NORTHWESTERN SPORTS HALL OF FAME
INDUCTS FOUR RANGER STANDOUTS INTO 14^TH CLASS

Three former Ranger standouts and a long-time physical education professor will be inducted into the 14^th class of Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies on Feb. 4.

This year’s class includes Dr. Yvonne Carmichael, Tommy Griffin, Dustin Miller and Cynthia Garrett Rock.

The Hall of Fame luncheon honoring the inductees begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. Tickets are $15, and reservations are available until Jan. 27 by calling the Northwestern Foundation at (580) 327-8593.

Induction ceremonies will take place at halftime of the men’s basketball game that afternoon. Northwestern’s basketball teams will play host to Wayland Baptist University, with the women’s game at 2 p.m. and the men’s game following at 4 p.m.

Prior to introducing this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, previous recipients will be introduced and this year’s Hall of Fame scholarship will be presented to Erin Goss.

 DR. YVONNE CARMICHAEL

Dr. Yvonne Carmichael worked for more than 40 years as a professor of health and physical education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Born in Higgins, Texas, Carmichael grew up in the Texas panhandle and later graduated from North Texas State College in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. Just a year later in 1956, she finished her master’s degree in physical education while at the University of Oklahoma. During her tenure as a professor at Northwestern, Carmichael worked on her doctorate in college teaching and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1982.

Before coming to Northwestern in the fall of 1960, Carmichael taught and coached women’s volleyball and basketball at Panhandle A & M from 1956-60, making her years of college teaching experience totaling 43 years. 

At an early age she developed a passion for swimming and pursued her love of water while at Panhandle by founding the “Ripplettes” synchronized swimming club in 1958.

After being at Northwestern for two years, Carmichael founded the Aquarina Swim Club and presented shows for the public for 33 consecutive years. She was chosen as the Sports Coordinator for Synchronized Swimming at the 1989 U.S. Olympics festival. Carmichael also taught swimming classes for many years and had the honor of the Aquatic Center in the J.R. Holder Wellness Center being named in her honor in the fall of 2000.

Carmichael worked for 27 years with the Miss Cinderella Pageant, including serving as the director for 19 years.

As an educator, Carmichael was a recipient of numerous awards for her outstanding dedication and hard-work. Some of her notable honors include: president of the Oklahoma Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, awarded the first Distinguished Teaching Award given by the Northwestern Foundation, Dr. John Sheffield Teacher of the Year, inducted into the Oklahoma Educator’s Hall of Fame in 2002 and named the AAUW Woman of the Year in 2004.

Dr. Carmichael has three children; Mary Jo Servis, Yvette Nusser and Casey Carmichael.

TOMMY GRIFFIN

Tommy Griffin, who attended Northwestern from 1968-1970, was a two-sport athlete for the Rangers. He was a two-year all-conference selection who averaged a double-double all four years while playing center for the Ranger basketball team. Griffin also competed in numerous track events including javelin, pole vault, discus and high jump.

After graduating from Northwestern in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, Griffin took his first job as a boy’s assistant basketball coach at Classen High School. He remained the assistant for four years, before taking over the team in 1974 and coaching them for 15 years. While at Classen, Griffin won two state championships, including the 3A title in 1975 and the 4A title in 1980.

Griffin spent from 1985-88 as the high school football coach at Douglass High School, before moving to John Marshall High School from 1988-2001. At John Marshall, he was the boy’s basketball assistant coach during his first season and was later promoted to head coach for 12 years. He was a five-time All City Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, two-time Region 8 Coach of the Year and won the 5A state championship in 1996 and 2000. 

In 2001, Griffin took over as the boy’s assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian School for two seasons and then stepped into the role of head coach in 2003. During the 2004 season, Griffin won the 3A state title while going undefeated and with both of his sons on the team. In 2005, he repeated the 3A crown and won back-to-back titles in his first two seasons at Oklahoma Christian School.  

Before the 2005-2006 basketball season, in his 29 years as a head coach, Griffin has won six state championships and has posted a 456-203 overall record.

Griffin lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Gail. They have two sons, Taylor and Blake.   

DUSTIN MILLER

Dustin Miller, a 1993 business administration graduate, played basketball for four years at Northwestern. He is the ninth all-time leading scorer at Northwestern with 1,156 points. 

Miller, a standout forward from Pampa, Texas, didn’t miss a start in his career, playing in all of the Rangers’ 115 games. During the 1991-92 season, he helped lead Northwestern to an Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference title and to a 25-7 record. That same season, the Rangers made it to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament.

In his four seasons at Northwestern, Miller averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. During his career, he held a 49.1 percent (431/878) field goal percentage and shot 39.1 percent (160/409) from three-point range. Miller holds the school record for highest free throw percentage in a season, connecting on 90.6 percent (48-53) of his shots during his senior season in 1992-93.

After graduating from Northwestern, Miller served as a business administrator at the Regional Eye Center in Pampa, Texas, from 1992-2002. 

In 2002, Miller returned to his high school alma mater in Pampa to teach and coach. He served as the assistant boy’s basketball coach and assistant girl’s softball coach until August of 2005, when he was named the head boy’s basketball coach.  

Dustin and his wife Dori have three children: Reid, Trey and Drew.

CYNTHIA GARRETT ROCK

Cynthia Garrett Rock played point guard for Northwestern for two and half seasons (1985-88). The Mustang native currently holds five Lady Ranger basketball records.

Rock, who owns the record for best three-point percentage in a season, led Northwestern and the NAIA during her senior year (1987-1988), while connecting on 54.8 percent (63-115) of her three-point attempts. The 1987-1988 season was the first year that the NAIA instituted a three-point line. That same season, she helped lead the Lady Rangers to Oklahoma Intercollegiate Co-Conference Champions with a 22-5 overall record on a team that contended for the No. 1 national ranking throughout the season.

She also is the assist record holder for a single game (12), season (184) and career (382) and holds the career record for best three-point percentage (54.8).  

In her three-year term, Rock played in 73 games while averaging 6.3 points per game.

During the 1987-88 basketball season, Rock was named to the NAIA District IX team and named the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year.

In 1987, Rock was honored with the Anna B. Fisher Biology Scholarship and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Future Teacher Scholarship. 

Rock graduated from Northwestern in December of 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in natural science.

Currently, she serves as the manager of the waste management operations department at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill.

Rock and husband Joseph, a 1989 graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State, reside in Woodridge, Ill. They have two daughters, Anne and Katie.