(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College will induct a head coach, a former head coach and a former college president into its Charles W. Dunaway Pioneer Hall of Fame on Saturday in the first ceremony since the passing of the former BC3 athletics director after whom the hall is named.
The accomplishments of Bill Miller, Dick Hartung and Dr. Thomas TenHoeve will be recognized during the Class of 2023 induction ceremony that begins at 1 p.m. in BC3’s Field House.
The college will also honor Class of 2021 inductee Stefan Carlsson, and four BC3 student-athletes who since June have been selected as National Junior College Athletic Association All-Americans.
Miller’s golf squads have won 14 championships and Hartung’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, 11. TenHoeve was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of the college’s Field House. Carlsson is BC3’s only two-time All-American in golf.
His selection to be inducted “is certainly a humbling feeling. … It means a lot, obviously, to me.”
“My picture is going up on a wall and they don’t just place anybody’s picture up there on that wall.”
“This is a great thrill. … I always loved the student-athletes at Butler County Community College …”
“Chuck was the man”
Dunaway began his employment at BC3 in August 1967 and created its intercollegiate athletics programs.
He helped to found the Skyline Athletic Conference and the Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association – organizations that brought structure to community college sports and provided guidance for emerging athletics programs in Pennsylvania, and was an advocate for women’s athletics.
Dunaway served decades as BC3’s athletics director until his retirement in 1999. The resident of Gibsonia passed away Nov. 11 at 82.
“It’ll be a little emotional for me,” Miller said. “Chuck Dunaway and I were really good friends.”
“Without Chuck Dunaway, none of this happens,” Hartung said. “Chuck was the man. He really was. He was the man.”
“The heart and soul of the athletics at BC3,” TenHoeve said.
John Stuper, a former Major League Baseball player and member of the hall’s Class of 2016, will present Miller for induction. Noah Hartung will present his father and Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of BC3, will present TenHoeve, a Holland, Mich., resident who is unable to attend. Miller will present Carlsson.
The Charles W. Dunaway Pioneer Hall of Fame was dedicated in 2015 and recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the quality and success of BC3 athletics. BC3’s Class of 2023 brings the number of its members to 21.
“I am so honored that we came up with the Dunaway Hall of Fame when Chuck was still around,” Neupauer said. “Chuck’s legacy is protected. Forever. It didn’t necessarily take a hall of fame to have it that way. But the fact that we have this hall of fame that has been named in his honor will again protect that legacy going forward.”
“A humbling feeling”
Miller, a Penn Township resident, will also be honored as a former assistant men’s basketball coach and as a former men’s basketball player at BC3.
Miller since 2003 has coached BC3’s golf program to eight Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference crowns, five NJCAA Division III Region 20 titles and one Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
He has guided players who have received five NJCAA All-American awards in golf and is an eight-time WPCC coach of the year.
Miller served 20 years as an assistant coach of a BC3’s men’s basketball program that won four WPCC and three PCAA championships and produced six All-Americans.
As a point guard on BC3’s men’s basketball team, Miller sank 15 consecutive successful foul shots against the Community College of Allegheny County in 1977, a program single-game record that stood for nearly 38 years. He was a two-time all-Skyline Athletic Conference selection and a member of a 1977-1978 team that was 16-9 and posted the program’s first winning record.
His selection to be inducted “is certainly a humbling feeling. I came to BC3 as a student-athlete and then came back and had the opportunity to coach and to work full time,” said Miller, who served BC3 for 41 years in administrative positions. … “It means a lot, obviously, to me. I’ve had a lot of really good times and a lot of good memories.”
“My picture is going up on a wall”
Hartung, of Butler, coached BC3’s men’s basketball program to 314 victories over 28 completed seasons and its women’s program to 88 over 11. He retired in 2022 from BC3 as an assistant professor.
“I’m honored and I appreciate the recognition,” Hartung said. “I coached and I taught and it was the best job I ever had. It fit my personality. It fit my athletics background. It was a perfect fit for me. My picture is going up on a wall and they don’t just place anybody’s picture up there on that wall. So I must have done something.”
BC3’s men’s teams under Hartung won WPCC championships in 1991, 1994 and 2019; and a Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association crown in 1991.
BC3’s women’s teams under Hartung won WPCC championships in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022; and NJCAA Division III Region 20 titles in 2011 and 2016. BC3 finished fifth nationally in 2011.
He coached seven men’s NJCAA All-Americans and three women’s All-Americans, and the college’s all-time men’s and women’s leading scorers.
“This is a great thrill”
TenHoeve served 1970 to 1984 as BC3’s second president.
Building I, as the 24,000-square-foot home athletics venue was known during its planning stage, rose from what was the site of the ninth hole of the former Oak Hills Golf Course on BC3’s main campus.
In its first home game in what was BC3’s new $1.7 million Field House, the college’s men’s basketball team defeated Penn State-Shenango 79-63 on Jan. 24, 1977. TenHoeve was in the crowd, as he often was at other BC3 athletics competitions at home or away.
BC3’s men’s and women’s basketball teams had played home games at area high school gymnasiums and other venues, as did the college’s volleyball squad.
“This is a great thrill,” TenHoeve said of his selection to be inducted. “I am very thankful and appreciative of this honor. I always loved the student-athletes at Butler County Community College and I enjoyed supporting all of their efforts and going to as many of their games and events as I could.”
The year after TenHoeve became BC3’s second president, the college received full accreditation from what was then named the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
“For the qualified person, there is the right presidency at the right time,” Neupauer said. “And Dr. TenHoeve was absolutely the right president at the right time for this institution. He followed Dr. (James) Lawson, who primarily got BC3 up and running, got it approved by the county, got the buildings built, set the structure.
“Dr. TenHoeve getting this institution Middle States accreditation was one of the most significant accomplishments in our college’s history. That was in addition to his role in elevating our athletics program and his role in securing the funding for the field house.”
Neupauer will present to Rob Snyder, the college’s director of student life and athletics, a softball he received April 26 from TenHoeve that is signed by 13 BC3 softball players and coaches after the program’s first victory in intercollegiate athletics 47 years ago.
BC3’s softball team won its first intercollegiate game 9-0 against the Community College of Beaver County on April 28, 1976. The team and its coach autographed and gave the softball to Sue TenHoeve, TenHoeve’s wife.
Players Brenda Kriley, Carol Grimaldi, Lois Gianneschi, Pam Barnes, Naomi Clawson, Vicki Hupp, Fay Brison, Mary Ann Lutchiew, Linda Goetz, Lynn Gianeski, Kay Brison, Judy Morrow and Caroline Edblom signed the softball, as did head coach Marge Kirk.
Sue TenHoeve passed away in February.
Carlsson golf All-American twice
Carlsson is BC3’s only two-time All-American in golf. He placed 10th in the NJCAA Division III national championship tournament in 2014 and 15th in 2015. He was also selected to the NJCAA Division III Region 20 all-tournament team in 2014 and in 2015.
BC3 student-athletes Troy Loughry, Morgan Jack, Aslyn Pry and Kevaughn Price have been selected as All-Americans since June.
Loughry in June became BC3’s first first-team All-American in golf by finishing fifth in the national championship tournament.
Jack and Pry in December were named All-Americans in volleyball. Jack in 2022 set the program’s career assists record with 1,429 in 44 matches; and Pry led Division III with a .432 hitting percentage and was 15th in kills per set at 3.86.
Jack was also named an All-American in volleyball in December 2021, and Pry, in women’s basketball in March 2022.
Price in April was named an All-American in men’s basketball. He helped to lead the program to its only berth in a national championship tournament in 55 years. His 21.5 points per game scoring average was eighth among all Division III players. Price scored 20 or more points in 14 games for the Pioneers.
