2019 Hall Of Fame Class Announced
6/4/2019 8:30:00 AM | Football, General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer
DENTON - A century of Mean Green history is represented in the 2019 North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which was announced by the UNT Athletic Department Tuesday.
A pair of inductees in their first year of eligibility will enter the Hall alongside a pair of wide receivers who played 30 years apart, the greatest rebounder in Mean Green women's basketball history and one of the winningest coaches in school history who played a pivotal role in the early days of North Texas athletics.
The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees, voted by North Texas Letterwinners Association active members, Hall of Fame members and the Hall of Fame Selection Committee, are:
- Marcus Camper (football, 1985-88)
- Casey Fitzgerald (football, 2005-08)
- Kelsey Hodges (soccer, 2010-13)
- Amber Jackson (women's basketball, 2006-09)
- Zach Orr (football, 2010-2013)
- J.W. St. Clair (coach of football, men's basketball, baseball, 1915-1924)
The 2019 class will be inducted during the Mean Green's Champions Weekend Oct. 18-19, 2019. The induction dinner will take place Friday, Oct. 18, in Apogee Stadium's HUB Club, and the inductees will also be honored during the North Texas football game against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 19.
This was the second year in which the Hall of Fame selection process included voting by dues-paying members of the North Texas Letterwinners Association and previous inductees to the UNT Hall of Fame. Active members of the Letterwinners Association also receive a 20% discount on season and single-game tickets. To access Letterwinners Association ticket benefits, contact the North Texas Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or ticketoffice.@unt.edu.
Here are bios of the members of the 2019 Hall of Fame class:
Marcus Camper (football, 1985-88)
A two-time all-conference wide receiver, Camper led the team in receiving, punt returns and all-purpose yards in all four of his seasons with the Mean Green, during which time UNT twice reached the Division I-AA national playoffs.
Thirty years after his final game, he still ranks No. 9 in all-time receiving yards with 1,939, 10th in receiving touchdowns with 14, and fifth in career yards per reception at 17.4. He had a career-best performance against Texas in 1988, when he had 224 yards receiving - still the fifth-best total in school history.
Camper also led the team for four years in all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, and returning kicks), and ranks sixth all-time at UNT in career all-purpose yards with 3,562. His 69-yard punt return against McNeese State in 1988 is the eighth longest in school history.
Casey Fitzgerald (football, 2005-08)
A walk-on from Red Oak, Texas, was one of the greatest wide receivers in North Texas history and is the owner of the best two-year stretch any UNT receiver ever had.
In 2007, Fitzgerald caught 111 passes for 1,322 yards. A year later, he hauled in 113 passes for 1,119 yards. Those are the top two seasons for receptions and No. 1 and No. 4 in receiving yards in program history. His 2,533 career receiving yards ranks third all-time at North Texas behind Hall of Famers Johnny Quinn and Troy Redwine. His 229 career receptions ranks first, and his 20 career touchdowns ranks fifth.
Fitzgerald is perhaps best remembered for three remarkable performances: against SMU in 2008 he caught 18 passes for a school-record 327 yards; against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2008 he had 14 receptions for 231 yards (second only to his output against SMU); and against Navy in 2007 he caught 13 passes and scored five touchdowns. He ranks third all-time in 100-yard receiving games with 10.
Fitzgerald was a two-time first-team all-conference selection and was named honorable mention all-America by Sports Illustrated in 2007.
Kelsey Hodges (soccer, 2010-13)
The 2013 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, Kelsey Hodges was the first Mean Green soccer player to earn the defensive player of the year honor and is still just one of two to earn the award.
A three-time first-team all-conference selection, Hodges was the anchor of the defense for four years. Despite being a defender, she is eighth in career goals with 32 and is tied for eighth with 10 career game-winning goals. She is the only defensive player in the top 10 of either category.
Hodges, whose 7,174 minutes played ranks second in program history, led UNT to three conference championships including the 2012 Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championships. In 2011, Hodges scored the game-winning goal against Denver to win the regular-season title. During her four years in Denton, UNT won 57 matches, which ranks fifth best in program history.
In 2010 as a freshman, Hodges became just the fifth player in program history to record multiple hat tricks (three goals in one match) in a single season. To this day, only six players in the program's 25 year history have accomplished that.
She was named second-team all-region in 2012 and first-team all-region in 2013. She was named to two all-conference all-tournament teams.
Since graduating, Hodges has played professional soccer in Sweden, Australia and Scotland.
This was Hodges' first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.
Amber Jackson (women's basketball, 2006-09)
Jackson did it all for North Texas: rebounder, scorer, shot blocker and an academic standout.
Jackson is the top rebounder in North Texas women's basketball history with 761 boards, 45 more than the second-best total of Empress Drane. Her top season was 2008-09, when she grabbed 265 rebounds, an average of 9.5 per game. But Jackson was also a prolific scorer, ranking fifth in career points with 1,394. Jackson was the team's top scorer in 2007-08 at 13.0 points per game and in 2008-09 at 16.8 ppg, and her 471 points in 2008-09 ranks as the sixth-best single-season total. On defense, Jackson recorded 73 career shot blocks, sixth most all-time. Jackson was also durable, playing in 116 games, fifth most in program history.
Jackson was a two-time all-conference selection in the Sun Belt Conference, and was named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team in 2009.
Zach Orr (football, 2010-2013)
A three-time all-conference selection at linebacker, Orr is tied for third in program history with 365 total tackles, leading the team in that category on three occasions (2011-13). Orr is also in the top 10 in career tackles for loss with 25.
In 2013 as a senior, Orr was named first-team All-Conference-USA after posting 123 tackles, fifth most in a single season in program history. He also registered a team-high 13.5 tackles for loss with three sacks, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, four pass break-ups and a blocked kick.
Orr led the team in 2012 with 108 tackles and was responsible for four turnovers, picking off a pair of passes and recovering two fumbles on his way to second-team All-Sun Belt honors. As a sophomore in 2011, Orr led the Mean Green with 74 tackles, an interception, a pair of fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Orr went on to play three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before being forced to retire at the age of 24 due to a congenital neck condition prior to the 2017 season. He appeared in 46 games (15 starts) for the Ravens and posted 162 tackles, three interceptions, a sack and one forced fumble. He earned Associated Press second-team All-Pro honors in 2016, when he finished with 132 tackles (ninth-most in the NFL) and three interceptions.
Orr was a three-year captain and four-year letterwinner at UNT, and was named in 2013 to the Conference USA and Capital One District VII all-academic teams.
This was Orr's first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.
J.W. St. Clair (coach of football, men's basketball, baseball, 1915-1924)
J.W. St. Clair has the highest winning percentage of any coach of football and men's basketball in North Texas history.
St. Clair coached football at North Texas from 1915 to 1919, basketball from 1916-17 to 1919-20 and 1921-22 to 1923-24, and baseball from 1922 to 1924.
As the second football coach in school history, St. Clair guided the Mean Green to its first winning season, a 4-1 mark in 1915. By the end of that inaugural season, North Texas was over .500 as a program and has never since fallen below .500. St. Clair posted a winning record in four of his five seasons, compiling a record of 20-10-2, a .656 winning percentage. That remains the best winning percentage for any football coach in school history.
As basketball coach, St. Clair was 58-21, a .734 winning percentage, the best percentage in the history of North Texas basketball. He posted a winning record in six of his seven seasons, and his teams scored wins over Texas, TCU and Baylor. St. Clair's 1922-23 team went 13-1, the best winning percentage (.929) of any season in school history. He also owns the second-best season winning percentage, the .917 rate of 1921-22's 11-1 record.
As football and basketball coach, St. Clair was 79-31-2, a .712 winning percentage.
As baseball coach for three seasons, St. Clair's teams recorded one winning season and were 16-26 overall.
In 1924, St. Clair became basketball coach at SMU, where he coached from 1924 to 1938 and posted a record of 132-108. He also coached SMU baseball in 1927 and 1931-33.
Overall, St. Clair's career mark in all three sports was 244-199-3.
In 1938, he became executive secretary for the Southwest Conference until his death in 1945 at age 60.
