SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State athletic department has announced its 2018 class for the Aztec Hall of Fame. The group of six inductees for this year's class includes former men's basketball guard Jamaal Franklin, water polo star Holly Hartzell, men's golfer Lon Hinkle, football players Travis Hitt and Larry Ned, as well as long-time staff photographer Ernie Anderson, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
SDSU will officially induct the group of legends during a luncheon at Montezuma Hall in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union (2nd floor) on Friday, Oct. 12. Check-in for the event will begin at 11:30 a.m., with the program to follow at noon. Later that evening, the 2018 class will also be honored at halftime of SDSU's home football game against Air Force, which is set to kick off at 6 p.m.
Since its launch in 1988, the Aztec Hall of Fame has honored 148 individuals and six teams (not including this year's enshrinees), welcoming a new group of legends each year through 1999. Inductions encountered a two-year hiatus while the Aztec Athletics Center (now Fowler Athletics Center) was under construction. The annual ceremonies resumed in 2002 once the building was completed and the permanent home of the Hall of Fame was established.
For more information about the Aztec Hall of Fame induction ceremony or to purchase tickets for the event, please contact the Aztec Club at (619) 594-6444.
Below is a quick look at the newest Aztec Hall of Fame class:
Jamaal Franklin (Men's Basketball)
2011-13
Became SDSU's fourth multi-year All-American in school history and the second in the Division I era following in the footsteps of Michael Cage … Received honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press in 2012 and 2013 … Named the Mountain West Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2012 and was tabbed to the all-MW first team in 2012 and 2013 … Was the second Aztec to be voted MW Player of the Year (Brandon Heath) … Became the third Aztec to be named to the all-MW first team on two different occasions, joining Brandon Heath and Kawhi Leonard … Helped the Aztecs win three MW titles (2010-11 regular season, 2011 tournament, 2011-12 regular season) and appear in three straight NCAA tournaments (2011 Sweet 16, 2012 Round of 64, 2013 Round of 32) … Part of the 2010-11 team that won a school-record 34 games (34-3), rose to as high as No. 4 nationally before finishing No. 6/11, won the program's first NCAA tournament games and advanced to the Sweet 16 … Played in 87 games (55 starts) and finished with 1,181 points (13.6) and 605 rebounds (7.0) … At the end of his tenure, he was the 11th Aztec to have at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career … Had 26 double-doubles … Left SDSU ranked ninth all-time in free-throw percentage, 11th in rebounds, 13th in points, 13th in three-point field goals and 16th in blocked shots … Left his mark in the SDSU career record book despite averaging only 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds 8.1 minutes in 22 games as a freshman before having his player-of-the-year-type season as a sophomore when he averaged 17.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 30.3 minutes … His junior season saw him average 17.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists en route to being drafted by the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies with the 11th pick of the second round (41st overall)..
Holly Hartzell (Water Polo)
2001-04
The first four-time All-American in program history… Was a second-team All-American as a freshman, a third-teamer as a sophomore, a second-team selection her junior season and a first-team All-American her final campaign… Was the first player in program history to earn all-conference honors all four seasons (all-MPSF second team as a freshman, honorable mention as a sophomore, second team as a junior and first team as a senior)… MPSF first-team all-tournament choice as a junior… Was a first-team National Collegiate Select All-Tournament Team pick as a freshman … Three-time MPSF all-academic team honoree … A two-time ACWPC All-Academic Excellent Team performer (2003-04)… Named to the 2003 U.S. Water Polo Women's Open Championship all-tournament first team… Still owns the school record for most career goals with 278… Ranks eighth in school history with 209 steals (as of April 28, 2017)… Left as the school's all-time leader in ejections drawn with 282, but sits in second (as of April 28, 2017)… On the school's single-season lists, she ranks third with 90 goals in 2003 (left school at No. 2 on list), sixth with 85 ejections drawns in 2004 and ninth in the same category with 74 in 2001… Her teams never finished lower than eighth in the final national poll (7th in 2001, 8th in 2002, 6th in 2003, 7th in 2004)… Her teams finished 90-52, including a 26-9 record her senior season… The 26 wins in 2004 are currently the fourth-most in program history.
Lon Hinkle (Men's Golf)
1970-72
Led the Aztecs to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships, including a 16th-place finish in 1970 … Captured medalist honors at the Fresno Classic and Pacific Coast Athletic Association Championship in 1972 en route to earning third-team All-America honors … Posted more than 50 top-10 finishes as a member of the PGA Tour after leaving SDSU … Finished third on the Tour money list in 1979, highlighted by two tournament victories, including a sudden-death playoff at the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am as well a triumph at the World Series of Golf … Also tied for third at the both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in 1980.
Travis Hitt (Football)
1973-76
Won four letters on The Mesa ... Received honorable mention All-America distinction from UPI in 1976 … Named team's most valuable player and defensive player of the year as a senior (1976) … Garnered first-team all-PCAA accolades after recording a team-high 153 tackes during his junior campaign (1975) (team played as an independent his senior season) … Set the school record (has since been matched) with 17 assisted tackles against New Mexico (Nov. 27, 1976) … Played on teams that posted a combined 35-7-2 record and finished the 1973 and 1974 campaigns ranked 19th nationally by UPI.
Larry Ned (Football)
1998-2001
Second-team All-American by the Associated Press and fourth-team All-American by The Sporting News as a senior … Ranked fourth nationally and second in the Mountain West Conference in rushing yards per game with a 140.8 average in 2001 … Ran for 1,549 yards in 2001 (9th in school history), including 285 (4th in school history) in a win over Eastern Illinois, and scored 15 TDs … Doak Walker Award semifinalist (one of eight) in 2001 … Rushed for 200 or more yards in four games and has 13 career 100-yard rushing games (ranks 7th all-time), with six coming in 2001 … Four straight 100-yard rushing games in 1998 … Led SDSU in rushing each of his final three years … Holds the school record for most rushing attempts in a game (47) and is tied for second on the program's single-season charts (311) … Also ranks third in career rushing yards (3,562) and attempts (765) and is tied for the third spot in touchdowns (36) … First team all-MWC as a senior, second team as a sophomore, and honorable mention as a freshman … Played in only six games as a junior due to injury… Three-time league player of the week … Team MVP and captain in 2001 … Played in the Hula Bowl … Drafted in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders … Played for the Minnesota Vikings (2003-04).
Ernie Anderson (Staff Photographer)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Began his long-time association with Aztec athletics in the spring of 1968 … His photos have been featured in countless national sports publications, including several issues of Sports Illustrated … Has documented numerous bowl games, NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament games for SDSU throughout his career, as well as many other sports and campus events … A San Diego State graduate and retired San Diego city employee.