2007 Hall of Fame Class Include Cutler, Kelly and Fey
| Courtesy: New Mexico State University |
The New Mexico State Athletics Department announced Wednesday that former football players Joe Kelly & Todd Cutler and longtime NMSU administrator Karen Fey will be inducted as the newest members of the First Community Bank/ NMSU Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place at halftime of the men’s basketball game on February 24th against Fresno State.
The NMSU Hall of Fame, which is located in the newly renovated Pan American Center, honors outstanding student-athletes, coaches, teams and benefactors from Aggie past. There are currently 101 members in the Hall of Fame, including A.F. (Hooky) Apodaca, Lauro Apodaca and Jay Mechem, who were all selected for their outstanding accomplishments in the sports of football and men’s basketball.
Joe Kelly, a graduate of Carlsbad High School came to New Mexico State in 1955 and immediately made an impact not only on the football, basketball and baseball teams, but on the NMSU campus. Also lettering in track & field, this four-sport athlete played halfback as a freshman and sophomore, leading the team in rushing both seasons, combining for a total of 1,362 yards on the ground, seven touchdowns and an average of five yards carry.
As a junior, Kelly moved to quarterback, throwing for 351 yards and two touchdowns on the season, while also stumbling for 399 yards on the ground and scoring four touchdowns. During his senior season, Kelly moved again this time to fullback where he rushed for 382 yards and seven touchdowns. For his career, Kelly rushed for a total of 2,143 yards and 16 touchdowns.
After graduating from New Mexico State in 1958, Kelly was the second Aggie football player to be drafted into the NFL. In 1959 Kelly was drafted by the Los Angeles Ram in the 11th round. He then made his way to Canada and played in the CFL from 1960-1962 for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, helping the Roughriders to a Grey Cup victory in 1960.
Kelly retired from football in 1962, returning to California where he worked for Union Pacific Railroad until 1998. He has also been volunteering as a youth sports director for the Golden Bears, an organization that sponsors youth program for football and cheerleading for kids ages 6-14, since 1976. Kelly also worked at San Frandino High School from 1981-86 coaching football, men’s and women’s basketball and softball. Kelly has been married to his lovely wife Clementine for 12 years and they are the proud parents of eight kids. His son, Joe Jr., was the 11th pick of the first round in the NFL draft, back in 1984 by the Cincinnati Bengals and played 11 years in the league.
Todd Cutler, a graduate of Whittell High School (Nev.) came to New Mexico State in 1988 as a quarterback before making the jump to tight end in the spring of that year. Over the next three seasons, Cutler accumulated 113 receptions for 1,547 yards and six touchdowns. His best season came as a junior when he set a school record for consecutive games with a pass reception at 23 and in receiving yards in a game by a tight end with 133 against Fresno State. He also recorded 718 yards receiving that year, finishing second in the nation for receiving yardage by a tight end, a school record that still stands today.
Cutler was an All-Big West Conference selection his junior and senior seasons, earning second team All-American honors in 1992 by Football News. In addition to his accolades on the field, Cutler was also named a first team Verizon/GTE Academic All-American in 1992 and second team member in 1991.
After graduating in 1993 from NMSU with his B.S. Degree in Secondary Education, he earned his Masters in Education Administration from the University of Phoenix in 1997 in Las Vegas, Nev. Cutler is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Educational Leadership program from Nova Southeastern University and is in the process of completing his doctoral Degree.
A School Improvement Analyst with Western Nevada Regional Training Program, and former Principal of Cottonwood Elementary School in Fernley, he began teaching in 1993 and taught in the classroom for a total of five years and a school administrator for the past eight years. Todd demonstrated his abilities as a successful school leader over these years and it is evident in the success of CES.
In the fall of 2006, Cutler ran for mayor of Fernley, Nev., winning his campaign and will take the reigns as mayor in January 2007. Cutler and his family have been Fernley residents for the past seven years and have been married to his lovely wife Dee Dee for eleven years and they are the proud parents of Cami (10) and Carli (8).
In her lengthy stay at New Mexico State, former Senior Associate Athletics Director Karen Fey had done it all in her 29-year tenure as an Aggie. Fey oversaw 13 of the 15 NMSU varsity sports, including all nine women’s sports as the Senior Woman Administrator.
One of the organizers of the High Country Athletic Conference in 1982, Fey was instrumental in NMSU receiving charter membership. In 1990, Fey was responsible for overseeing the Aggies’ transition from the HCAC to the Big West Conference and was involved in facilitating NMSU’s move to the Sun Belt.
Fey came to NMSU in 1973, and until 1980 served as the head coach of the women’s basketball program, compiling a 130-80 record and three 20-plus win seasons. She was named the Intermountain Athletic Conference Mountain Division Coach of the Year in 1979-80, her last season as a coach.
A native of Janesville, Wisc., Fey earned her bachelor’s of science degree in biology and physical education from the Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1963.
Ten years later, she received her master’s degree in the same fields from Wyoming. Fey competed in swimming and basketball at Wisconsin-LaCrosse and participated in the 1964 Olympic trials in fencing.
After hanging up her business suit for blue jeans and a t-shirt, Fey moved to an up north lake community in Siren, Wisc., where she enjoys many outdoor activities such as fishing year-round, painting, drawing, gardening, riding her ATV and socializing with her neighbors.
