Panther Athletics Hall of Fame

Class of 2006 (Inaugural Class)

(l-r): Larry Blake Sr., Jerry Lewis and Ed Bednar

On April 23, 2006, John Weber, Director of Athletics, announced the first inductees to the PNC Hall of Fame at the annual sports recognition banquet. The first inductees are past coaches Ed Bednar, Larry Blake, and Jerry Lewis. Each inductee has a long history in the sport programs at PNC.

Unlike many Hall of Fames, the record of each coach was not the sole consideration when forming the first class. Each individual was recognized for their contributions, impact and efforts in helping initiate and maintain athletics on campus, especially at a time when there was limited funding and facilities. Without these efforts, PNC would most likely not be competing as an intercollegiate athletics program today.

Ed Bednar

Bednar, who retired from the position of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in June 2004, began at Purdue as a math instructor in 1965. Bednar began the intramural program in basketball, softball, and tag football in 1968 and ran a " Joe College " basketball tournament for PNC students, local school teachers, and military personal each Christmas holiday from 1966 through 1969.

Bednar began the intercollegiate team with an 18 game schedule in 1968 as assistant coach with then Dean James Blackwell as head coach.

"I learned a lot about coaching and organizing a team from Jim," stated Bednar.

Bednar's overall coaching record was 52-133. Coaching the PNC team from 1969 to 1976, his crowning achievement was winning the Indiana regional campus championship at the end of 1971-72 season.

"We finished the season with four of the last five games over 100 points," remarked Bednar.

Larry Blake Sr.

Blake, who once received an invitational tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968, coached at PNC for several years. He was the head baseball coach from 1990 to 1999 with an overall record of 75-138 and head basketball coach from 1990 to 2002 with a record of 81-134.

Blake was the coach when PNC started making the transition to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and later to the Chicagoland Collegiate Association Conference (CCAC).

Blake presently serves as a member of Purdue North Central Athletic Advisory Board and is involved in pitching and hitting clinics for area athletes.

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis, Director of Financial Aid, has the motto: "If it is for kids, it is a good thing."

Lewis started the baseball program in 1977 under the guidance of John Coggins, the current Dean of Students and coached the then Centaurs to their first-ever winning seasons.

"As a club sport, there were some great opportunities, yet the creation of a schedule, recruiting players, coaching and practicing without a baseball facility was a real challenge," said Lewis.

Lewis has coached the women's volleyball team as a club sport, men's basketball for five years as a club sport, and was involved with the men's golf club for approximately five years. He also operated multiple intramural programs off campus.

"Without the sacrifice and dedication of many staff over the years anything that I accomplished over my time in athletics on the PNC campus would not be possible," added Lewis.

Back to Hall of Fame