Four inducted into Athletic Hall of Honor

Bruce Collie | Ralph McPherson
Mike Nau | Angela Nelson-Martinez

Bruce Collie
Football 1980-84

Bruce Collie played offensive tackle at UTA during the 1980-84 football seasons, earning first-team Associated Press and Kodak All-America honors his senior year before moving on to a successful career in the National Football League.

A three-time All-Southland Conference selection, he helped guide UTA to the SLC championship in 1981 and earned honorable mention All-America honors his sophomore and junior years.

Following his collegiate career, Collie was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, where he played offensive guard on Super Bowl championship teams following the 1988 and 1989 seasons. He played with the 49ers from 1985 to 1989, then spent two years with the Philadelphia Eagles (1990-91) before returning to the 49ers for the ’92 season.

After retiring from football, Collie joined Bill Glass Ministries, now known as Champions for Life. In his ninth year with the organization, he works in prison ministry, giving inspirational talks at prisons around the nation.

He and his wife, Holly, live in San Antonio. They have eight children.

Mike Nau
Basketball 1964-67

Although 35 years have passed since he played at UTA, Mike Nau still ranks as one of the all-time scoring and rebounding leaders in school basketball history.

A letter-winner from 1964-67, he led the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage in his junior and senior seasons and made first-team All-Southland Conference both years.

Despite playing only three years at UTA after transferring from Iowa State, Nau finished his career as the school’s all-time scoring leader. Today, his 1,052 points rank 11th on the career scoring chart, and he’s fourth on the school’s all-time rebounding list with 628.

In 1967, Nau scored 38 points against Lamar University, the sixth most points ever scored in a game by a Mavericks player.

Nau studied business administration at UTA and is the chief financial officer for the Traverse City Record-Eagle newspaper corporation, where he has worked the past 17 years.

A Dallas native, Nau attended Bryan Adams High School and, after finishing at UTA, worked in the oil business in Texas before settling in Michigan.

He and wife Linda live in Traverse City, Mich. They have been married 18 years and have six children.

Ralph McPherson
Basketball 1980-82

Ralph McPherson played basketball for two seasons at UTA, including the 1980-81 campaign when the Mavericks went to the National Invitation Tournament.

He was first-team All-Southland Conference his senior year, leading the conference in scoring, and was a second-team pick as a junior. He led the team in scoring both years, averaging 18.2 points per game as a senior and 15.4 as a junior. He also averaged 9.2 rebounds as a senior and 7.6 his junior season.

Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1982, McPherson opted for the Continental Basketball Association, winning the championship in 1984 under coach Phil Jackson. He played 11 years in Europe, where his teams won the German Championship in 1988 and finished fourth in the European Cup Championships.

He returned to UTA in 1994, earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport studies.

A native of Arlington, McPherson attended Arlington High School and went to Texas Tech on a basketball scholarship before transferring to UTA.

He lives in Arlington and works as a sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. He and his wife, Lori, have two children, Kelsey and Chase.

Angela Nelson-Martinez
Track 1991-95

Angela Nelson-Martinez is one of the most accomplished distance runners in UTA history. She earned All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1995 in the 10,000 meters. She still holds the school record with a time of 35:24.99.

Her 10,000-meter time still ranks as the fifth best in Southland Conference history. She finished first in the conference outdoor championships in both the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters in 1994 and 1995 and also claimed the 3,000-meter title in 1995.

Indoors, Nelson-Martinez was named SLC Outstanding Performer in both 1994 and 1995, when she was the high scorer in the conference meet. Her indoor 5,000-meter time of 17:13.87 in 1995 still stands as the league’s fourth best all-time mark.

In cross country, she was the individual champion and Athlete of the Year in 1993. She was a four-time All-SLC selection from 1991 through 1994.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1995 and works as director of ticket sales for the El Paso Diablos baseball team in the Texas League. She and her husband, Tommy, have one son, Jacob.