NORTH NEWTON, Kan. - The Bethel College Athletic Department is proud to announce that the 1983 Women's Volleyball team and Head Football coach Kent Rogers will be inducted into the Thresher Hall of Fame as the class of 2024. 
 
The induction ceremony is currently scheduled to take place on the evening of October 4th at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet, as a part of the 2024 Bethel Fall Festival. These inductees will then be recognized at halftime of the Bethel football game on October 5th when the Threshers take on Tabor College at 6:00 PM inside Thresher Stadium.
 
BETHEL ATHLETICS 2024 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
 
1983 Women's Volleyball Team
 
The 1983 Women's Volleyball Team won Bethel's 9th KCAC Conference Championship as they went 33-14 overall, 17-1 in conference play. This team returned just 6 letter-winners, 2 seniors, from the highly successful 1982 nationally recognized team. The 1983 team developed a powerful offensive attack, a long hallmark of Thresher volleyball, but backed it up with a lightning-quick brand of defensive prowess never before seen at Bethel. The team's forward-thinking coaching staff utilized back-row defensive specialists long before the emergence of the libero position. This formidable combination led to the Threshers winning 15 of their 17 conference victories in just two games. They finished the season earning the NAIA District 10 Championship, were crowned the NAIA Bi-District Champions and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament. The Threshers finished their season ranked 9th nationally. Lori DeGarmo and Robin Craig were All-KCAC unanimous selections. DeGarmo was named to the NAIA All-District 10 team while earning an All-American Honorable Mention selection.
 
Roster: Seniors - Lori (DeGarmo) Mallory, Cindy (Napper) Combs; Juniors - Teresa Flanigan, Gwen (Harms) Mattice, Pam (Hiebert) Wright, Robin (Craig) Becker; Sophomores - Susan (Brand) Engels, Kara (Hobbs) Hoover; Freshman - Diana (Erb) Schunn, J'Nan (Hiebert) Ensz, Kayla Goodnight, Julie (Moore) Esau; Coaches - Diane (Sanders) Flickner, Beth Sheppard, Denise (Peters) Critchfield, Martin Holt
 
Kent Rogers
 
Kent interjected a sense of enthusiasm and optimism into the program when he arrived at Bethel. He worked tirelessly to recruit at a high level, attracting some of the greatest players in Bethel history to North Newton, Kansas, including current Hall of Fame players Eric Rhoades, Dennis Heide and Ed Smith.  Rogers came into Bethel in 1979, taking over the reins of a football program that had gone 0-9 the season before. In his first season as head coach, Bethel produced a record of 3-6. Rogers would go on to lead Bethel to their greatest season in program history in 1984, when the Threshers went 9-0 in the regular season, clinching their first KCAC conference championship, and making post-season play with a final ranking of #2 in the NAIA regular season poll. He was named KCAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, as well as NAIA District 10 Coach of the Year. During his tenure at Bethel, Coach Rogers was named KCAC Coach of the Year 6 different times. 1983-86 were Rogers' most successful seasons at Bethel, as he went 29-8 during those four seasons. Rogers currently holds the most wins among head coaches in Bethel's program history with 69, and his 16 years of service as head coach are the second most for the program.  Rogers also made his mark as an educator at the institution, where he spent many years as a professor in the Health and Physical Education department. He left a tremendous mark on his students and players during his time at Bethel.