COMPLETE GSC ALL-DECADE TEAM RELEASE
Birmingham, AL—The Gulf South Conference officially closes the door on another exciting decade of collegiate athletics with the release of the GSC Fall Sports All-Decade Teams (2000-09) and Delta State University football placed nine Statesmen on either the First or Second Team, including the decade's Defensive Player of the Year Michael Eubanks.
Joining Eubanks on the GSC All-Decade First Team were Ellis Debrow (WR), Chris Booker (OL), Mark Ellis (OL), Anthony Maddox (DE) and
Lardester Hicks-Green (LB).
Scott Eyster (QB), the GSC's career passing leader with 13,887 yards, headlined the GSC All-Decade Second Team.
Brad Latham (OL) and Trey Crum (K) were also named to the Second Team.
"Obviously, every one of these guys are deserving of this honor and we're proud of what they have accomplished on and off the field," added Statesmen head coach Ron Roberts. "
The GSC Football All-Decade Team is comprised of 61 total student-athletes, led by 12 overall honorees by North Alabama and 10 by Valdosta State.
Valdosta State quarterback Dusty Bonner was named the GSC Offensive Player of the Decade. From 2000-01, Bonnor was responsible for 110 touchdowns, while setting Conference records for completion percentage (71.1), touchdown passes in a game (seven) and in a season (55). He became just the third player ever to win back-to-back Harlon Hill Trophies and ended his stint passing for 8.163 yards while completing 649 of 913 passes.
Delta State linebacker Michael Eubanks is the GSC Defensive Player of the Decade following a record-breaking stint from 2004-07 in which he finished as the NCAA Division II career leader in sacks (45) and the GSC's career leader in tackles for loss (69.5). Eubanks was a two-time GSC Player of the Year and was one of the Top Three Finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2007. He also won the GSC Commissioner's Trophy and had 240 career tackles in 47 games.
Former VSU great Chris Hatcher was tabbed the GSC Coach of the Decade. Coach Hatcher was named GSC Coach of the Year three times during his tenure which ran from 2000-06. He led the Blazers NCAA Title Games in 2002 and 2004, capped by the 2004 National Championship. He currently owns the highest winning percentage in the league (.864) thanks to a 76-12 record.
Valdosta State finished as the top Football Team of the Decade after racking up 103.5 total All-Sports Trophy points the past 10 seasons. The Blazers captured four Conference Crowns including three straight from 2000-02. VSU also advanced to the post-season eight times, headlined by the 2004 NCAA Title.
The six-sport team is the first of three such squads to be released the following two weeks, including the Men's and Women's Basketball All-Decade Teams on July 15th and the Spring Sports All-Decade Teams (excluding women's golf) on July 22nd.
The initiative marks the first time that the Conference has compiled an All-Decade list for sports other than football. Previously, the GSC has recognized football all-star teams from the 1980's, the first Quarter Century (1971-1975) and the 1990's.
HOW THE TEAMS WERE CHOSEN
Players could only be nominated for the All-Decade Team if they competed in at least two seasons during the decade and were also named to the All-GSC First Team at least once. Each squad was broken up into First and Second Teams and Players and Coaches of the Decade were selected. Honorable Mentions were also recognized in special circumstances; for example, those student-athletes that competed in just one season and were an All-GSC First Team member during the past decade. The league office decided to designate the men's and women's soccer squads as “All-Time Teams” because the GSC has only sponsored the sport since 1996.
The Conference also recognized the best Teams of the Decade using a formula based on how a school's team finished in the All-Sports Trophy standings the past 10 years. Harding University Sports Information Director Scott Goode spearheaded the computation of each school's team-point-total based on the simple formula of All-Sports points earned divided by All-Sports points possible during the decade. The resulting score is the percentage of All-Sports points earned during the decade per sport. The formula included only the seasons that each school sponsored the respective sport. A score of 100 indicates that the team earned the maximum number of points (i.e. - won the conference championship) in each season in the decade.
