MIAMI (November 17, 2016) – Assistant Athletic Director and Head Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Coach, Rita Buck-Crockett has been named to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Buck-Crockett is one of eight new members to be inducted into the Class of 2017. Buck-Crockett is the first volleyball player to ever be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
 
"There are so many great athletes that come out of Texas, my home state," said Buck-Crockett. "Texas isn't just a state, it's like its own country. To be noted as the first volleyball player to come out of that, I could not even verbalize how I felt. It brought tears to my eyes."
 
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Buck-Crockett is considered one of the best volleyball players in history, spending her collegiate years at the University of Houston, being named a 1977 AIAW All-American, before representing the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 and 1984. Buck-Crockett led the '84 team to a silver medal, a team which is still tied for the best indoor finish in U.S. Olympic history. Internationally, Rita also played professional volleyball in Japan, Italy and Switzerland. In 1986, Rita returned to the United States to play in the new Major League Volleyball league, earing MVP in 1987. Buck-Crockett later teamed with Volleyball Hall of Famer Jackie Silva (who helped Rita coach the 2015 FIU beach volleyball team voluntarily; that team ranked third nationally) to win the World Beach Volleyball Championship to become the first African-American woman to earn the title. Buck-Crockett's indoor career continued in Italy with Mater and Rome from 1988-1993, earning the MVP of the Italian League in '91. After her playing career ended in 1998, Rita served as the head coach for Iowa (1998-2004) before taking on the associate head volleyball coach role at Florida State (2004-05). Now, Buck-Crockett is gearing up for her fifth season as the FIU beach volleyball head coach. Rita was awarded the AVCA Coach of the Year Award in 2015. She has a current streak of 72 consecutive matches, ranked in the top-10 nationally and has taken FIU to two AVCA Championships (No. 5 seed in 2014; No. 3 seed in 2015).
 
Texas Hall of Fame, Class of 2017
Rita Buck-Crockett
Dave Elmendorf
Pat Henry
Flo Hyman
Nastia Liukin
Eric Metcalf
Wade Phillips
Darren Woodson
 
The 2017 class will be honored on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 7 p.m. (ET) at the Waco Convention Center. A reception will be held at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame before the banquet at 5 p.m. Combination Reception/Banquet tickets are $200 each or $1,400 for a reserved table of eight. Banquet-only tickets can be purchased for $75 each, or $600 for a reserved table of eight. To purchase tickets, please call the museum at 800-567-9561 or visit http://www.tshof.org/buy-tickets/

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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU volleyball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.