Athletic Hall of Fame

Class of 2002

Greg Atkins

Greg Atkins, class of 1985, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the athlete category.  Atkins was a three-year letter winner for the Peacocks basketball team (1983, 1984, 1985) and selected as the team Most Valuable Player in 1983, 1984 and 1985.  Atkins earned All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors on the second team in 1983 and on the first team in 1984.  He is a member of the 1000-point club, ranking 15th on the all-time scoring list with 1,156 career points, and ended his collegiate career with 611 rebounds.  He averaged 8.0 rebounds per game throughout his career.  Atkins and his sister Rochelle Atkins Babcock, class of 1989, are the only 1000-point-plus scoring brother-sister combination in UIU athletic history.

Atkins was a 1981 graduate of Dallas Center-Grimes Community School in Dallas Center, Iowa, where he excelled in basketball, football and baseball.  He earned his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, and is currently working toward his Masters in Business Administration through the Upper Iowa University online program.  Atkins has spent the past 15 years in business administration, including the past eight years as a business office accountant at a collegiate institution.

Steve Geise

Steve Geise, class of 1983, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the athlete category.  He was a four-year letterman in football (1979-1982).  Geise was an All-IIAC performer, earning First Team honors as a defensive lineman in 1981 and 1982.  In 1982, Geise was also selected to the Division III All-American Third Team as a defensive nose tackle.  He also received football recognition by being selected as the UIU Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 and 1982, and winning consecutive Hustle Awards.  Geise lettered three years as a Peacock wrestler, where he also received All-IIAC honors.  In 1981, he earned Third Team honors in the 177-pound weight class and qualified for the NCAA Nationals.  In 1983, he earned First Team All-Conference honors at 167 pounds and qualified for the NCAA National Tournament.

Geise earned a B.A. in Physical Education and Recreation.  While attending Upper Iowa, he was enrolled in the Early Commissioning Program through the ROTC Program.  Geise received a commission to 2nd Lieutenant in July 1980.

Upon graduation, Geise entered active duty in the Field Artillery Officers Basic Course, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.  After completion of the Officers Basic Course, he was assigned for a 16-month tour to the 2nd Infantry Division, Korea, with other assignments at Ft. Benning, Georgia.  He was then assigned to Germany, where he spent almost 10 years assigned to the 1st Armored Division, with two rotations to Bosnia (1997 and 1999).  For the past three and a half years, Geise has served in the Pentagon as the Branch Chief for Strategic Readiness.  He is now responsible for Watch Operations in the Army Operations Center, Pentagon.  He will remain in the Pentagon until July 1, 2003, at which time he will retire at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  Geise and his wife Delores are the parents of two sons, Jason and Joshua.

Bob Horner

Bob Horner, class of 1976, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the coaching category.  Horner's athletic and coaching career is one of distinction.  A 1965 graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, N.J., Horner excelled in basketball, baseball and football.  He attended and competed athletically at North Iowa Community College in Mason City, graduating in 1974.  As a Peacock, Horner participated in baseball and basketball, lettering in baseball as a hard-hitting third baseman.

Horner started his teaching-coaching career in 1976 at Britt, Iowa.  He was at West Bend High School from 1978 to 1981 as a head coach in football, basketball and baseball, and won two conference titles.  From 1982 to 1987, Horner continued his coaching career at Lake Mills, Iowa in the North Iowa Conference as a basketball and baseball coach while winning, once again, two conference titles.  Since 1987, Horner has served as the head basketball coach of the Mason City Mohawks.  While at Mason City, he has claimed two state championships (1996, 1997), five state tournament appearances, and five CIML Conference championships, and was a sub-state runner-up six times.  He currently ranks as the third all-time winningest coach in Mason City history.  Horner has coached 25 years and has compiled an overall record of 323-190.

Horner and his wife Beverly are the parents of Tracy, Heather, Kristin and Jeff.

Susan Liddy

Susan Liddy, class of 1974, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the coaching category.  As a member of three women's teams, she lettered in basketball, softball and volleyball.  She served as a basketball captain in 1973 and 1974, and was captain of the softball team in 1974 while alternating between shortstop and catcher.  Liddy competed in women's athletics during the time Upper Iowa was a member of the Associated Intercollegiate Athletic Women, prior to the formation of the IIAC conference for women in 1983.

Upon graduation, Liddy started her teaching-coaching career at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey, as Head Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director.  In 1985, she was appointed Athletic Director.  Liddy has continued as the basketball coach, compiling an overall record of 476 wins and 190 losses.  Her team has captured five BPSL League Championships (1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996) and won a Northern New Jersey Interscholastic title in 2001.  Liddy has been the softball coach intermittently for 16 years, winning 160 games.  She has also coached soccer and volleyball.  From 1977 to 1983, Liddy was the field hockey coach at DePaul High School.  She earned Coach of the Year honors in 1995, 1999 and 2000, along with winning the YMCA Service to Youth Award in 1998 and Athletic Director of the Year honors in 2001.  Liddy also spent 14 years as an interscholastic and collegiate basketball official.

A graduate of Rosary Academy High School in Sparkill, New York, Liddy earned a Masters Degree in Human Performance from Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey in 1976.  Liddy lives in Closter, New Jersey.

Jack Schroeder

Jack Schroeder, class of 1970, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the officials category.  He was a four-year letterman in baseball (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970) as a catcher, and played on the Iowa Conference championship team in 1967, which also competed in the NAIA regional playoffs.  Schroeder was an offensive guard in football, lettering in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969.

His interest in officiating started during his collegiate days at Upper Iowa under Dr. Andre Nadeau.  He continued interscholastic officiating in basketball, football and baseball, moving to the varsity level in 1979.  As a football official, Schroeder has worked state playoff games for 14 years, including the Class 4A State Championship in 2001.  The winter months have Schroeder on the court as a basketball official.  His distinguished career has included working 17 years of tournament games for both the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.  In 1999 and 2001, he has worked the championship games.

A native of Elma, Iowa, Schroeder is a 1966 graduate of Crestwood High School in Crestwood, Iowa, where he excelled in athletics.  Schroeder is in his 33rd year of teaching.  He spent his first five years at M-F-L Monona and is currently at Hampton-Dumont.

Schroeder and his wife Denice reside in Hampton, Iowa.  They are the parents of Laura and Kyle.