Curtis, Olson Newest Inductees Into UNCP Athletic Hall Of Fame
PEMBROKE – Longtime wrestling head coach Mike Olson and former women’s basketball standout Ginnell Curtis became the 66th and 67th members of the UNCP athletic department hall of fame Tuesday afternoon. Both will be officially inducted into the distinguished list of former athletes, coaches and administrators in a ceremony next month.
“Ginnell Curtis was as a dynamic teammate, player and scorer as we have ever had here at UNCP,” said UNCP athletic director Dan Kenney. “She was able to prove a number of doubters wrong with her decision to come to UNC Pembroke and she grew as a player under the leadership of coach Sandy Littleton.
“Mike Olson came to UNC Pembroke in 1971 and began the foundation for our University’s long-storied success in the sport of wrestling. Coach Olson was able to not only coach champions on the mat, but he prepared young men to leave Pembroke and go out and make a success of themselves. Those young men have never forgotten the impact that coach Olson has had on their lives.”
Olson, who skippered the UNCP grapplers for 10 seasons (1971-1982), registered a 143-32 career record with the Braves while mentoring 16 all-Americans, as well as 29 all-conference and 69 all-district honorees. The Braves won nine district championships under Olson’s watch, as well as five consecutive (1977-81) Carolinas Conference titles.
Olson, the school’s all-time winningest coach in terms of winning percentage (.817), recorded 14 or more dual meet victories in seven of his 10 seasons in Pembroke, including an 18-2 mark during the 1972-73 campaign after turning in a 17-3 clip the previous season. He is the only coach in the history of the UNCP wrestling program to record a perfect season as well, leading the Black and Gold to an unblemished 12-0 record during the 1979-80 season.
Olson, who was inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame last year, retired in 2005 after a 41-year career with a 428-95-1 dual meet record. During his tenure, he produced 61 all-Americans and eight national championships at six collegiate institutions. Following his stint in Pembroke, he moved on to Monmouth College where he served on the coaching staffs of seven sports. He coached his last stint at Monmouth from 1990 until the completion of the 2005 football season. His 1997 team posted the only Midwest Conference wrestling title in school history.
“I’m humbly grateful to be included in the names that are already in the hall of fame there,” said Olson from his Monmouth, Ill., home. “I am very excited and I am very deeply privileged to have this honor. We took a program and built a foundation and that’s all I wanted to do. The kids bought into it and I had great athletes that worked their tail off. It is amazing to me to see it shine still as one of the best wrestling programs in the country.
Curtis, a two-time all-American for the Lady Braves from 1998-02, played in 106 games during her career in the Black and Gold, averaging 19.5 points, 5.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 steals per outing in leading UNCP to a cumulative 59-48 record. Having made 99 starts during her career, Curtis shot 42.6 percent (732-for-1,718) from the field, including a 137-for-456 (.300) mark from outside the arc, while also canning 466-of-665 (.701) free throw attempts.
A four-time all-Peach Belt Conference selection, including a first team selection as a senior in 2001-02, Curtis earned first team all-region and honorable mention all-America nods her last two seasons in Pembroke. She was named the PBC Freshman of the Year in 1999, earned four career league player of the week laurels and was also decorated with all-PBC Tournament accolades during her final campaign.
She ranks second on the school’s all-time scoring list and is one of just two UNCP players to record 2,000 or more points during her respective career. She owns school career records in free throws made and assists, and shares the UNCP single season record for assists (158 in 1998-99).
Curtis, now Ginnell Birch, graduated from UNCP in 2002 with her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She currently resides in Ladson, S.C., with her husband, Cyrus, and two children, Cyrus IV and Alayah.
“This is such an awesome honor,” said Birch. “I truly feel that, without the University awarding me a scholarship, I don’t think I ever would have been able to attend a 4-year college. UNC Pembroke means a lot to me and I am grateful for the time that I had there and it’s made me the person that I am today.”
Unlike most of her fellow hall of fame members, Burch’s daily path to practice took her past the conspicuous display which is located just outside of the entrance to the main gym in the English E. Jones Center. She admits to being awestruck by the listing of prominent names during the early days of her playing career, but had her hopes when she left campus with her degree.
“I always looked at (the display) and I never really thought I would be up there,” she said. “But, after my four years there and all of the things that I accomplished I was hoping that, one day, I would be. When I got the call that I had been inducted, it was a shock and a surprise. It is just a ‘wow’ experience for me.”
Olson and Curtis will make their return to Pembroke February 8 when they will be honored at the 2008 Alumni Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet in the UC Annex. Their likeness and name will be permanently displayed on UNCP’s Wall of Honor as well. For ticket information to the banquet, please contact James Bass at (910) 521-6533.
