TVCC announces Hall of Fame Class of 2023
By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information
Four individuals have been selected to become the 2023 class for the Cardinal Hall of Fame at Trinity Valley Community College.
“The inductees selected this year are all very deserving of the honor,” said Eddie Kite, director of athletics and a Hall of Fame selection committee member. “All four have been major contributors to the legacy of Cardinal athletics.
“It will be an honor to have them back on campus and recognize them for their contributions.”
The Hall of Fame’s 12th class will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 8 a.m. The induction breakfast will be held at Athens Country Club.
The homecoming football game kicks off at noon at Bruce Field.
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Inductees this year are:
Adut Bulgak, Women’s Basketball (2012-14)
When the conversation for the all-time greatest Lady Cardinal basketball player begins, Bulgak is part of the discussion.
Leading the list of the many things she accomplished as a Lady Cardinal is helping lead them to consecutive NJCAA championships in 2013 and 2014 with a combined 72-2 record. The Lady Cardinals also won back-to-back conference and regional championships with unblemished records.
Bulgak’s talent and performances did not go unnoticed or unrecognized. She was named NJCAA Player of the Year as a sophomore, also being selected MVP of the national tournament with a 17-point, 13-rebound performance in the championship game. The year before, she was named WBCA JUCO Freshman of the Year.
As a sophomore, she averaged 15.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. As a freshman, she scored 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and shot 52.7 percent.
After being heavily recruited, Bulgak continued playing at Florida State University. She continued to shine for the Seminoles, twice being named WBCA All-American and All-ACC.
Bulgak hit 48.7 percent of her shots from the floor, 34.4 from three-point range, and 72.9 from the free throw line at FSU. She helped the Seminoles to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament as a freshman and Sweet Sixteen as a sophomore.
She was selected with the 12th overall pick in the WNBA draft by the New York Liberty in 2016. Bulgak also played for the Chicago Sky before beginning a professional career abroad for Maccabi Haifa.
Bulgak was signed out of Canada to play for the Lady Cardinals by Elena Lovato, a Cardinal Hall of Fame inductee in 2021.
W.P. “Rip” Drumgoole, Special Contributor (1973-2011)
Of the many things Drumgoole is fondly remembered for, his desire to serve others and make lives better tops the list.
For more than 40 years, he served the college and its students in many capacities. First serving as a guidance counselor in 1973, he became Vice President of Student Affairs (later changed to Vice President of Student Services) seven years later.
He also served a year as athletics director in the 2009-10 semester. He was instrumental in the addition of softball in the fall of 2008 and oversaw and played a key role in the implementation of the volleyball program in the 2010 fall semester.
Drumgoole was considered a true professional and known for his enthusiastic approach to supporting the entire student population at the college.
His service to others went beyond his roles at the college. He was a longtime member of the Cain Center Board of Directors, Athens Rotary Club, Athens Economic Development Corporation, and Henderson County Girls Softball Association.
He served more than 25 years as a high school football official and was a member of the Texas Association of Sports Officials. Drumgoole officiated five state championship games and one Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star game.
Drumgoole died at the age of 61 in the fall of 2011. In 2015, the Cain Park softball field, where the college’s home games are played, was named W.P. “Rip” Drumgoole Field in his honor.
Keuna Flax, Women’s Basketball (2011-12)
When nagging injuries derailed her dreams of playing on the D1 level out of Haltom High School, Flax turned disappointment into success.
Transferring from Oklahoma State University to the college midway through the 2010-11 season, Flax used a redshirt year to prepare for the following season. What a season it became.
She helped the Lady Cardinals, who had lost in the 2011 national title game with her on the bench as a spectator, to a perfect 36-0 record and the NJCAA championship in 2012. Flax was named an NJCAA All-American.
Flax, who scored 21 points and hit five three-pointers in the national championship game, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, capping a season in which she averaged 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She also hit 53.3 percent of her shots.
In the Lady Cardinals’ narrow 71-66 win against Pensacola State in the national semifinals, she scored 26 points.
Flax continued her playing career at the University of Central Missouri, where she became one of the top players in the program’s history. She averaged 19.9 points per game in her two-year career and was twice named All-American.
As a senior, she was named MIAA Player of the Year and joined the UCM 1,000-point club, needing just 54 games to do so, which is the fewest in the college’s history.
Flax was inducted into the Central Missouri Hall of Fame in 2019.
Cardinal Hall of Famer Kurt Budke (2008) originally signed Flax at Oklahoma State. When she transferred to the college, she played for Lady Cardinal co-head coaches Michael and Kenya Landers, both of whom were inducted into the Cardinal Hall of Fame in 2018.
Nate Richards, Football (2011)
As a senior at Keller High School, little did Richards know how much Cardinal football and the city of Athens would impact his life in a couple of years.
After playing one season at the University of Central Arkansas, he felt is playing career had a higher calling. It turns out it did, by accepting an offer to become a Cardinal and remarket himself.
It took no time at all for Richards to become a starter on the offensive line and help the Cardinals become one of the most productive offenses in the nation, averaging 37.8 points per game. The success translated into an 8-3 season and appearance in the 2011 Citizens Bank Bowl in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Richards was rewarded for his stellar season, earning NJCAA All-American status and All-SWJCFC honors.
He cashed in his season, continuing his career at Rice University, where he started every game in his two-year career. As a junior in 2012, the dependable Richards played all but one offensive snap for the Owls.
Anchoring the offensive line, Richards helped Rice to a bowl win as a junior and a 10-4 record and first conference championship in 57 years as a senior.
He was named first-team All-Conference USA as a senior.
After Rice, he was invited to the NFL training camp of the Jacksonville Jaguars but chose to earn his law degree at Texas Tech University. That led him back to Athens, where he resides with wife Whitney and their three children. He has his own law firm.