 years.
During the first half of the game, Stanton will introduce Aulenbacher-Heintz and the other inductees. The ladies on Aulenbacher-Heintz's winning basketball teams, in 1976 and 1977, will join her on the floor so the audience may show appreciation for the most successful women's basketball team in Baylor history.
The Hall of Fame inductees bring the membership total to 115. Anderson played football at Baylor from 1980-1983. Menefee spent many years involved with Baylor athletics. He was assistant basketball coach from 1947-1961, head basketball coach, 1961-1973, and athletic director, 1980-1992. F.B. Strickland Sr. was a football letterman from 1919-1922. He also lettered in baseball, 1920-1923.
For more information about Baylor's Athletic Hall of Fame, contact Geoff Moore or Bryan Willis, members of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, at 710-3322.