Oct. 3, 2008
Alumni Lettermen’s Association
What: Honorary inductions
When: 6 p.m., Friday, Tow Diehm Building
Who: Rusty Mitchell (gymnastics), Bill Dotson (wrestling), Loren Dils (tennis), Yvonne Moise (Lobo Club).
By Richard Stevens Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
When Leonard Cohen, the great song writer, was inducted into Rock & Roll’s Hall of Fame, he called it a “very unlikely occasion.” Yvonne Moise, a retired grandmother, is thinking the same thing about her induction by the UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association as an honorary letterman.
“You wouldn’t think a grandmother would have the qualifications to be a UNM letterman,” said Moise. “I’m thrilled to death. Nobody has told me why, but I guess I know.”
Actually, Moise has put in more years than the average Lobo athlete does in doing her thing for the University of New Mexico. She is being inducted as an honorary Lobo letterman based on 13 years of phone calls and pounding the street trying to generate money and support for the UNM teams she loves.
She’ll be inducted into the association at 6 p.m., Friday on the third floor of the Tow Diehm Building located at the South end of University Stadium. She’ll be joined in her honorary status by former UNM wrestling coach Bill Dotson, former UNM gymnastics coach Rusty Mitchell, and Loren Dils, who just retired as an assistant coach with Lobo men’s tennis and will become the director of the Lobos Tennis Club.
“This is a nice deal,” said Dotson, who lost his job at UNM along with Mitchell when the Lobos cut wrestling and gymnastics in 1999. “It puts me on the same level as my kids, now, Scott and Charlie (UNM wrestlers). It’s an honor and I appreciate it. I feel like I’m representing all the kids I coached over 19 years at UNM.”
Bill Dotson spent 19 years as the Lobos’ wrestling coach. |
The ties to UNM athletics by Mitchell, Dils and Dotson are a bit more obvious and traditional to honorary lettermen’s status. They wore the Lobo colors. They coached UNM athletes. Dotson for 19 years. Mitchell for 33 years and Dils for 12 years.
But Moise wore the colors, too.
“I attended UNM in the late 1950s and I was a cheerleader,” she said. “I didn’t have much choice back then. It was the dark ages (of women’s athletics). I remember as a kid being raised in Texas, I used to wish I had been born a boy, so I could play sports.
“There were no organized women’s sports when I was a kid. There were no varsity sports for women when I went to UNM. The only thing I could do to feel involved in Lobos sports was to be a cheerleader. I’ve always been a Lobo fan even in some of the tough years.”
Of course, Moise isn’t being inducted because of her cheerleading skills. Her call to the lettermen’s club is based on her dedication to Lobos athletics that began in 1995 when she was asked by the Lobo Club to come over and make a few phone calls. Moise said she raised about $13,000 her first year. She said she has raised more than $135,000 this year.
But there is another way that Lobos fans can connect to Moise’s contributions to UNM sports. The next time you pass by Mannie’s on Central, a Wendy’s, a McDonald’s or any other restaurant or business that has “Go Lobos” up on the signs advertising their business, you should think of Moise.
The Lobo Club’s “Go Lobos” reader board program was started by Moise. She began the project with a few phone calls and some door-to-door arm twisting and her list of businesses today is more than 120 = and still growing.
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“I used to do it by myself for about five or six years beginning in 1995,” said Moise. “Now, I have some help.
“I guess I do this because of all the really good kids who are student-athletes at UNM. I love football and I love men’s and women’s basketball, but I really love them all. My goal this year is to make sure I get to at least one sporting event for each sport. I really want to try and take our programs to the next level and I think that means going to their games, too.”
The UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association promotes and enhances varsity athletics and higher education at UNM by:
Providing fifth-year commemorative scholarships to UNM Athletes.
Establishing a network among Alumni Lettermen and UNM student lettermen to provide career development assistance to student athletes.
Establishing and supporting a mutually beneficial relationship between Alumni Lettermen, student athletes, UNM and community.
Providing social opportunities for Alumni Lettermen to renew and continue friendships such as the traditional Homecoming social; the Hall of Honor, the Cherry/Silver spring game; the Senior Recognition Program; and the Coaches Appreciation Program. You can obtain further information on the alumni association by calling (505) 277-9092).
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner