Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys

Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys

University	Arkansas Tech
Conference	Great American Conference 2011–present Gulf South Conference 1995–2011 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference 1927–1995
NCAA	Division II
Athletic director	Steve Mullins
Location	Russellville, AR
Varsity teams	4
Football stadium	Buerkle Field
Basketball arena	Tucker Coliseum
Baseball stadium	Tech Field
Nickname	Wonder Boys
Colors	Green Gold
Website	www.arkansastechsports.com

The men's teams at Arkansas Tech University are known as the Wonder Boys. They are a charter member of the Great American Conference of the NCAA Division II.

Football

John Tucker is ultimately responsible for the idiosyncratic nickname "Wonder Boys" for Arkansas Tech University. On November 15, 1919, Tucker, as a 17-year-old freshman, scored two touchdowns and kicked two extra points to lead the Second District Agricultural School Aggies to a 14–0 upset win over Jonesboro. In newspaper accounts following the game, Tucker and his teammates were referred to as "Wonder Boys," and the nickname remains to this day. Tucker was labeled as "The Original Wonder Boy" and was associated with the school for the rest of his life. He went on to play on the University of Alabama's Rose Bowl team in 1931 and served Arkansas Tech in a variety of roles – including coach, athletic director and chemistry professor – between 1925 and 1972. Two buildings on the Tech campus – Tucker Coliseum and Tucker Hall – are named in his honor.^[1]

Originally the Second District Agricultural School when formed in 1909, Arkansas Tech has made five appearances in football national playoffs (1971, 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009). Led by All-American receiver Rick Thone, the 1971 Wonder Boys (12-1-0) made it to the national championship game of the NAIA playoffs, losing to Livingston State (now University of West Alabama) in the title game, 14–12, played in Birmingham, AL. In 1994, Tech lost in the first round of the NAIA playoffs to Langston (OK), 56-42, after capturing the final Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) football crown earlier that season. Firman W. Bynum, long-time Dean of Men at Tech, was the school's first All-American football player in 1939.

Tech won AIC football championships in 1931, 1935, 1939, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1994.

Arkansas Tech left the NAIA after the AIC disbanded following the 1994–95 academic year. Tech joined NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference at that time. Since then, Tech's football program has made appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 1999, 2004 and 2009. The 1999 team was the first from Arkansas to win the GSC football championship outright, while the 2004 Wonder Boys were the first team from Arkansas to host or win an NCAA Division II Playoffs game. Tech earned that honor by defeating Catawba College (N.C.) 24-20 on November 13, 2004. The Wonder Boys returned to the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2009 and defeated the University of North Carolina at Pembroke 41-13 in the first round before falling to University of North Alabama 41-28 in the region semifinals.

Steve Mullins served as head football coach at Arkansas Tech from 1997 through 2012. Raymond Monica became head football for the 2013 season. Mullins holds the school record for most wins as the Tech head football coach (96). Mullins has also served as athletic director since April 16, 2003.

Coach	Year	Overall	Conference	All-Americans
W.A. Isgrig	1911	4-4	0-0
W.A. Isgrig	Totals	4-4 (.500)	0-0 (.000)
E.H. Shinn	1912	4-2	0-0
	1913	7-2-1	0-0
	1914	8-0	0-0
	1915	5-3	0-0
	Totals	24-7-1 (.766)	0-0 (.000)
W.B. Casey	1916	1-0	0-0
	1917	0–1	0-0
	Totals	1-1 (.500)	0-0 (.000)
	1918	No Team
W.K. McWilliams	1919	2-2-1	0-0
W.K. McWilliams	Totals	2-2-1 (.500)	0-0 (.000)
E.O. Brown	1920	4-0-2	0-0
	1921	7-0	0-0
	1922	8-1	0-0
	1923	6-1-2	0-0
	1924	6-1-2	0-0
	1925	7-2	0-0
	1926	6-2	0-0
	1927	5-3-1	0-0
	1928	7-2	0-0
	1929	4-4-1	2-2-1
	1930	4-2-2	3-1-2
	1931	7-1-2	*5-0-2
	1932	6-2-1	5-2-1
	Totals	77-22-13 (.746)	15-5-6 (.692)
John Tucker	1933	3-3-1	2-2-1
	1934	5-1-2	4-1-2
	1935	8-0-1	*6-0-1
	1936	6-2	5-1
	1937	8-1	3-1
	1938	4-2-2	2-2
	1939	7-0-2	*2-0-2	Firman Bynum (Tackle)
	1940	5-3-1	1-2-1
	1941	6-3	3-3
	1942–1944	No Team
	1945	8-0	*6-0
	1946	9-1	*6-0
	1947	8-1	*6-0
	Totals	77-17-9 (.791)	46-13-7 (.750)
Raymond Burnett	1948	8-2	*7-1
	1949	9-1-1	*8-0
	1950	7-3	4-3
	1951	3–6	2–5
	1952	1–7	1–4
	1953	3-5-1	1-3-1
	Totals	31-24-4 (.561)	23-16-1 (.587)
Sam Hindsman	1954	8-1	*6-1	Don Dempsey (Center/Linebacker)
	1955	5-3-2	5-1-1
	1956	5-5	0-0
	1957	6-4	0-0
	1958	7-3	*7-3	Eddie Meador (Running Back)
	Totals	31-16-2 (.653)	17-3-1 (.833)
Marvin Salmon	1959	5-3	4-3
	1960	10-1	*8-0	Roger Lee (Defensive Back) Powell McClellan (Defensive End)
	1961	8-0-1	*6-0-1	Powell McClellan (Defensive End)
	1962	8-1-1	6–1
	1963	3-5-2	3-3-1
	1964	9–1	*7–0	Danny Gilbert (Tackle)
	1965	7-3	5-2	Danny Gilbert (Tackle)
	1966	3-6-1	2–4
	Totals	53-20-5 (.712)	41-13-2 (.750)
Don Dempsey	1967	5-3-1	2-3-1
	1968	10-2	*5-1
	1969	6-4-1	4-1-1
	1970	8-3	*5-1	Joe Hoing (Offensive Guard)
	1971	&12-1	*6-0	Rick Thone (Offensive End)
	1972	5-4-1	4–2	Perry Goodell (Defensive Guard)
	1973	4–7	2–4
	1974	1–9	0–6
	1975	3–8	1–5
	Totals	54-41-3 (.566)	29-23-2 (.555)
Leon Anderson	1976	1–10	0–6	Gary Berry (Nose Guard)
	1977	6-4	3-3
	1978	5-5	2–4
	1979	3-6-1	3-2-1	Kelly Davis (Place Kicker)
	Totals	15-25-1 (.378)	8-15-1 (.354)
Harold Steelman	1980	6-4	4-2
	1981	4-5-1	2–4
	1982	3–7	2–4
	1983	4-5-1	4-1-1
	1984	4–5	3-3
	1985	1–9	1–6	Bruce Livingston (Defensive Back)
	Totals	22-35-2 (.389)	16-20-1 (.445)
Ken Stephens	1986	6-4	5-2	Bruce Livingston (Defensive Back) Kevin Johnson (Offensive Lineman)
	1987	2-6-1	1-4-1	Chad Walker (Defensive End)
	1988	6–4	3–3
	1989	6–3	3–3	Noel Tugwell (Offensive Lineman)
	1990	4–6	0–6
	1991	0–10	0–6
	1992	4-5-1	2–4
	Totals	28-38-2 (.425)	14-28-1 (.337)
Brooks Hollingsworth	1993	1–9	1–3
	1994	#7-4	*4-0	Demond Sampson (Defensive Back)
	1995	3-6-1	2-6-1	Piotr Styczen (Place Kicker)
	1996	5–6	3–5	Piotr Styczen (Place Kicker)
	Totals	16-25-1 (.393)	10-14-1 (.420)
Steve Mullins	1997	4–7	4-4
	1998	5-5	4–5
	1999	#9-3	*8-1	Todd Mathews (Offensive Lineman) Ed Duncan (Running Back) Stuart Cash (Return Specialist)
	2000	7-3	7-2	Paul Peletz (Place Kicker) Patrick Pesnell (Defensive Back)
	2001	8-2	7-2
	2002	4–7	3–6	Tommy Edwards (Defensive End)
	2003	5–6	4–5	Tommy Edwards (Defensive End)
	2004	#10–2	8–1	Cedric Cursh (Defensive End) Jonathan Hayes (Offensive Lineman) Josh Rogers (Tight End)
	2005	7–3	6–3	Chris Johnson (Full Back)
	2006	7-3	5-3	Quincy Skinner (Defensive Back)
	2007	5-5	3–5	Michael Podobnik (Punter)
	2008	5-5	4-4	Torrence Wright (Offensive Lineman)
	2009	#9-3	6-2	Nick Graziano (Quarterback) Frantz Simeon (Receiver) Torrence Wright (Offensive Lineman)
	2010	4–7	2–6
	2011	2–8	1–4
	Totals	91-69 (.569)	71-53 (.573)
& National Runner-Up # National Tournament * Conference Champion

Basketball

Tech's greatest men's basketball success came under the guidance of head coach Sam Hindsman, who led the Wonder Boys from 1947–66. Hindsman, who also won two AIC football titles at Tech during the 1950s, was ahead of his time with an up-tempo style that dazzled fans and opponents. Hindsman and the Wonder Boys won seven consecutive AIC basketball titles from 1949–55. In 1954 and 1955, Tech reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament. Tech's only other NAIA Final Four berth in men's basketball came in 1995.

In all, Hindsman won 11 conference men's basketball titles and 355 men's basketball games to set school records that are unlikely to ever be eclipsed.

Tech returned to men's basketball prominence for the first time in more than a decade during the 2008–09 season. The Wonder Boys finished 23–9 overall, won their first-ever Gulf South Conference men's basketball title and qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament in men's basketball for the first time ever. The Wonder Boys defeated Benedict College 63-62 in their first-ever NCAA Tournament game on March 14, 2009. Florida Southern ended Tech's season 95-92 in overtime the following evening.

The Wonder Boys won their second consecutive GSC Tournament title in 2010 and they returned to the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament in both 2010 and 2011, reaching the regional semifinals on both occasions.

Coach	Year	Overall	Conference	All-Americans
R.K. Lindberg	1914–15	4-3	0-0
R.K. Lindberg	Totals	4-3 (.571)	0-0 (.000)
Bill Cowan	1922–23	7-1 (.875)	0-0 (.000)
Bill Cowan	Totals	7-1 (.875)	0-0 (.000)
E.O. Brown	1923–24	5-2	0-0
	1924–25	4–8	0-0
	1925–26	1–5	0-0
	1926–27	7–8	0-0
	1927–28	7-5	4–5
	1928–29	8-8	5–7
	1929–30	10-3	8-3
	1930–31	11-4	7-4
	1931–32	9-7	3–5
	1932–33	1–4	1–4
	Totals	63-54 (.538)	28-28 (.500)
Truman McEver	1933–34	6-6	1–5
	1934–35	5–13	3–9
	Totals	11–19 (.367)	4–14 (.222)
Henry Hudson	1935–36	6-6	2–6
	1936–37	6–8	1–8
	1937–38	9-5	5-3
	1938–39	5–9	3–8
	1939–40	4–16	3–13
	Totals	30–44 (.405)	14–38 (.269)
Howard Godfrey	1940–41	5–11	5–11
Howard Godfrey	Totals	5–11 (.455)	5–11 (.455)
Raymond Burnett	1941–42	7–14	0-0
Raymond Burnett	Totals	7–14 (.333)	0-0 (.000)
John Tucker	1944–45	14-8	13-3
	1945–46	14-5	8-3
	Totals	28-13 (.638)	21-6 (.778)
Homer Spragins	1946–47	12-11	6–7
Homer Spragins	Totals	12-11 (.522)	6–7 (.462)
Sam Hindsman	1947–48	12-8	9-7
	1948–49	17-4	*13-3
	1949–50	#25-2	*18-0
	1950–51	#24-7	*16-2
	1951–52	#25-4	*17-1
	1952–53	#24-1	*16-0	E.C. O'Neal (Post)
	1953–54	%28-3	*16-0	E.C. O'Neal (Post)
	1954–55	%29-6	*16-0	Donovan Horn (Guard)
	1955–56	#15-9	11-5
	1956–57	13-13	0-0
	1957–58	20-5	*10-0	Ronnie Kennett (Guard)
	1958–59	13-11	0-0
	1959–60	19-6	*14-4
	1960–61	21-3	*16-2	J.P. Lovelady (Forward)
	1961–62	20-7	*14-4	Kenny Saylors (Forward)
	1962–63	#19-9	11-7	Kenny Saylors (Forward)
	1963–64	17-10	13-5
	1964–65	6–19	5–13
	1965–66	8–19	4–14
	Totals	355-146 (.709)	219-67 (.766)
Deward Dopson	1966–67	12–14	8–10
	1967–68	14-13	11-7
	1968–69	19-9	13-5
	1969–70	#22-10	15-3
	1970–71	20-5	16-4
	1971–72	12–16	12-8	Terry Hankton (Forward)
	1972–73	4–22	2–16
	Totals	103-89 (.536)	77-53 (.592)
Ted Lyons	1973–74	8–20	3–15
	1974–75	8–17	4–14
	1975–76	4–20	1–17
	Totals	20–57 (.260)	8–46 (.148)
George Jones	1976–77	11–17	8–10
	1977–78	7–16	5–13
	1978–79	7–21	4–14
	1979–80	13–14	7–11
	1980–81	12–15	8–10
	Totals	50–83 (.376)	35–58 (.356)
Danny Ebbs	1981–82	15-14	9-9	Joe Bob Wise (Forward)
	1982–83	13–14	9-9
	1983–84	1–5	0-0
	Totals	29–33 (.468)	18-18 (.500)
Wesley White	1983–84	9–12	7–11
Wesley White	Totals	9–12 (.429)	7–11 (.389)
John Widner	1984–85	22-8	*12-6
	1985–86	9–17	6–14
	1986–87	12–14	8–12
	Totals	43-39 (.524)	26–32 (.448)
Marty Barnes	1987–88	22-11	*14-4
	1988–89	20-12	12-6	Alan Cozart (Forward)
	1989–90	24-9	14-4
	1990–91	16-15	8–10	Maxie Mathis (Post)
	1991–92	20-12	11-7	Maxie Mathis (Post)
	1992–93	23-10	*12-4	Maxie Mathis (Post) Eric Burnett (Forward)‡
	1993–94	26-8	*13-1	Thayer McKinley (Forward)‡ David Bevis (Post)‡
	1994–95	%29-6	*14-2	David Bevis (Post) Chad Keaster (Guard)‡
	1995–96	#19-10	7-5	Bryan Hodges (Forward)‡
	1996–97	14-13	8-4	Bryan Hodges (Forward)‡
	1997–98	9–17	6-6
	1998–99	9–17	5–7
	Totals	231-140 (.623)	124-60 (.674)
Robert Thompson	1999-00	16-10	8-4
	2000–01	4–22	2–14
	2001–02	12–14	8-8
	2002–03	11–16	4–12
	Totals	43–62 (.409)	22–38 (.367)
Rick McCormick	2003–04	7–20	4–12
	2004–05	10–17	3–13
	2005–06	11–16	2–14
	Totals	28–53 (.346)	9–39 (.188)
Mark Downey	2006–07	6–21	1–13
	2007–08	18-11	8-6
	2008–09	#23-9	*9-5
	2009–10	#30-2	*13-1	Brandon Friedel (Guard)‡
	Totals	77-43 (.642)	31-25 (.554)
Doug Karleskint	2010–11	#25-6	*13-1
	2011–12	#26-6	*13-3
	Totals	51-12 (.810)	26-4 (.867)
% National Tournament Final Four # National Tournament * Conference Champion ‡ Honorable Mention All-American

Baseball

Tech won AIC baseball titles in 1950, 1964, 1976, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1992 and 2014. The Wonder Boys captured a share of the GSC West Division baseball crown in 1998. Tech won a school record 44 games in 2014 while winning the Great American Conference championship.

Coach	Year	Overall	Conference	All-Americans
W.A. Isgrig	1912	5-8-1	0-0
W.A. Isgrig	Totals	5-8-1 (.393)	0-0 (.000)
E.H. Shinn	1913	10-4	0-0
	1914	5–9	0-0
	1915	3-2	0-0
	Totals	18-15 (.545)	0-0 (.000)
	1916–1922	No Team
E.O. Brown	1923	1–4	0-0
E.O. Brown	Totals	1–4 (.200)	0-0 (.000)
	1924–1939	No Team
John Tucker	1940	2–3	0-0
John Tucker	Totals	2–3 (.400)	0-0 (.000)
	1941–1947	No Team
Raymond Burnett	1948	10-3	6-2
	1949	9-3	8-2
	1950	13-4	*8-1
	1951	11-3	10-2
	Totals	43-13 (.768)	32-7 (.821)
	1952	No Team
Sam Hindsman	1953	2–10	2–8
	1954	7–9	5–7
	1955	10-6	7-5
	1956	5–11	5–7
	Totals	24–36 (.400)	19–27 (.413)
Raymond Burtner	1957	4-4	0–2
	1958	8-4	8-4
	Totals	12-8 (.600)	8-6 (.571)
Don Dempsey	1959	3–9	3–9
	1960	2-6-1	2-6-1
	1961	10-10	5-5
	1962	14-6	7-3
	1963	10–11	6-6
	1964	14-7	*8-4
	1965	12-10	6-6
	1966	11-9	7-5
	1967	3–15	1–9
	1968	7-10-2	5–7
	1969	13-8	6-6
	1970	8–11	6-4
	Totals	107-112-3 (.489)	62-70-1 (.470)
Doyle Wallace	1971	16-15	8-8
Doyle Wallace	Totals	16-15 (.516)	8-8 (.500)
Ted Lyons	1972	7–14	6–10
	1973	11-13-1	5-8-1
	1974	12–13	8-8
	Totals	30-40-1 (.430)	19-26-1 (.424)
Rick Thone	1975	7–13	5–11
Rick Thone	Totals	7–13 (.350)	5–11 (.313)
Robert Pledger	1976	22-14	*11-3	Tommy Hester (Outfield)
	1977	13-12	8-6
	1978	10-10	6–8
	Totals	45-36 (.556)	25-17 (.595)
Robert Campbell	1979	17-17	9-5
	1980	16-14	8-6
	Totals	33-31 (.517)	17-11 (.607)
Jim Franks	1981	21-11	*11-3
	1982	25-15	9-5
	1983	16-12	7-7
	1984	24-18	9-5
	1985	26-16	*16-4
	1986	19-17	11-9
	1987	23-13	17-11
	Totals	154-102 (.602)	80-44 (.645)
Dale Harpenau	1988	29-17	*18-6
	1989	17–24	8–16
	1990	22-16-1	14-10
	1991	30-17	16-8
	1992	25-16	*17-7
	1993	26-17	11-11
	1994	34-14-1	20-4
	1995	33-18	20-6
	1996	26-19	7–10
	1997	30-11-1	10-6
	1998	30-16-1	*12-5
	Totals	302-185-4 (.619)	153-89 (.632)
Billy Goss	1999	22-21	11-6
	2000	22-22	7–11
	2001	32-20	14-9	John Paul Davis (First Base)
	2002	16–31	7–16
	2003	29-24	18-14
	2004	31-23	13-10
	2005	28-22	17-7
	2006	19–29	6–17
	2007	22-32-1	10-10
	2008	22–23	9-11
	2009	22–30	9–12
	Totals	265-277-1 (.489)	121–123 (.496)
Dave Dawson	2010	35-19	14-6
	2011	32-19	13-6	Matt Johnson (Outfield)
	2012	26–27	13-11
	Totals	93-65 (.589)	40-23 (.635)
* Conference Champion

Golf

Arkansas Tech's men's golf team was AIC champions in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. Tech became the first school from Arkansas to win the GSC Championship in men's golf in 2004. The 1998 Wonder Boys reached the NCAA Division II National Tournament for men's golf. Tech made its sixth men's golf NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearance and finished as GSC Tournament runner-up in 2009. Bill Bailey was a four-time All-AIC selectee in golf (1973–76).

Year	Conference Finish	All-Americans
1964	5th
1965	7th
1966	1st
1967	1st
1968	1st
1969	1st
1970	#1st
1971	6th
1972	5th
1973	3rd
1974	4th
1975	8th
1976	8th
1977	7th
1978	6th
1979	5th
1980	6th
1981	9th
1982	6th
1983	2nd
1984	1st
1985	3rd
1986	3rd
1987	3rd
1988	2nd
1989	2nd
1990	2nd
1991	2nd
1992	1st
1993	#1st	David Dyer
1994	#1st
1995	#1st
1996	T-3rd
1997	T-5th
1998	#3rd
1999	4th
2000	5th
2001	#2nd	Jeff Jenkins
2002	#5th
2003	#4th
2004	#1st	Nick Quast
2005	4th	Nick Quast
2006	6th
2007	3rd
2008	5th
2009	#2nd
2010	4th
2011	8th
2012	2nd
# National Tournament

References

↑ Polytechnic College

http://athletics.atu.edu/atuhistory.htm

External links

Official website

Great American Conference

Members	Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys & Golden Suns Arkansas–Monticello Boll Weevils & Cotton Blossoms East Central Tigers Harding Bisons & Lady Bisons Henderson State Reddies Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers Oklahoma Baptist Bison Ouachita Baptist Tigers Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm Southern Arkansas Muleriders Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs

Affiliates	Oklahoma Christian Eagles Rogers State Hillcats

Sports teams based in Arkansas

Baseball

Basketball

ABA: Conway Cyclones
Texarkana Panthers

Football

WFA: Arkansas Wildcats

Roller derby

WFTDA: Northwest Arkansas Roller Derby

College athletics

NCAA Division I	Arkansas Arkansas State Arkansas–Little Rock Arkansas–Pine Bluff Central Arkansas

NCAA Division II	Arkansas Tech Arkansas–Fort Smith Arkansas–Monticello Harding Henderson State Ouachita Baptist Southern Arkansas

NCAA Division III	Hendrix Ozarks

NAIA	Central Baptist John Brown Lyon Philander Smith Williams Baptist

NJCAA	Arkansas Baptist Mid-South North Arkansas

NCCAA	Central Baptist Crowley's Ridge Ecclesia

High school athletics

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