HIGH POINT – Editor's Note: 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the Panther Club. In celebration of that, the athletic department, with help from alumni, coaches and donors, has compiled a list of the top 50 moments in HPU athletics over the past 50 years. Every Wednesday for the next five weeks we will release 10 moments starting with the formation of the Panther Club and moving forward chronologically.
1966 – Group of High Point Athletics' supporters decides to establish the Panther Club
Prominent supports of the athletics program each put up $500 to start the Panther Club, which has provided support for High Point athletics and the student-athletes for 50 years.
1968-69 – Men's basketball advances to the NAIA National Basketball Tournament
The High Point men's basketball team finished the 1968-69 season with a 28-3 record and earned its first bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The team reached the Elite Eight before falling to Eastern New Mexico. Jim Picka '69 led the team with 17.3 points per game and 13.7 rebounds per game and was named All-Conference Carolinas.
1973 – Men's tennis finishes fourth in the NAIA National Tournament
The High Point men's tennis team recorded the highest national finish of any HPU team up to that point with a fourth-place finish in the NAIA National Tournament. Peter Renney '75 led the team and was named an NAIA All-American.
1975 – High Point establishes athletic scholarships and funding for women's sports
High Point was the first small college and the second school in North Carolina to offer athletic scholarships to women. The four sports to receive funding were volleyball, basketball, field hockey and tennis.
1975 – Boston Red Sox draft Otis Foster in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft
Otis Foster '78 was drafted by the Red Sox 15th overall in the 1975 MLB draft making him the only HPU baseball player ever selected in the first round. Foster went on to play five years in the Red Sox organizations and the HPU Hall of Famer still holds nine baseball records at High Point. (
Otis Foster Feature)
1976-1979 – High Point wins the first four Joby Hawn Cups
In 1975-76 the Carolinas Conference began awarding the Joby Hawns Cup, named after the long-time commissioner of the conference. Points were awarded for conference finish in all conference sports.
1978 – Women's Basketball wins the AIAW National Championship
High Point claimed its only national championship with a 92-88 overtime win over South Carolina State. The team finished with a 30-8 record on the season and at one point won 20-straight games. HPU Hall of Famer Marie Riley '80 averaged 17.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and was named an AIAW All-Amercian as was Ethel White '79 who averaged 16.9 points per games.
1978 -79 – Women's basketball ranked preseason number one in the country
Coming off a national championship in the previous season, High Point was selected preseason No. 1 in the AIAW. The team held onto that No. 1 ranking for most of the season and finished with a 33-4 overall record.
1978-79 – Men's basketball wins 18-straight games and reaches the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament
Men's basketball finished with a 27-6 overall record, including a program-record 18-game winning streak. The winnings streak and the Panthers' season ended with a loss to Briar Cliff in the NAIA National Tournament. Charlie Floyd '79 averaged a double-double with 20.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and was named a first-team NAIA All-American.
1979 – Baseball advances to the NAIA National Championship with a record of 38-15-1
High Point reached the NAIA national championship game where it fell to Lipscomb College. The Panthers' 38 wins set a program record for wins in a season that still stands today. Jim Muegle '78 was the Carolinas Conference Player of the Year and a first-team NAIA All-American after hitting .400 with 14 home runs, 20 stolen bases and 46 RBI.
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