Press release
Six new members have been selected to become the 2018 class for the Cardinal Hall of Fame at Trinity Valley Community College.
“Our 10th induction class is without question a great representation of the storied tradition of our athletic teams,” said Benny Rogers, sports information officer and chairman of the hall of fame selection committee. “Each of them were significant contributors in the championship foundation on which our athletic program is built.
“It will be an honor to have them back on campus and recognize them for their contributions.”
The hall of fame’s 10th class is scheduled to be inducted on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. Tickets for the induction luncheon will be $15 and available at the door at the Student Union Building ballroom.
Inductees this year are:
Justin Allgood
Football – (2002-03)
When it came to passing the football and getting it into the end zone, Allgood could do it with the best of them at every level he played.
By the time he finished at the college, The Colony High School product had amassed 4,056 yards and 32 touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in the history of the Cardinal football program to surpass 2,000 passing yards in a season, doing it not once, but twice – 2,007 as a freshman in 2002 and 2,049 the following year.
He finished ranked in the conference’s all-time top 10 in career pass attempts (448), career pass completions (233) and career passing yards and career touchdowns. The all-conference selection still holds the conference record for longest touchdown pass with a 98-yarder.
Allgood continued to post incredible numbers at the University of Central Oklahoma, throwing for 4,870 yards and 34 touchdowns.
He played six seasons in the Arena Football League after UCO, finishing with 7,417 yards and 164 touchdowns. He led Tulsa to the Arena Cup in 2007. In the 2010 season, he threw 108 touchdown passes for Tulsa.
By the time Allgood’s days of slinging the football around were complete, he had totaled 16,343 yards and 230 touchdowns.
Paul Atkins
Men’s Basketball – (1978-80)
Having signed with the University of Texas after a storied career at McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn., Atkins found his way to the college to play for Cardinal Hall of Fame coach Leon Spencer. If he was disappointed his original plan did not work out, it never showed.
Atkins quickly made an impact for the Cardinals as a freshman and by the time his sophomore season rolled around, he was ready to dominate in the Texas Eastern Conference. He averaged 22.0 points and 9.9 rebounds that season, to earn NJCAA All-America honors.
As a two-time all-conference selection, Atkins left the Cardinals ranked in the top 25 JUCO Players in America. He then played one season at New Mexico State University and one at Dallas Baptist College. At New Mexico State he averaged 17.4 points, which was sixth-best in the Missouri Valley Conference. At Dallas Baptist, he averaged 27.6 points per game.
Atkins was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 21st pick in the sixth round of the 1983 NBA draft.
He would go on to play for Worcester in the Continental Basketball Association before a cancer diagnosis at age 24 would sideline him for nine months. Upon being declared cancer-free, he resumed his professional playing career in Buenos Aires and Venezuela. He ended his playing career in 1996 with the Harlem Rockets comedy team.
In 2016, he was honored by the Norwalk Old-Timers Association for his achievements.
Kenya Bibbs
Women’s Basketball – (1998-2000)
After an all-state high school career in Starkville, Miss., Bibbs was signed by Cardinal Hall of Fame coach Kurt Budke to help continue the Lady Cards’ dominance of NJCAA women’s basketball.
Bibbs made Region XIV her own personal playground, being named Freshman of the Year in 1999 and Most Valuable Player in 2000. Along the way, Bibbs helped the Lady Cards to their fourth national title in six years and their first-ever undefeated season (36-0) as a freshman and to a pair of conference titles and a regional title in her career. The Lady Cards were 60-6 in her two seasons.
As a sophomore, she averaged 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game and shot 56 percent from the floor, earning her All-American status.
She moved on to Louisiana Tech University to play for legendary coach Leon Barmore. As a junior, she played in 36 games and scored in double digits 17 times and led in scoring five times, averaging 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds. Her sophomore season saw her average 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21 games.
The Lady Techsters were 56-10 overall and 33-1 in conference in her two seasons and twice appeared in the NCAA tournament. Her overall collegiate record was 116-16.
Gary Haynes, Jr.
Football – (1993-94)
There can be little disagreement that Haynes should be considered one of the most dominant defensive players to ever step onto the field for the Cardinals.
In 1994, as a sophomore, Haynes and the Cardinals claimed the college’s first football national championship and posted their first-ever undefeated 12-0 season. To say Haynes helped would be an understatement.
His sophomore season saw him named NJCAA All-American, conference Defensive Player of the Year and the team’s Most Valuable Player. He was also named the MVP of the Texas Shrine Bowl in Tyler, where the Cardinals scored a 24-17 overtime win against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the NJCAA championship game.
In his two seasons anchoring the defense, the Cardinals went 20-1-2.
Haynes went on to play two seasons at the University of Houston, where he played in all 11 games as a junior, recording 25 solo tackles, 12 assists and two sacks. As a senior starter, he helped the Cougars rise from a two-win season to a 7-5 record and Liberty Bowl appearance.
He spent two years on the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts after leaving Houston.
At the time of his death at age 40 on July 14, 2014, he was an assistant coach at his high school alma mater.
Kenya Larkin Landers
Women’s Basketball – (1998-2000, 2004-05, 2010-12)
Winning and Landers go hand in hand.
Over three tenures at the college, all in different roles, she compiled a 158-12 record.
Recruited out of one of the most dominant high school programs in the state at Duncanville by Cardinal Hall of Fame coach Kurt Budke in 1998, her career at the college got off to a perfect start. The Lady Cards went 36-0 and won their fourth national title in six years.
As a sophomore, she received all-region and all-conference honors and was rated the fourth-best JUCO guard in the nation. The Lady Cards were 60-6 in her two seasons.
Landers would continue her playing career at the University of Texas, where she played in all 65 games over two seasons, starting 62. She led the Longhorns in assists both seasons and finished her career with 443 points, 195 assists and 97 steals.
She played one season in the European Pro League in Israel before returning to the Lady Cards for the 2004-05 season as Michael Landers’ assistant. The Lady Cards went 28-3 and won a conference championship.
After assistant coach tenures on Budke’s staff at Oklahoma State and Van Chancellor’s at LSU, she returned to the college as co-head coach with now husband, Michael. In two seasons, Team Landers compiled a 70-3 record and played in two national title games.
In five seasons over the three tenures at the college, she owns five conference, three regional and two national championships.
Michael Landers
Women’s Basketball – (2000-09, 2010-12)
Upon the departure of Kurt Budke after seven incredible seasons at the helm of the Lady Card basketball program, the line of coaches interested in following him was short – very short.
Landers was at the front of the line. The rest is history.
By the time he left after 11 years over two tenures, he was the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 335-39 record. Included among that mark were two national championships (2004 and 2012), both of which capped undefeated 36-0 seasons.
In Landers’ tenure, the Lady Cards won 10 conference championships, seven regional championships and were 20-7 in national tournament games in seven appearances.
Landers, who also served as athletic director in 2006-09, was twice named JUCO Coach of the Year – 2004 at the college and 2010 at Baton Rouge Community College, where he started the women’s basketball program and went 22-6 and won a conference title.
After leaving Baton Rouge after one season, he returned to lead the Lady Cards as co-head coach with wife, Kenya, for two seasons. The Lady Cards reached the national title game both years.
While at the college, he oversaw the creation of the Cardinal Hall of Fame in 2008.
He currently is the assistant athletic director/head men’s basketball coach at Navarro College and is the owner of 508 career coaching wins, including a 75-16 mark at East Texas Baptist University, where he went to two NJCAA Division II title games in three years.