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Fort Lewis inducting Hall of Fame class

Inductees include Bob Hofman, Susan Sagle, Joe Moore, DeAndre Lansdowne, the 1984 football team and Chris Aaland
Coach Bob Hofman disputes a call back in 2013. On Friday, he’ll be inducted into the Fort Lewis College’s athletic Hall of Fame. Durango Herald file photo

Fort Lewis College will add five individuals and one team to its sports Hall of Fame on Friday.

Taking a rightful place alongside other FLC greats, the 2021 Hall of Fame class being honored Friday consists of Bob Hofman (men’s basketball), Susan Sagle (women’s cross-country), Joe Moore (football), DeAndre Lansdowne (men’s basketball), the 1984 FLC football team and Chris Aaland (administrator).

Bob Hofman, men’s basketball

Hofman, who was the men's basketball head coach from1983-87 and 2000-2015, was a unanimous Hall of Famer in his first year on the ballot after spending 19 total seasons during two stints as the head coach of the program.

He took the reins of the men’s basketball team in 1983 and departed in 2015 as the winningest coach in program history (359-190). Hofman pushed the Skyhawks to regional and national prominence as he guided FLC to three RMAC regular season titles, four RMAC Tournament championships, six RMAC West Division trophies and seven trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

In addition to the winning tradition he built on the FLC sidelines, Hofman had successful head coaching stops at NCAA Division I Eastern Washington (1987-90), and at RMAC foe Western Colorado (1995-2000), where he is the Mountaineers’ all-time wins leader (82-55), as well.

At the collegiate level, Hofman boasts a 475-299 (.614) overall record to go with a 97-49 mark in seven seasons as a high school head coach. He owns almost every men's basketball coaching record in FLC history, including wins (359), league wins (245), seasons coached (19) and league win percentage (.680). Hofman's accolades also include being voted the RMAC Coach of the Year twice (1986-87 and 2004-05) and the RMAC West Division Coach of the Year in 2007-08.

The court inside Whalen Gymnasium was named after Hofman in 2016, honoring the contributions he has made to FLC and the men’s basketball program.

"It is a privilege to be inducted into the Fort Lewis Hall of Fame among so many great athletes and coaches, both men and women. I look forward to October 15th with great anticipation," Hofman said. "I accept this honor in the name of every player who I have coached at Fort Lewis. I hope as many former players as possible can be there, because I am accepting this honor in their name."

1984 Fort Lewis College football

Under the direction of head coach Bill Cooke, FLC finished the season 7-2-1 overall and tied the school record for wins in a season en route to the program’s first RMAC Championship. One of the two losses for FLC that year was to Weber State University, a NCAA Division I opponent.

The 1984 team capped its tremendous season by going 6-0-1 over its final seven games, punctuated by a thrilling 30-29 victory over New Mexico Highlands in the final week of the regular season (Nov. 10, 1984) to secure the RMAC title.

Helping lead the defensive unit that fall was Kevin Hula, who finished with a school record 17.5 sacks; the fifth most in RMAC history for a single season. Hula was one of four FLC players named First Team All-RMAC that season – joined by Rob Groetzinger, Tom Rieber and Randy Wells – while a total of 15 players from the 1984 team received All-RMAC recognition.

“The one thing about the 1984-85 team; they are the toughest kids I’ve ever coached, and I’ve seen a lot of great ones,” Cooke said. “After we lost to Eastern New Mexico (Week 3), Kevin Hula was fired up. He greeted everyone off the bus when we got back to the hotel and said, ‘We're not going to lose another game.’ And we didn’t. We had tough kids. Having coached for over 40 years, those were the toughest and most disciplined players I've ever coached in my life.“

Susan Sagle (Caudle), cross-country

A local product starring for her hometown program, Sagle was the No. 1 runner on the first FLC women's cross-country team ever to qualify for the NCAA Championships in 1998.

She finished 85th overall at the 1998 NCAA Championship race and helped the FLC squad to a third-place finish out of 16 teams at the NCAA South Central Regional.

Later in her career, Sagle would go on to earn All-RMAC and All-Academic honors in 2001, finishing 10th at the RMAC Championships. Her time of 22 minutes, 17 seconds in the 6K still ranks sixth all-time on the FLC women’s cross-country record list.

“Thank you for this great honor,” Sagle said. “My years running at FLC were some of my best; with great coaches, friends and a lot of hard work.”

Joe Moore, football

One of the most decorated football players in program history, Joe Moore jumped on the scene as a freshman as he was named First Team All-RMAC and RMAC Freshman of the Year in 2000.

After sustaining a serious neck injury as a sophomore, Moore showcased his perseverance and toughness, battling back to earn Second Team All-RMAC honors in 2003 and First Team All-RMAC again in 2004.

Named to the FLC All-Century team in 2011, Moore stands alone as the all-time leading rusher at FLC with 3,566 yards and all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 29 scores. He was extremely durable, playing in 45 career games, averaging 4.64 yards per carry, while his 4,796 all-purpose yards rank second in school history behind fellow Hall of Famer, Johnny Cox. Moore's 206 total points scored are also the third most in school history.

“I was definitely speechless, and I was in shock when I got the call from (Leimbach),” Moore said. “This honor is the top milestone in my football career. It was an amazing experience going to FLC and being a contributing member of the Durango community as a city kid from the west side of Denver. After I broke my neck sophomore year, I didn’t know if I was ever going to get to play again, so it was a huge blessing to be able to bounce back from that and become the player I was again.”

After spending time in the top leagues of Germany and Italy, DeAndre Lansdowne now plays basketball professionally in France. On Friday, he’ll join Fort Lewis’ sports Hall of Fame. (Courtesy)
Deandre Lansdowne, men’s basketball

One of the RMAC's greatest pure scorers, Lansdowne owns the FLC all-time scoring record with 1,861 points and therecord for most made field goals (682). In addition to his ability to get buckets, Lansdowne also ranks inside the top 20 in program history in rebounds (573), assists (254), made free throws (392) and is second all-time in steals with 207.

As eye-popping as his individual career stats are, Lansdowne was also a proven winner as the Skyhawks went 107-45 during his four-year career, making it to the NCAA Division II National Tournament three times and advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2010-11. FLC also won two RMAC Cups in 2008 and 2011.

Individually, Lansdowne won RMAC West Freshman of the year for the 2007-08 season, Sporting News Preseason All-American (2010-11), and All-Region selections in 2009-10 and 2010-11. He also earned First Team All-RMAC twice in his career (2009-10, 2010-11) and was named the RMAC West Division Defensive Player of the Year in 2008-09.

Lansdowne is in his sixth season of professional basketball overseas, starring for SIG Strasbourg in the LNB Pro A, a top-tier men's professional league in France.

“It'’ an honor to be selected into the Fort Lewis College Athletics Hall of Fame. Especially from a highly respected program and school as Fort Lewis,” Lansdowne said. “I want to thank Bob Hofman and Bob Pietrack for believing in me and helping me grow as a player and person throughout my four years.”

Chris Aaland, athletics administrator

Aaland worked as Fort Lewis’ athletics administrator from 1992-2006 and 2010-2013 and as the alumni relations director 2006-2010

A 1991 graduate from Fort Lewis, Aaland got his professional start as a student assistant in the FLC Sports Information Director office from 1990-92 before taking the reins of the SID position from 1992 to 2001.

It was the first step in what turned into a 23-year career in a leadership role with FLC Athletics, where he also excelled as the director of communications and publications (2001-06), the college’s director of alumni relations (2006-10), the assistant AD for external operations and communications (2010-12) and the assistant AD for communications (2012-13).

A true historian of FLC Athletics, Aaland became an integral part of the FLC experience as he displayed a passion and knowledge that left a lasting impression with the thousands of student-athletes he promoted over his 20 years of service.

"I am honored and humbled to be chosen for induction into the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame. I was fortunate to serve thousands of student-athletes, dozens of coaches, countless parents, alumni, boosters and fans during my two decades, many of whom have become lifelong friends," Aaland said. “My Fort Lewis family gave me far more than I gave back and I'm forever grateful.”