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 five weeks we will release 10 moments starting with the formation of the Panther Club and moving forward chronologically.
1979 – Charlie Floyd (Basketball) and Marie Riley (Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis) named the Male and Female Athletes of the Year in the Carolinas Conference
Floyd '79 was named the Carolinas Conference Male Athlete of the Year in his first and only full season with the Panthers after transferring from nearby Wake Forest. Floyd averaged 20.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and was named a first-team NAIA All-American after helping lead HPU to 18-straight wins and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament. Riley 80', a 2016 inductee to the High Point Hall of Fame, led the High Point volleyball, basketball and tennis teams to NC AIAW State Championships in 1978-79. She earned first-team All-Conference honors in all three sports and was an AIAW All-American in basketball after averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
1982 & 1983 – HPU women's tennis finishes fourth in the NAIA National Tournament in consecutive years
Under the direction of NAIA Hall of Famer Kitty Steele the women's tennis program advanced to consecutive NAIA National Tournaments and finished in fourth both years. Anneli Kiviniemi '84 was named an NAIA All-American in both seasons while Ana Maris diez de Medina '84 and Lynn Sharkey '84 were both two-time honorable mention All-Americans.
1987 – "Red" Morrison baseball game versus Atlantic Christian
In order to win the Joby Hawn Cup for the third consecutive year, the men's golf team, the men and women's tennis teams and the men's track team all needed to finish in the top three of their respective conference championships which they each did. The baseball team also needed to win a final conference game with Atlantic Christian College to clinch the regular season title and earn enough points to clinch the Hawn Cup outright. Lefthander "Red" Morrison '87, who was later drafted by the New York Yankees, threw a two-hit shutout and struck out 15 batters in the Panthers win.
1989 – High Point wins the first-ever men's soccer postseason tournament championship
Prior to 1989, the Carolinas Conference soccer championship was awarded to the regular season winner. High Point (ranked eighth in the NAIA) defeated Belmont-Abbey College (ranked fifth in the NAIA) 3-0 in the championship match.
1991 – Brian Payne named an All-American in five events at the NAIA National Track and Field Championships
Payne '93 finished in the top three at the National Championships in five events including a first-place finish in the 110m hurdles and a runner-up finish in the 400m hurdles. A 2015 inductee to the High Point Hall of Fame, Payne still holds the High Point indoor record for the 55m hurdles and the outdoor records in the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles.
1992 – Alumni Gym (opened in 1957) is renovated and renamed the Millis Athletic Center
The process of transforming Alumni Gym to the Millis Center consisted of renovating the gym and locker rooms, adding seating in the east end zone and expanding the building to make space for the front lobby, the coaches offices, the pool, classrooms and a weight room downstairs. The new building was named for donors Jim and Jesse Millis.
1992 – Toby Brown scores the first points ever at the Millis Center on the renovated building's opening night
Brown '95 scored the Panthers' first points in a 75-70 season-opening win over Lees McRae at the newly reopened Millis Center. High Point went on to go 7-4 at home for the season.
1994 – High Point earns its first national accreditation for its athletic training program
HPU was the first school in the country to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
1996 & 1997 – HPU men's basketball advances to the NCAA Div. II Regionals
After joining NCAA Div. II in 1992, High Point returned to postseason play with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Div. II Regionals in 1996-97. The Panthers finished with a 24-7 record in 1996 and lost to Queens College in the second game of the Regional. One year later, HPU went 18-12 and were eliminated again in the second game of the Regional, this time by Salem-Teikyo University.
1997 – High Point women's basketball advanced to the NCAA Div. II Regionals.
The women's basketball program made its first appearance in the Div. II postseason in 1997 and finished 26-6 on the season. The Panthers won their first two games of the Regional before falling to Edinboro by a score of 70-68. HPU Hall of Famer Karen Curtis '98 set a program single-season record with an average of 25.1 points per game and was named an NCAA Div. II Kodak All-American.
Previous Top 50 Moments
Part One: 1966-79
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