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Wendling Receives
2005 Donahue Award |
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Over the years, the Ashland University athletic program has called several leagues home. No matter what conference the Eagles affiliated themselves with, former AU faculty representative Bob Wendling was viewed as a leader. That point was emphasized again this week when Wendling became the 17th recipient of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Tom Donahue Service Award. The award was presented to Wendling on Monday (May 16) at the conference’s annual spring meeting in Detroit. Last year Wendling was inducted into the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Hall of Fame. The Donahue Service Award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the GLIAC and intercollegiate athletics. The award winners exemplify the high standard of dedication to the league and its student-athletes set by Tom Donahue, the former GLIAC commissioner. “It’s fitting the executive council presented the Donahue Service Award to Bob,” said GLIAC commissioner Tom Brown. “He devoted over 30 years to serving Ashland University and more recently the GLIAC, as a faculty athletics representative. His service has had a positive impact on numerous student-athletes, not just at Ashland, but all around the GLIAC. Wendling served as chairman of the AU Athletic Committee, the faculty athletics representative and the compliance coordinator from 1967 to 1999. A former associate professor of mathematics, Wendling was instrumental in the development and implementation of AU’s conference affiliation in the Heartland Conference, GLVC, Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference and the GLIAC. Although he’s retired from the university, Wendling remains a fixture on the AU athletics scene. He works the scoreboard and clock for all AU men’s and women’s basketball games, a position he’s held since Kates Gymnasium opened. For the past five years Wendling has served on AU’s Hall of Fame committee. He’s been the committee chairman for the last five years. |