GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The 2023 Tusculum University Sports Hall of Fame class has been announced and four new members will be inducted on Saturday, November 4th.
This year's inductee class includes former head football coach and athletic director Frankie DeBusk, former major league baseball pitcher and U.S. Olympian Brandon Dickson, cross country running great Dr. Simon Holzapfel and All-American volleyball libero Caitlyn Dean Smith.
The Sports Hall of Fame Breakfast will be held at the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Student Commons. The Sports Hall of Fame inductees will also be honored during TU's home football game against Mars Hill University on Nov. 4.
Frankie DeBusk (Football Coach / Athletic Director)
For 18 years, Frankie DeBusk built the Tusculum football program and the athletic department into one of the most respected in the country. He served as football coach 1998-2015 and held the dual role as coach and athletic director from 2007-2015.
He guided the football program from the NAIA ranks to NCAA Division II where his teams recorded a school-record 96 wins, resulting in two South Atlantic Conference championships and a berth to the NCAA Playoffs. His victory tally is also the fourth highest in league history.
While at Tusculum, his Pioneers equaled or established over 100 team and individual records. He mentored 94 All-Conference performers, including 39 All-Region honorees and 27 All-Americans. Of those, three finished as national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II player of the year. All-American cornerback Ricardo Colclough was a 2003 finalist, All-American quarterback Corey Russell was a 2008 finalist and quarterback Bo Cordell was a two-time national finalist 2010 and 2013 and finished his career as the NCAA II's all-time leading passer.
Twenty-seven (27) of his former players continued their respective playing careers at the professional level, including five in the National Football League. Colclough was the 38th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming the highest drafted player in SAC history at the time. Colclough became the third player in the history of the SAC to win a Super Bowl. Other players also signing with NFL teams include: Kevin Wolcott (Tennessee Titans), Alan Dunn (Atlanta Falcons), Rashaad Carter (Baltimore Ravens) and Caushaud Lyons (Tampa Bay / Pittsburgh Steelers).
The DeBusk coaching tree has included several assistants who progressed on to the high school, college and professional coaching ranks. Five recent notables include former TU defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who went on to hold the same job at Alabama and is entering his first year as DC at Ole Miss; former TU defensive coordinator Ron Roberts went onto be head coach at Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana before serving as DC at Baylor and is going into his first year as defensive coordinator at Auburn; former TU assistant coach Karl Scott continued his college coaching career including stops at Texas Tech and Alabama. Scott moved on to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and currently with the Seattle Seahawks; former TU defensive coordinator Addison Williams has made stops at Furman, Coastal Carolina, Auburn and Central Florida where he is in his third year and first as defensive coordinator; former assistant coach Keith Gaither was on DeBusk's inaugural staff and has gained D-I experience including the last three years on the staff at Virginia.
In his eight years as Director of Athletics, he orchestrated unparalleled success within the athletic department as the Pioneers captured 15 South Atlantic Conference championships, nine SAC Tournament titles and 24 teams advanced to NCAA Division II postseason play.
DeBusk, a 1991 Furman University graduate, led the Paladins to a 1988 NCAA Division I-AA National Championship. His collegiate career also included three Southern Conference titles and three trips to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs.
DeBusk is a member of the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame and the Greeneville High School Hall of Fame.
DeBusk's coaching experience also includes Furman (1991-1992) and Chattanooga (1993-1997) where he mentored NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.
He and his wife Jennifer reside in Kingsport where he is entering his fifth year as athletic director at Dobyns-Bennett High School. They are the proud parents of son Ty, who recently graduated from ETSU.
Frankie joins his younger brother Doug DeBusk '95, who was inducted to the Tusculum Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 after his stellar basketball career with the Pioneers from 1991-1995. Frankie's nephew Dylan was a member of the TU basketball and football team, while his niece Delana DeBusk is entering her sophomore year on the Pioneer women's basketball team.
Brandon Dickson (Baseball)
Brandon Dickson proved to be a workhorse on the baseball pitching mound both as a collegian, but also in the professional ranks and most recently on the U.S. Olympic team.
The Montgomery, Alabama product transferred to Tusculum in 2005 where he pitched out of the bullpen during the 2006 campaign, posting a 5-2 record to go along with a 3.39 earned run average. He made 24 relief appearances, which at the time was a school record and are tied for the third-most in school history. He posted four saves and 37 strikeouts in his 58.1 innings of work. The Pioneers went 40-14-1 that season and won the South Atlantic Conference Championship, the program's second title in as many years. In the 2006 SAC Tournament, he pitched in three games while posting one save and a 3.00 ERA with zero walks and five strikeouts.
Dickson signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 which began a decorated professional career including three separate stints with the major league club.
Dickson's third call-up was a unique one, coming nine years after last being called up by the Cardinals in 2012. Dickson won a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 2011 and was called up again in 2012. He appeared in 10 games for St. Louis, posting a 5.94 ERA in his 16.2 innings of work with no decisions. He recorded 14 strikeouts and made his lone major league start on Sept. 1, 2011 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
After being released the by Cardinals in 2012, he took his talents to Japan where he was one of the top pitchers in the Nippon Professional League, playing eight seasons (2013-2020) with the Orix Buffaloes. He logged a 3.32 career ERA with 49 wins and 34 saves, those coming over the two years since making the move to the bullpen. He pitched 892.1 innings with 673 strikeouts.
He played for Team USA in 2019 as the Stars and Stripes was looking to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. At the WBSC Premier12 in Tokyo, he led the tournament with three saves and the U.S. National team with 11 strikeouts earning him a spot on the WBSC All-World Team.
Dickson returned to the Team USA pitching staff in June 2021 where the Americans went 4-0 to win the WBSC Qualifying Event and punch their ticket to the Olympics.
After which, the Cardinals re-signed Dickson, who was assigned to Triple-A Memphis. He made a couple of relief appearances before Team USA invited Dickson to return to the Stars and Stripes for the Olympics. He helped Team USA to a 4-2 record in the Olympic Tournament as the Americans posted victories over Israel and Korea in group play, but lost to Japan 7-6 in extra innings in the knockout round.
Team USA rebounded with back-to-back wins over the Dominican Republic and Korea to advance to the gold medal game where they were defeated 2-0 by Japan. In his three appearances in the Olympic Tournament, he posted a 2.70 earned run average where he threw 59 pitches in 3.1 innings, allowed two hits, one run, one walk and a strikeout as he became the first Tusculum student-athlete to earn an Olympic medal.
After the Olympics, he returned to Memphis where he made five relief appearances and went 1-0, tossing 4.2 innings before his third call up to the majors in 2019.
He was a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll while majoring in mathematics.
He and his wife Lauren are the parents of two daughters, Nara and Kenzie, and son Archer.
Dr. Simon Holzapfel '11 (Cross Country)
Dr. Simon Holzapfel is the most decorated distance runner in the history of the Tusculum cross country program.
He established the top-ten 8,000-kilometer times in school history upon graduation, including his 25:04 mark to win the 2010 South Atlantic Conference Championship and earn SAC Runner of the Year laurels for a second consecutive season. His time was also a new SAC meet record.
He won 16 individual cross country titles during his career, including six in a row in his senior season alone. Holzapfel closed his career with a streak of 21 consecutive top-10 finishes, a run that spanned three seasons including a 10th place finish in his final meet at the NCAA II Southeast Regional.
Holzapfel, a native of Nuremburg, Germany, was a two-time SAC Runner of the Year (2009, 2010), three-time All-Southeast Region selection (2008, 2009, 2010), three-time All-SAC first team honoree (2008, 2009, 2010) and eight-time SAC Runner of the Week. He was a three-time Academic All-American (2009, 2010, 2011) and was twice named the SAC Men's Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year. In 2011, he was named the male recipient of the SAC Presidents Award, which is the league's highest honor for a student-athlete.
While at Tusculum, Holzapfel was honored with the James E. Ward Outstanding Major award from the Tennessee Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, the first Tusculum student to receive the statewide award. In 2010, he was one of three college students selected nationwide to serve as delegates to the Alliance Assembly, the governing body of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).
Active in life on campus, Holzapfel was involved in the Student Government Association, President's Society, Track and Field Club, Pioneer Green Team, Alpha Chi Honor Society and the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Council. He also served as a peer tutor and a resident assistant.
He graduated from Tusculum in 2011 with magna cum laude honors while majoring in sports science and posted a perfect 4.00 grade point average. He earned his graduate degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2013 in exercise and sports science. In 2017, he completed his PhD at Arizona State University in physical activity and nutrition science.
He joined the faculty at Arizona State in 2016 where he is a clinical associate professor in ASU's College of Health Solutions and is the founder and director for the Adaptive Exercise Program.
He is married to Dr. Jenny (Grant) Holzapfel, a 2013 Tusculum graduate and Academic All-America cross country runner for the Pioneers.
Caitlyn Dean Smith '14 (Volleyball)
Caitlyn Dean Smith was one of the best defensive players in the history of NCAA Division II volleyball.
She was a three-time All-American, four-time All-Southeast Region performer and four-time All-Conference first team selection.
During her career spanning from 2010-2013, she accounted for a South Atlantic Conference record 3,184 digs, which were a NCAA record at the time of her graduation and are currently the second-most in Division II history.
Smith accounted for an amazing 40 contests with 30 or more digs, including seven times in her senior season alone.
She helped the Pioneers to an 88-39 overall record, which included three 20-win season as well as four NCAA Tournament appearances.
In 2012, she was the NCAA II National Statistical Champion averaging 7.77 digs per set. It was a NCAA record at the time and are the second-most currently. The Pioneers went 24-8 and were SAC Tournament finalists. TU went on to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Sweet 16, which included a 3-1 upset win over regional top-seed Armstrong. She was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team as well as the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. For her efforts, she was the Tusculum Female Athlete of the Year for 2012-13.
She made quite an impression during her 2010 rookie season which saw her garner All-America, All-Region and All-Conference laurels. She finished with 845 digs and averaged 7.10 per set to earn her first NCAA II National Statistical Champion accolade.
Smith was a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll while majoring in nursing. In 2013, she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® team and was a two-time Academic All-District first team choice.
After Tusculum, she later earned a nursing degree from Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2017.
From 2017-2021 she was a member of the medical surgical unit at DuPont Hospital as well as Heartland Hospice, both in Fort Wayne. In 2021, she took on travel nursing and is with Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Indiana.
She is married to Brandon Lee Smith and they are the proud parents of their son, Lincoln James, who was born in August 2022.
