April 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 26, 2010 - Current Nittany Lion basketball associate head coach Kurt Kanaskie and former All-American tight end Kyle Brady will be inducted into the West Shore Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, May 14. The induction ceremony will take place at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill.
Kanaskie will begin his eighth season as part of the Nittany Lion basketball staff and his second as associate head coach in 2010-11. A standout collegiate player at LaSalle, Kanaskie has more than 30 years in collegiate coaching, including 18 years as a head coach during stops in Pennsylvania at Lock Haven and Indiana University of Pennsylvania as well as seven seasons at Drake University in Iowa. Kanaskie was one of the most successful head coaches in Pennsylvania Division II history and was twice named the Basketball Times National Coach of the Year, PSAC Coach of the Year and NABC District Coach of the Year.
A native of Mechanicsburg, Pa., Kanaskie was an all-state basketball player at Cumberland Valley High School and went on to earn All-Big Five and All-East Coast Conference honors at LaSalle. The Academic All-American left LaSalle as the ninth all-time scorer in school history and was drafted by the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Brady, who currently works as a broadcaster with the Big Ten Network, was one of five Nittany Lions to earn first-team All-America honors in 1994 as Penn State posted a perfect 12-0 record, claimed the Lions' first Big Ten title and cruised to the Lions' first Rose Bowl victory with a 38-20 dusting of Oregon. The two-time, first-team All-Big Ten selection finished his career with 76 receptions, second only to two-time All-American Ted Kwalick among Nittany Lion tight ends.
A native of Camp Hill, Pa., Brady was an exceptional blocker that paved the way for the No. 6 ranked rushing attack in the nation in 1994. He was a first round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and the ninth player drafted overall. He went on to a 13-year NFL career with the Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, culminating in Super Bowl XLII.
At Cedar Cliff High School, Brady was a first team USA Today All-USA selection, a Parade Magazine All-America and, as a senior, was the Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year, and the recipient of the Bobby Dodd Award (given to the nation's top offensive lineman) presented by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta.
The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame was chartered in 1962. It is the only community based Hall of Fame in the Country and its present twenty-nine Chartered Chapters serve more than 300 communities throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Each year the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inducts area greats of yesteryear and endeavors to include athletes, administrators, coaches, and those involved in sports medicine and the sports media. The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame also honors the scholastic, collegiate, community service and courageous athlete awards within those communities.
-NITTANY LIONS-