Our opinion: SEMO Athletics Hall of Fame induction will kick off big sports weekend on campus

Canton. Cooperstown. Naismith.

Those names mean something to football, baseball and basketball players. They represent the pinnacle of those respective professional sports. The Hall of Fame.

Halls of fame recognize the best in a given endeavor, and once enshrined, those legacies live on.

Southeast Missouri State University will induct five members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Feb. 14, and the group is — as always — special.

The five-member class includes Zach Borowiak (baseball, 2000-03), Antonius Cleveland (men's basketball, 2013-17), Paul Ebaugh (football, 1962, 1964-66; track and field, 1963, 1965-67), Emily Scannell Brune (volleyball, 2000-03) and Carroll Williams (golf coach, 1968-75, 1990-05; basketball coach, 1975-81; director of Athletics, 1997-99).

Borowiak finished his baseball career as SEMO's all-time doubles leader. A three-time All-OVC shortstop, with first-team honors in 2001, Borowiak was a 17th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2003 and played in their minor league organization for six years.

Cleveland scored 1,556 points for a 12.9 ppg average and was a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as a senior in 2016-17. Cleveland played in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks.

Ebaugh played on the football team as both an offensive and defensive lineman, but also excelled in track and field as a discus thrower. He was then a three-time MIAA champion in the discus and graduated as the school's record holder.

Scannell Brune was a volleyball star who became the Redhawks' only OVC Freshman of the Year after leading the team to 23 wins and a perfect 16-0 record in the OVC as well as the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She ended her career as the school's record holder in assists and was named to the OVC 75th Anniversary Volleyball Team.

Williams spent five decades at SEMO as a coach for the golf team and men's basketball team and was an acting Athletics director. Williams first enrolled at SEMO in 1955 and has been involved in the teaching and coaching ranks in the area for more than six decades.

Congratulations to all.

The Hall of Fame induction will lead into another big sports day on campus. Saturday afternoon, Feb. 15, the women’s and men’s basketball teams will host Tennessee Tech at the Show Me Center.

The women will play at 1:30 p.m., trying to get back on track. The women have struggled this year, under first-year coach Briley Palmer, but they are a scrappy bunch.

At 3:45 p.m., the men will put their first-place OVC standing on the line. The men (16-10 overall, 11-4 in OVC play) are riding a six-game win streak and are gunning for their first 20-win season since 2000. With the regular season winding down, the Redhawks are focusing on a postseason tournament championship, which would qualify them for the NCAA tournament, the “Big Dance”.

The newly minted Hall of Fame class will be on hand and appear at halftime of the men’s game.

Let’s fill up the arena to honor the inductees and cheer on the Redhawks. See you there.