TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 10, 2015) – The Florida College System Activities Association is proud to announce the inductees for the 2015 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Eddie Barnes and Bob Starkman were inducted into the Men’s Hall of Fame while Laura Johnson, Mitch Kaufman and Wayne Stellfox were inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremonies took place at the FCSAA State Basketball Championship on Friday, March 6, at the College of Central Florida in Ocala between the men’s and women’s semi-final games.
Eddie Barnes is currently the head men’s basketball coach at Tallahassee Community College and has been an NJCAA head coach for 24 years. His overall record upon nomination was 451-243; his record at TCC upon nomination was 256-133. Mr. Barnes’ teams won the state tournament twice and have made two trips to the NJCAA National Tournament, finishing once as the national runner-up and once in the quarterfinals. He received the National Association of Basketball Coaches Junior College Coach of the Year in 2006 and is one of a select group of coaches to lead teams to the NJCAA National Tournaments in both Division I and Division II.
Bob Starkman is currently the head men’s basketball coach at Broward College. Currently in his 18th year of coaching, his record upon nomination was 252-143. His teams have won two Southern Conference Championships and have earned five bids to the NJCAA Region VIII/Florida state tournament. Mr. Starkman has transformed a team that did not have a winning season in the 15 years prior to his taking the helm into a team that has now finished in the top 25 nationally on many occasions.
Laura Johnson was an NJCAA All-American in 1981-1982 and led her Santa Fe College team to the state championship in 1982. She is the career rebounding leader at Santa Fe, finishing her career at Santa Fe with 722 rebounds. She is also Santa Fe’s all-time leading scorer and holds the record for the highest career field goal percentage. Ms. Johnson went on to play for FAMU and is currently an instructional teacher at Coleman Correctional Institute.
Mitch Kaufman has officiated women’s basketball for 35 years. He’s officiated for the NJCAA, the NAIA and Sunshine State Divisions I and II on district, state and national levels. He has served as the FCSAA Coordinator of Officials for the Men’s and Women’s NJCAA Region VIII Championships since 2006. Additionally, Mr. Kaufman is the Co-Director for the College Officials Training and Development Camp and works as a clinician for college and high school camps in the training and development of younger officials.
Wayne Stellfox was the women’s basketball coach at Manatee Community College, now State College of Florida, from 1984-1993. With an overall record of 141-96, he was undefeated five of six years in the Suncoast Conference and had seven consecutive trips to the State/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament. His teams consistently led the state in team defense and were ranked in the top 10 nationally each year. Mr. Stellfox was appointed by the Department of Education to the State Commission on Women’s and Girl’s Participation in Sport for gender equity. He is a member of State College of Florida’s inaugural Hall of Fame class.