JONESBORO, Ark. (10/17/24)  – Eight individuals will be inducted into the newly created Arkansas State University Press Box Wall of Honor, which recognizes university employees, sports media and volunteers who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to the Athletics Department or work covering A-State Athletics.
 
The inaugural honorees collectively represent 170 years of service to Arkansas State as an employee or to A-State fans through media coverage. They include:
 
• Charles Cromwell of Atlanta, who was sports editor and columnist at the Jonesboro Sun for 15 Years;
 
• Keith Merritt of Jonesboro, who was an A-State radio play-by-play commentator for 15 years, including 10 as the Voice of the Indians;
 
• Collin Pillow of Jonesboro, who as a faculty member in the School of Media and Journalism was producer of the ASU-TV sports broadcasts for 18 years;
 
• Charles Rasberry of Jonesboro, who taught in the Department of Journalism and managed KASU when he founded the Indian Sports Network in 1961 and oversaw radio broadcasts of A-State Athletics for 27 Years; and
 
• Jerry Schaeffer of Ormond Beach, Fla., who worked in the A-State Sports Information Office for 20 years as director and assistant athletics director for media relations.
 
The honorees who will be inducted posthumously include:
 
• Gina Bowman, who worked in the A-State Sports Information Office as assistant director, director, assistant athletics director for media relations and senior woman administrator for athletics for 32 years;
 
• Dick Clay, who was sports director at KAIT-TV in Jonesboro for 28 years; and
 
• Bill Keedy, who was radio color analyst for football on the East Arkansas Broadcasters Red Wolves Sports Network for 15 years.
 
"These honorees had an extraordinary impact on A-State Athletics, and we're excited to honor them in this special way," said Jeff Purinton, A-State Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics. "The former university staff members and faculty members initiated a number of 'firsts' for athletics during their careers. The media honorees are remembered by generations of Red Wolves fans and ultimately helped raise interest in A-State sports and student-athletes."
 
An induction ceremony with the unveiling of a recognition wall in the Centennial Bank Stadium press box will be held Oct. 26, and a reception for the honorees sponsored by KAIT8 will follow at the Cooper Alumni Center. The reception at 2 p.m. is open to friends, colleagues and students of the honorees.
 
The events will also celebrate creation of the Gina Bowman-Jerry Schaeffer Scholarship Fund to support scholarships for student assistants in the A-State Sports Information Office. Contributions may be made online at https://www.astate.edu/a/advancement/give-now/#state. Please designate "Other" and specify Bowman Schaeffer Scholarship Fund. Gifts may also be mailed to Bowman Schaeffer Scholarship, Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 1990, State University, AR 72467.
 
Here is additional information about the honorees:
 
Gina Bowman
 
    Gina Bowman spent 32 years of her 46-year career at Arkansas State University in the Athletics Department. She worked in the A-State Sports Information Office as assistant director (1976-1994), assistant athletics director for media relations (1994-2002) and senior woman administrator for athletics. From 2002-06, she was Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations, and from 2006-2008 was assistant director of the Sports Information Office.
    She was the only female sports information director in NCAA Division I-A athletics when she was appointed director.
    Bowman joined the Office of University Communications in 2008 as senior communications specialist and was director of media relations for A-State when she retired in 2022. In 2021, she was named an "Honorary Letterman" by the A-State Lettermen's Club.
    She was a 1976 journalism graduate at A-State and spent her entire working career with the university after graduation. Bowman passed away on Feb. 26, 2024, at age 71.
 
Dick Clay
 
    Dick "Dickie Bird" Clay was sports director at KAIT-TV in Jonesboro from 1970-1998. For nearly 30 years he was the face of A-State and local sports coverage in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri for a generation of television viewers.
    Clay's memorable signature signoff to each sports segment was "I'm Dick Clay, and that's sports" with his pen pointing to the camera. He highlighted A-State athletics, high school teams throughout northeast Arkansas and his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. He would proclaim close games to be "a real barnburner."
In 2024, Clay was inducted into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.
    Clay grew up in Portageville, Mo., and attended A-State, where he graduated with a master's degree in physical education. He served as the first director of Arkansas Special Olympics in the 1970s.
    He passed away on Aug. 6, 2014, at the age of 78.
 
Charles Cromwell
 
    Charles Cromwell of Decatur, Ga., was sports editor and columnist at the Jonesboro Sun from 1977 to 1993 and at various times during the '70s did play-by-play and color analyst work for the Indian Radio Network.
    He covered all aspects of A-State athletics with game news coverage and column observations. In 2024, Cromwell was inducted into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.           Cromwell later worked at newspapers in Augusta, Ga., Albuquerque and Atlanta, where he was a copy editor at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He became a paralegal for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta for 15 years until his retirement in 2021.
    Cromwell grew up in Pine Bluff and attended A-State, where he earned a degree in radio and television in 1974. As a student, he did radio play-by-play and color analyst work on KASU. After graduation he was news director at KASU from 1974-1975, worked at a radio station in Pine Bluff for a year and returned to KASU as sports director for a short time before joining the Sun in 1977.
 
Bill Keedy
 
    William H. "Bill" Keedy Jr., a retired longtime high school football coach, became the color analyst for the East Arkansas Broadcasters Red Wolves Sports Network in 2000. He initially worked with play-by-play voice Steve Sullivan and then continued in that role alongside Voice of the Red Wolves Matt Stolz until 2015, when Keedy passed away on Sept. 26, 2015, during the football season.
    After retiring as a coach, Keedy spent 15 years in the radio booth for many of A-State's biggest games, including the 2005 New Orleans Bowl, four GoDaddy Bowl games and A-State's victory over Texas A&M in 2008 in the school's first-ever game as Red Wolves. He served multiple terms on the board of the Red Wolves Foundation and was a featured guest and speaker at various functions held by the Athletics Department.
    The "Coach Bill Keedy Radio Booth" in the Centennial Bank Stadium Press Box is named in his honor.
    He was inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He was honored by the A-State Alumni Association as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2007.
 
Keith Merritt
 
    Keith Merritt of Jonesboro was football "Voice of the Indians" from 1983-1991 after a year as color analyst. He was basketball play-by-play broadcaster from 1981 to 1991. He later was play-by-play broadcaster for A-State women's basketball from 2016-2021.
    His work included A-State's 1980s appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA national football playoffs and the national championship game in Tacoma, Wash., in 1986.
    Merritt's work is remembered for his trademark "Bottom!" calls when A-State scored in basketball games. He called historic games such as the 61-60 upset at Memphis in 1986, the 60-59 upset at Stanford in the 1988 National Invitation Tournament and the NIT thriller against Arkansas in 1987.
    He received "Best Play-by-Play Award" from the Associated Press in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, the "Best Play-by-Play Award" from United Press International in 1990, and UPI's "Feature Aware" in 1985 and 1988.
 
Collin Pillow
 
    Collin Pillow of Jonesboro retired from A-State in 2021 after 23 years as an instructor in the School of Media and Journalism and from 2001-2019 served as sports producer for ASU-TV's coverage of Red Wolves football and basketball games during that time.
    The Piggott native, honored as emeritus instructor, coordinated professional learning opportunities in video production for students, whose contributions to live productions beginning in 2015 have been aired regularly by ESPN affiliated entities. Under Pillow's leadership, radio-television students began serving as crew members for all A-State football and men's and women's basketball games in 2001 when new video scoreboard systems were installed at Centennial Bank Stadium and First National Bank Arena. All content shown on those screens is produced entirely by student crews.
    With financial support from the Ernest and Anna Ritter Family Endowment and E. Ritter & Company in 2016, Pillow led the creation of a mobile media production unit that is used to support professional-level athletics productions.
    Pillow served as ASU-TV studio supervisor and taught classes in creative media production including interactive digital media, video post-production and sportscasting – a class he initiated in 2009.     The emeritus instructor continues to teach in the A-State online program. Many of his students have gone on to work in sports broadcasting throughout the country.
 
Charles Rasberry
 
    Charles L. Rasberry of Jonesboro was a faculty member in the Department of Radio-Television when he founded the Indian Sports Network in 1961 and oversaw radio broadcasts of A-State Athletics for 27 Years.
    He joined the faculty of the A-State Journalism Department in 1961 and was assigned to teach radio courses and manage KASU by L.W. "Tex" Plunkett, the legendary department chairman. He also successfully partnered with commercial radio stations to carry the football broadcasts around the state.
    As enrollment and interest grew, Rasberry and Plunkett proposed separating the radio program from journalism. They along with President Carl Reng created the Department of Radio, Journalism and Printing, and Rasberry succeeded Plunkett as chairman. When the College of Communications was created, Rasberry became chairman of the Department of Radio-Television and Dr. Joel Gambill led the Department of Journalism and Printing.
    Rasberry oversaw the network and served as chair of the Department of Radio-Television until his retirement in 1987. He is emeritus professor and chairman of the department and emeritus director of broadcasting for KASU, ASU-TV and the Indian Sports Network.
    He served on the A-State Mascot Review Committee and the Mascot Selection Screening Committee in 2007-2008, which resulted in the transition from Indians to Red Wolves as the university mascot. Rasberry was honored as an A-State Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni recipient in 2004.
 
Jerry Schaeffer
 
    Jerry Schaeffer of Ormond Beach, Fla., became A-State sports information director in 1974 and served for 20 years. He was an assistant athletics director for 18 of those years.
He resigned from the university in 1994 to enter ministry work and join what is now Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach, Fla. Today he is pastor of communications, membership and senior adults at Riverbend Community Church after previously serving as pastor of education, pastor of evangelism and pastor of ministries.
    In addition to leading the SID Office, Schaffer spent several years as radio color analyst for A-State football and basketball games. At various times he also handled football scheduling, game management and negotiation of radio and television contracts. He managed media relations for A-State athletics highlights including the opening of Indian Stadium (now Centennial Bank Stadium) in 1974, the 1975 football team that went 11-0, the football team's appearances in the NCAA I-AA national playoffs during the '80s and the 1987 NIT basketball game between A-State and Arkansas.
    Work during his tenure included helping Kay Woodiel develop the inaugural women's athletics program at A-State in the 1970s and successfully applying for the first licensing of the A-State athletics logos.
    Schaeffer is a 1968 journalism graduate and received his master's in mass communications in 1982, both at A-State.
 
Additional honoree details and multimedia links soon will be available online in a special Press Box Wall of Honor section of AStateRedWolves.com.  The selection committee for the Press Box Wall of Honor's inaugural inductees included Jeff Hankins (ASU System Vice President for Strategic Communications), Jerry Scott (A-State Senior Associate AD for External Communications) and former Arkansas State Sports Information Department personnel Sunnie Ewing, Cindy Gibson and Jimmy Oldham.