Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Hall of Honor Inductees Announced
August 14, 2004 | General
Aug. 14, 2004
LUBBOCK, Texas - Former Texas Tech Athletic Director T. Jones will join three outstanding former athletes for induction into the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Honor during the Texas Tech-Texas weekend October 23-24. Joining Jones are women's track All-American Amanda Banks and a pair of stellar football players -- All-American offensive tackle Charles Odiorne and defensive lineman Ecomet Burley, who was one of the Southwest Conference's top defensive players in the 1970s. The Hall of Honor Banquet will be held Friday, Oct. 23 starting at 7 p.m. at Lubbock Country Club. The foursome will be officially recognized at the Tech-UT game the next day. Banquet tickets are $40 each and $350 for a reserved table of eight. Contact the Red Raider Club at 742-1196 or toll free at 1-877-554-3850 for reservations. A native of Childress, Jones successfully faced many challenges while serving as athletic director from 1985-93. He promptly oversaw the merging of women's athletics into NCAA Division I status while maintaining a positive budget. He utilized his business background to create the revenue-producing option-seat program, initiated needed upgrades to Dan Law Field and the created the Double T Shoppe. Due to his foresight, Jones was able to bring success on to the field and court as well. Jones hired Spike Dykes, who quickly brought stability to the football program with winning seasons and bowl appearances. A year later, in 1986, Jones lured coach Larry Hays from Lubbock Christian and the baseball program has thrived ever since. He helped give coach Marsha Sharp the resources that played a part in the Lady Raiders' 1993 national championship run in Jones' last year at Texas Tech. T. is retired and living in Horseshoe Bay. Banks was one of the most domineering women triple jumpers in the Southwest Conference. She won the 1988 and 1989 SWC triple jump titles and still owns the four longest indoor and three longest outdoor jumps in school history. She earned indoor and outdoor All-American recognition as a senior, highlighted by a second-place finish in the 1989 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her outdoor school record jump of 42-11 3/4 is almost two feet longer than anybody else has ever managed at Texas Tech. A native of El Paso, she competed professionally for a decade, earning a No. 4 ranking in the United States three times -- 1989, 1995 and 1996. Banks has been working in the Mental Health and Human Services field in Lubbock since graduating in 1990. She obtained a Master's degree in Educational Psychology and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. She currently is employed by Lubbock Regional MHMR as a neighborhood involvement centers caseworker. It is a prevention and intervention program for youth ages 7-17. She recently was nominated by Lubbock Illustrated to its 40 & under-40 Leadership List. Odiorne spearheaded an offensive line that opened running lanes for James Gray in 1987-1989. The Hurst product anchored a line that helped Gray break numerous school rushing records. Odiorne was a first-team All-America selection by The Sporting News and a third-team choice by The Associated Press as a senior when the Red Raiders were 9-3 and whipped Steve Spurrier's Duke team in the All-American Bowl. He was a three-year starter at offensive tackle and twice was first-team All-SWC. He went on to play two seasons for the Birmingham Fire in the World Football League. He got to see the country by working in Maui, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Seattle and Oklahoma City before being named manager of a concrete pumping company in Wichita, Kan., two years ago. Burley terrorized Southwest Conference offenses from 1972-75 as a defensive tackle and nose guard, earning All-SWC first-team honors three times. The Lufkin native was the only Red Raider freshman to letter in 1972, which was the first year freshmen were allowed to play varsity football in Division I since the 1950s. His strength and quickness paved the way to earning the Sun Bow's Most Valuable Lineman Award as a freshman and the SWC's Sophomore of the Year honor in 1973 when the Raiders were 11-1. After three years of seeing attacks run to the opposite side of Burley's left defensive tackle position, he was moved to nose guard in 1975. "His sophomore season, New Mexico never ran a play to his side of the field," said head coach Jim Carlen at the time. After graduating from Texas Tech in 1976, he was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts and played six seasons in the Canadian Football League. He was selected twice to the Eastern All-Star Team. He worked in the ministry full time in Winnipeg, Canada, and returned to Texas after one year to go into retail sales. A 20-year career in education started in 1984 as a history teacher. He has been an elementary and middle school principal, an assistant superintendent and the chief officer at the Region 4 Education Service Center. Currently, he is the Assistant Superintendent for Student Achievement and Pupil Services for the Champaign, Illinois Unit 4 School District. He oversees nine campuses, alternative programming, and implementation of the Student Code of Conduct. The foursome will bring the number to 119 people who have been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Honor since its inception in 1961.
