Aztecs Will Induct 16 in Hall of Fame

San Diego State announced Tuesday the initial 16 members to be inducted into its Aztec Hall of Fame.

Selected for induction were eight football players: Willie Buchanon, former Green Bay and Charger defensive back; John Butler, former San Diego mayor who as a guard in 1935 became the first Aztec football player to receive little All-American honors; Fred Dryer, former Ram defensive end; Gary Garrison, former Charger receiver; Haven Moses, former Buffalo and Denver receiver; the late Art Preston, the school’s football scoring leader who also set SDSU baseball batting average records; Dennis Shaw, former National Football League quarterback, and Brian Sipe, former Cleveland quarterback.

Also being inducted are Laurel Brassey-Kessel, member of the U.S. Olympic volleyball team; golfer Gene Littler, 1961 U.S. Open winner; Graig Nettles, former Padre third baseman now with the Montreal Expos; the late Milton Phelps, basketball player and first Aztec to earn first-team major-college All-American honors; Arnie Robinson, 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the long jump; and Willie Steele, 1948 Olympic gold medalist in the long jump.

Also honored will be Don Coryell, the first football coach to win 100 games at both the college and professional level, and the late C.E. Peterson, the Aztecs’ first football coach, who also coached basketball and track in his 33 years at the school.

The inductees are to be honored at a banquet Nov. 4. Ticket information is available by calling the SDSU sports information office at 594-5547.

Marilyn Johnson, San Diego State associate athletic director, will resign for personal reasons, a school spokesman said.

Johnson is resigning to be closer to her husband, Corey, athletic director at Cal State Long Beach, said John Rosenthal, SDSU sports information director.

Rosenthal said Athletic Director Fred Miller intends to have a replacement selected by Oct. 15.

BASKETBALL

San Diego State’s annual tournament, known for the past three years as the Holiday Bowl tournament, has a new title sponsor. The two-day tournament will now be known as the McDonald’s tournament after the company agreed to a three-year sponsorship. Terms of the agreement were not announced, but school officials said the deal far exceeded its previous agreement with the Holiday Bowl.

This year’s tournament, to be held Dec. 21 and 22 in the San Diego Sports Arena, will be the 13th since the tournament began in 1976 as the Cabrillo tournament. Tennessee, Alabama-Birmingham and Hardin-Simmons will join defending champion SDSU in the four-team field.