FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              December 22, 2006

NORTHWESTERN SPORTS HALL OF FAME TO HONOR THREE

            The 2007 class of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Sports Hall of Fame will include Dennis Rountree of Broken Arrow, Robert “Bob” Drake of Woodward and Craig Chestnut of Mustang.

            The trio will be honored at a luncheon at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 17, (rescheduled from Jan. 20) and at halftime of the Ranger men’s basketball game with Southern Nazarene University that afternoon. The women’s game will tip off at 2 p.m. and the men’s game at 4 p.m.

            The luncheon is open to the public, but reservations are required. The cost is $15 per person and reservations need to be made with the Alumni Association Office, (580) 327-8593, by Jan. 10. The event will be held in the Student Center Ballroom.

            The induction ceremony at Percefull Fieldhouse will include introduction of current members of the Hall of Fame, as well as the 2006-07 recipient of the Hall of Fame Scholarship and the recipient of the Dr. Yvonne Carmichael Faculty Enhancement Award.

            Rountree is a 1951 Northwestern graduate and a retired teacher and coach. During his years with the Ranger football team starting in 1947, Rountree did just about everything. He played as quarterback, linebacker, punter, place kicker and punt returner, starting in every game and playing in every quarter for four years. He kicked every punt, extra point and field goal during that time.

            During the 1950 season, he scored all of the Rangers’ points in the first five games as the team posted a 5-0 record.

            Rountree was named honorable mention all-conference quarterback in 1947, first-team all-conference quarterback in 1948 and second-team all-conference quarterback in 1949. He also was a member of Kappa Delta Pi honorary fraternity, selected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities and graduated with a 3.9 grade point average.

            He said his best memory was receiving the all-conference player award from Dr. Sabin Percefull, university president, in 1948.

            Rountree began his coaching career at Seiling in 1951 and retired from the Broken Arrow schools in 1987. He also taught, coached and served as an administrator in Shattuck and Purcell. He coached football, track, golf and cross-country.

            In addition to his degree from Northwestern, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. Rountree and his wife Jerry have three sons, David, Alan and Troy.

            Drake is a December 1969 graduate and owner of R B & J Materials and IST (International Separation Technologies), a research company for precious metals. A graduate of Fort Supply High School, he majored in industrial education and physical education.

            Playing the post position during all his years at Northwestern, Drake was nicknamed “Wings” by his teammates, who included current Hall of Fame member H.L. Brown. For several years he held the Ranger record for highest rebounding average and also was a leading free throw shooter.

            Drake was named to the all-conference second team for the 1966-67 season after leading the Rangers in points, free throw shooting and rebounding.

            He counts beating Northeastern State University, then ranked No. 1, as his best memory. He tipped in the winning goal with two seconds left.

            Drake has two daughters, Debbie Stewart and Amy Powers.

            Chestnut, a 1994 graduate, is now assistant principal at Mustang North Middle School. He began his career as a teacher and coach at Caprock High School in Amarillo, Texas.

            At Northwestern, Chestnut was the starting quarterback for the last two years of his four-year football career. He holds Ranger records for most touchdown passes in a career (36), most passing yards in a game (453), most passes attempted in a career (724), most passes completed in a career (344) and most passes completed in a game (31, tied with Victor Williams).

            He was named to the all-conference honorable mention team in 1991 and the all-conference second team in 1992 and 1993. He was a recipient of the Tom McDaniel Scholar-Athlete Award.

            Chestnut and his wife Shannon have two children, Jace and Jayden.

-NW-

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