Five Lehigh Greats Elected To Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Five Lehigh greats have been elected to the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame, as part of the most recent election process. This group of five will be officially recognized as the Hall of Fame Class of 2023, following the four individuals inducted back in May.

The newest group of electees include women's lacrosse standout Lauren Dykstra '11, baseball greats Lee Butz '55 and Mitch Smith '79 and former Lehigh football coaches Kevin Higgins and Andy Coen.

Lehigh will host its Hall of Fame Induction Dinner on Friday evening, September 1. All five members of the Class of 2023 will be inducted that evening, along with Lehigh basketball legend CJ McCollum '13, who was elected in 2019, and former coach and administrator Judy Turner Baxter, who was elected in the spring.

Lee Butz
A 1955 Lehigh graduate, Lee Butz was one of the top pitchers for the Brown and White under head coach Tony Packer. Butz pitched to a 1.17 ERA as a junior in 1954, a mark which still stands as a program single-season record. The 1954 season saw Lehigh go 9-6 and was highlighted by upset victories over Muhlenberg and Penn State. Butz made his season pitching debut in the win over the Mules, scattering five hits and driving in the game-winning run in the ninth inning. He earned five victories for Lehigh that season and was recognized as one of the team's outstanding pitchers for the season. Butz earned his degree in civil engineering and went on to become CEO of Alvin H. Butz, Inc.

Mitch Smith
A workhorse on the mound, Mitch Smith is the most accomplished pitcher in terms of statistics in Lehigh baseball history. Smith graduated in 1979 as Lehigh baseball's career leader in wins (24), strikeouts (262), complete games (23), innings pitched (335) and appearances (52). He continues to sit at the top of Lehigh's career list for innings pitched and complete games and is now second in win and strikeouts. Smith's mark of 262 career strikeouts stood for 44 years before being broken this past season. As a sophomore in 1977, Smith won seven games, threw seven complete games, and pitched to a 1.74 ERA with 85 strikeouts. He remains firmly entrenched in top five lists for many single season and career pitching categories at Lehigh.

Lauren Dykstra
Perhaps the finest all-around player in Lehigh women's lacrosse history, Lauren Dykstra was Lehigh's first four-time, first-team All-Patriot League honoree. The winner of four different Patriot League major awards during her career from 2008-2011, Dykstra remains Lehigh and the Patriot League's career leader in goals with 257. Dykstra's 302 career points rank second in school history. She was recognized as the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year in 2008 and then won Offensive, Defensive and Midfielder of the Year honors from the league over her next three seasons. A three-time IWLCA first team All-Region honoree, Dykstra capped her career by being selected as a third team IWLCA All-American in 2011.

Kevin Higgins
The leader of Lehigh football's resurgence in the mid and late 1990s, Kevin Higgins spent seven seasons as head coach for the Brown and White, capturing Patriot League titles in four of the seven seasons. A three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year, Higgins guided Lehigh to three consecutive Division I-AA playoff appearances in 1998, 1999 and 2000, with his teams advancing to the quarterfinals in 1998 and 2000. Higgins posted a 56-25-1 record at Lehigh including a 30-9 Patriot League mark. The Mountain Hawks' 1998 and 2000 squads both started their respective seasons with 12 consecutive victories and Higgins was also at the helm for Lehigh's 20-game regular season winning streak from 1997 through 1999. Higgins left Lehigh for a position with the Detroit Lions. After a lengthy coaching stint at Wake Forest University, Higgins now serves as the Demon Deacons' General Manager.

Andy Coen
The owner of a Lehigh football-record 85 coaching wins and five Patriot League championships, Andy Coen led Lehigh football's resurgence in the 2010s. During that time, the Mountain Hawks won four Patriot League titles (giving Lehigh a league-best 12 overall), and won FCS playoff games in both 2010 and 2011, advancing to the quarterfinals in a record-setting 2011 campaign. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year and a three-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in the FCS, Coen guided the Mountain Hawks to an 85-64 record from 2006 through 2018. Coen also served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach under Higgins and was a part of three more Patriot League championship teams as an assistant. Coen stepped away from coaching following the 2018 season due to a diagnosis of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease and passed away in April 2022.

CJ McCollum
The most accomplished student-athlete to pass through Lehigh's men's basketball program, CJ McCollum graduated as the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer and ranks second on Lehigh's career scoring list. A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, McCollum led the Mountain Hawks to Patriot League titles in 2009-10 and 2011-12, and scored a game-high 30 points as No. 15 seed Lehigh beat Duke 75-70 in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. McCollum was a three-time first team All-Patriot League honoree and was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2010 in addition to his Player of the Year honor. In June 2013, McCollum became Lehigh's first-ever NBA draft pick after being selected 10th overall by the Portland Trailblazers. He is entering his 11th NBA season and is in his third year with the New Orleans Pelicans. McCollum also serves as President of the National Basketball Players Association.

Judy Turner Baxter
A leader in the emergence of women's athletics at Lehigh, Baxter spent eight seasons as head coach of both the field hockey and women's lacrosse programs. From 1980-85 she also served as an Assistant Athletic Director and head of Lehigh's women's intercollegiate athletic programs. In field hockey, Baxter amassed a 74-48-20 record and guided the brown and white to back-to-back ECC titles in 1983 and 1984, with Lehigh ranked in the top 15 nationally in both seasons. As Lehigh's women's lacrosse coach, Baxter went 75-35-2 from 1978-85, winning an ECC title in 1985. Lehigh ranked in the top 10 nationally in both 1984 and 1985 and reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 1984. Baxter returned to coach the women's lacrosse team to a 10-4 record in 2003.

The Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame currently includes 107 members across 25 sports and more than 140 years of intercollegiate athletics competition.

Lehigh University Athletics

Five Lehigh Greats Elected To Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame

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