PSAC Announcement  |  PSAC 75th Anniversary Homepage
 
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University landed four legendary SRU coaches and seven total individuals with SRU ties on the "75 Distinguished Keystones" list released by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Wednesday in celebration of its 75th anniversary.
 
The PSAC released lists of 75 honorees each Wednesday in the month of September as a kickoff to celebrating the 75th year of the conference. The first list, announced Sept. 3, was the "Made in the PSAC" list, which celebrated 75 former student-athletes that went on to influential careers.
 
The second list announced Sept. 10 was the "75 Greatest Female Athletes," which highlighted 75 female student-athletes that achieved greatness in competition during their time in the PSAC. That was followed by the "75 Greatest Male Athletes," which recognized 75 male student-athletes for their accomplishments.
 
The final list is the "75 Distinguished Keystones," which recognizes individuals who have been historically influential in the PSAC, whether it be staff, administrators or coaches.
 
The Rock are represented on the Distinguished Keystones list by legendary SRU coaches Doc Hunkler (water polo), Jeff Messer (baseball), George Mihalik (football) and John Papa (track & field and cross country). SRU is also represented on the list by a pair of alumni that served at other PSAC institutions in Ruth Podbielski (class of 1949) and Denny Douds (class of 1963) as well as by former women's basketball coach Darcie Vincent.
 
Brief bios for each of The Rock's honorees can be found below, along with a comprehensive list of all the individuals with SRU ties that were recognized on the four lists and links to each of the stories highlighting the other three lists released this month.
 
DOC HUNKLER
• Sport: Water Polo, Swimming
• Years at SRU: 1968-98
• Accomplishments: Hunkler led the Slippery Rock women's water polo team to the National Championship in 1995 to become the first and still the only coach in women's collegiate water polo history to lead a team from outside the state of California to a national title. He also led SRU to a total of 10 top three national finishes during his career. Hunkler compiled an overall combined record of 316-82 in 23 seasons coaching women's water polo, men's water polo and women's swimming at SRU. He was inducted into both the Collegiate Water Polo Hall of Fame and the U.S. Water Polo Association Hall of Fame.
 
JEFF MESSER
• Sport: Baseball
• Years at SRU: 1986-Present
• Accomplishments: Messer is the winningest coach in PSAC baseball history and ranks 11th all-time in NCAA Division II history for victories with 1,154 wins over 40 seasons. He is third among all active coaches in Division II in career wins. A seven-time PSAC Coach of the Year, Messer has led The Rock to 30 PSAC Tournament berths, 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament and four trips to the College World Series. The Rock has seen 13 players drafted in the MLB Draft during Messer's tenure, including Matt Adams, who was named to the PSAC's 75 Greatest Male Athletes list last week, and Lou Trivino, who is currently pitching for the Phillies. Just last week, the playing surface at Critchfield Park was named in his honor and is now called Messer Field at Jack Critchfield Park.
 
GEORGE MIHALIK
• Sport: Football
• Years at SRU: 1988-2015
• Accomplishments: Mihalik was a PSAC champion as a quarterback on the field, leading The Rock to back-to-back PSAC titles in 1972 and 1973. He earned undergraduate (1974) and master's degrees (1976) from The Rock before embarking on a football coaching and teaching career that would see him spend more than 40 total years at SRU. He earned a doctorate degree from West Virginia in 1986 and helped write the curriculum for the safety management program at SRU, which has developed into one of the top safety programs in the country. He was hired as head coach of The Rock football team in 1988 and served in that role until 2015, amassing an SRU record 197 wins and posting a career record of 197-111-4, the fourth-most wins in PSAC history. His teams won eight PSAC West titles and made six trips to the national playoffs, reaching as high as a No. 2 national ranking. A six-time PSAC Coach of the Year and a three-time Regional Coach of the Year, Mihalik also served as a full-time professor in the safety management department during his entire coaching career. The football stadium at SRU was renamed in 2011 to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Mihalik has remained active with SRU since his retirement, working with the University advancement office on fundraising projects that support both athletics and the safety management program.
 
JOHN PAPA
• Sports: Track & Field and Cross Country
• Years at SRU: 1984-2022
• Accomplishments: Papa was an All-American student-athlete at SRU as a decathlete on the track & field team, graduating in 1979 after helping lead Slippery Rock to the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championship that spring. That team title by the 1979 SRU men still stands as the only NCAA team national title in SRU history. Papa was hired as head coach of the track & field and cross country programs in 1987 after serving as a graduate assistant for two years. He stayed in that role until 2022, serving more than 35 years as head coach and turning The Rock into one of the most respected track & field schools in the Atlantic Region. Slippery Rock claimed 25 PSAC titles under Papa and finished as conference runner up an additional 32 times. His student-athletes won 12 individual national titles, earned 127 Division II All-America honors and won 345 individual and relay PSAC titles. Papa was a 21-time PSAC Coach of the Year and a 16-time NCAA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Since retiring in 2022, Papa has stayed active with the program, volunteering annually at home meets, including the John Papa Invitational, which was named in his honor.
 
RUTH PODBIELSKI
• SRU Grad Year: 1949
• PSAC Tie: Associate AD at Indiana (Pa.), 1955-87
• Accomplishments: Podbielski was credited as a pioneer of women's athletics at Indiana (Pa.) after graduating from Slippery Rock in 1949. She was a faculty member in physical education and served as the women's volleyball and basketball coach, as well as the director of women's intramurals during her time in Indiana. The softball field at IUP is named in her honor.
 
DENNY DOUDS
• SRU Grad Year: 1963
• PSAC Tie: Head Football Coach at East Stroudsburg, 1974-2018
• Accomplishments: Douds was an All-American football player at Slippery Rock and led SRU to the 1962 PSAC title over East Stroudsburg before eventually going on to become one of the most important athletics figures in ESU history. He served as head coach of the Warriors football program from 1974-2018 and retired as the all-time PSAC wins leader with 264 victories.
 
DARCIE VINCENT
• Years at SRU: Head Women's Basketball Coach, 1996-00
• Other PSAC: Head Coach at California (Pa.), 2000-08
• Accomplishments: Vincent served as head coach of the SRU women's basketball program for four seasons from 1996-00 before leaving The Rock to become head coach at California (Pa.) from 2000-08. She led SRU to a 23-7 record in 1999-00 and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight after The Rock won three NCAA Tournament games to win the regional title. Vincent posted a 212-47 record at Cal and led the Vulcans to the 2004 national title.
 

SLIPPERY ROCK CONNECTIONS ON PSAC 75 LISTS

MADE IN THE PSAC
• Janet Anderson – Golf, 1975-77
• Cheryl Bailey – Track & Field, 1973-77
• Jerry Bejbl – Football, 1959-63
• Roberta Page – Softball, Basketball, 1984-88
• Sarah Patterson – Gymnastics, 1974-78
• C. Vivian Stringer – Basketball, 1967-70, Cheyney WBB Coach, 1972-1983
 
GREATEST FEMALE ATHLETES
• Karyn McCready – Track & Field, 2000-04
• Meghan McGrath – Women's Soccer, 2003-07
• Julie Morrow Caito – Gymnastics, 1981-85
• Andi Rose – Track & Field, 2003-07
 
Others On Female Athlete List With SRU Ties
• Tabitha Bemis - Edinboro Track & Field (current SRU assistant coach)
• Becky Siembak – California/Slippery Rock, Women's Basketball, 1999-2003
 
GREATEST MALE ATHLETES
• Matt Adams – Baseball, 2007-09
• Myron Brown – Men's Basketball, 1987-91
• George Crunkleton – Track & Field, 1978-79
• Stan Dziedzic – Wrestling, 1969-72
• Brandon Fusco – Football, 2007-10
• Marcus Martin – Football, 2014-17
• Randy McKavish – Football, 1996-00
• Roland Rivers III – Football, 2018-19

DISTINGUISHED KEYSTONES
• Doc Hunkler – Water Polo Coach, Swimming, 1968-98
• Jeff Messer – Baseball Coach, 1986-Present
• George Mihalik – Football Coach, 1988-2015
• John Papa – Track & Field and Cross Country Coach, 1984-2022
 
Others On Keystones List With SRU Ties
• Ruth Podbielski (Slippery Rock '49) – IUP, Associate Athletic Director, 1955-87
• Darcie Vincent – California Women's Basketball Coach, 2000-08, Slippery Rock Coach, 1996-00)
• Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63)  – East Stroudsburg, Football Coach, 1974-2018




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