TVCC announces 2021 Cardinal Hall of Fame class
By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information
Four new members have been selected to become the 2021 class for the Cardinal Hall of Fame at Trinity Valley Community College.
“We are very excited about the inductees selected (for the hall of fame) this year,” said Eddie Kite, director of athletics and a member of the hall of fame selection committee. “All four played vital roles in contributing to the success and tradition on which our athletic programs are built.
“It will be an honor to have them back on campus and recognize them for their contributions.”
The hall of fame’s 11th class is scheduled to be inducted on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. The induction breakfast will be held at the Student Union Building ballroom.
Inductees this year are:
Jeff Ayers, Cheer (1984-88)
Talk about being a tough act to follow. In becoming the college’s first-ever mascot in the mid-1980s, Ayers set a standard by which others far and wide would be judged.
Recruited to the college by Cardinal Hall of Fame member Connie “CJ” Russell, he quickly took the new position to heights not even the legendary Russell could have imagined. He became, and still is, a valuable ambassador for the college.
Ayers, recipient of The President’s Award at the college, attended and graduated from Lamar University after leaving the college. At Lamar, also the Cardinals, he was also the mascot on the cheer squad, earning All-American honors.
After working for the National Cheerleading Association, teaching mascots at camps across the nation, and sales jobs, he moved on to bigger things. He had a successful career in television, films and Broadway.
In 1993, he landed a “job of a lifetime.” For 15 seasons on the PBS series, he was the costume performer for Baby Bop in “Barney and Friends.”
He also made appearances as Mini Rowdy for the Dallas Cowboys and Mini Mavs Man for the Dallas Mavericks.
Since 2005, Ayers has worked in private business.
He currently lives on Lake Palestine in Flint with his wife, Kim.
Matt Bryant, Football (1993-94)
In his 17-year NFL career, Bryant had a lot of important and memorable kicks. None more so, however, than one as a Cardinal in 1994.
With 3:08 left in the NJCAA Shrine Bowl against NEO at Rose Stadium in Tyler, he used his bare right foot to split the uprights with a field goal from 22 yards out to tie the score at 17-17 and eventually send the game to overtime. The Cardinals would go on to win 24-17, claiming their first national championship and capping a perfect 12-0 season.
In his two years at the college, Bryant was a two-time NJCAA All-American and two-time all-conference selection. The Cardinals were 20-1-2 with a pair of bowl victories.
Bryant moved on to Oregon State, but wound up at Baylor, where he was 42-of-42 on career PATs and 21-of-20 on career field goals. His 21 field goals placed him fifth in Baylor history. He still holds the Baylor record with his 100 percent PAT rate.
After playing stints with the Iowa Barnstormers and Berlin Thunder, Bryant signed with the New York Giants in 2002. He would go on to play with five different teams in the NFL over the next 17 years, the last 11 of which were with the Atlanta Falcons.
In his NFL career, he played in 241 games and was good on 397-of-464 field goal attempts (85.6 pct.) and 567-of-575 PATs (98.6 pct.). While with Tampa Bay in 2006, he kicked a 62-yard field goal. He had no fewer than 12 field goals of 50 yards are longer in his career.
In 2016, he and the Falcons played against New England in Super Bowl LI. He became the third-oldest player to ever appear in a Super Bowl. He also received a Pro Bowl nomination in 2016.
Bryant was recruited out of Bridge City High School by Randy Pippin, a member of the Cardinal Hall of Fame.
He and his family currently reside in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Elena Lovato, Women’s Basketball (2009-10, 2012-14)
Though her tenure at the college was short, Lovato left a legacy that will last forever.
In her two seasons as head coach in 2013 and 2014, the Lady Cardinals went a combined 72-2 and captured back-to-back NJCAA championships. In the 2010 season, she took over as interim head coach the last 11 games, resulting in a 9-2 record, conference and regional championships and sixth-place finish at the national tournament with a seven-player roster.
Lovato, who was 81-4 overall and 10-2 in national tournament games leading the Lady Cardinals, was named NJCAA Division I Coach of the Year after the 2014 season.
After leaving following her stint at interim head coach, she served as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha before taking over as head coach at Grayson College. Inheriting a team that was 4-26 the previous season, Lovato led the Lady Vikings to a 32-4 record and fifth-place finish at the national tournament. She was named Junior College Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
Upon departing the college after the back-to-back national title seasons, Lovato served two stints on Vic Schaefer’s staff at Mississippi State, sandwiched around a two-year stint as head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith, where she won 37 games.
She followed Schaefer to the University of Texas for the 2021 season, serving as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. Texas advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Lovato is currently out of coaching and residing back in her native state New Mexico.
Jeryl Sasser, Men’s Basketball (1969-71)
For someone who made the Cardinal basketball team via a tryout, Sasser made the most of the opportunity.
The Cardinals were 50-16 in Sasser’s two seasons, winning one conference title with a 15-1 record and finishing second the other year. He started all but two games in his Cardinal career for Coach Leon Spencer, a member of the Cardinal Hall of Fame.
As a sophomore, he averaged 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds, earning all-region honors.
After leaving the college, he played two seasons at the University of North Texas. His junior year was his best on the Denton campus when he averaged 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds. As the only Texan on the team, he was the team’s second-leading scorer that season.
In his two seasons at UNT, he hit 44 percent of his shots.
Sasser is a graduate of Atlanta High School, where his scoring and rebounding records still stand. He did not play as a junior, opting to perform with the band instead.
He currently resides in Lancaster. Two of his sons were drafted and played in the NBA and another is a Dallas police officer. Sasser’s father, John, also played in the NBA.
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