Hall of Fame
While several inductees to North Central College’s Athletic Hall of Fame excelled in multiple sports during their collegiate years, Sandy Eberhardt ’91 maintains a singular distinction as the only member to have been voted Conference Player of the Year in two sports.
Eberhardt was named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) North Division Player of the Year in softball in 1989 (the first year the CCIW named a Player of the Year), then achieved CCIW Most Outstanding Player honors in basketball the following year, becoming the first North Central player to be so honored.
The level of success Eberhardt achieved was just as much of a surprise as the manner in which she was informed of her selection for the conference’s top individual award in basketball.
“Honestly, it’s still a surprise to me,” she said. “I played with a lot of good players in high school in both sports, so I guess that helped prepare me for college.
“I remember coach (Kim) Hansen coming to tell me that I won, and I had broken my nose and had to have surgery. She came to the hospital and told me that I won, and then I had to go into softball season and coach (Jim Kulawiak) had to make a special helmet for me because we didn’t have those back then.”
Success came earliest for Eberhardt in softball. As a sophomore, she led the CCIW in doubles and runs batted in during conference play as the Cardinals won the CCIW Tournament Championship and qualified for the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Championship. She received a First Team All-Region selection for her efforts in addition to First Team All-CCIW and Player of the Year accolades.
On the basketball court, she came into her own as a junior, putting up 19.5 points per game on 57.1percent shooting in conference play as the Cardinals tied for second in the CCIW standings with a record of 10-6. As a senior, she was a First Team All-CCIW selection for a second straight year, averaging 19.4 points and shooting a then-school record 55.5 percent from the field.
“In high school, I was probably a little better at softball and played more softball than basketball,” Eberhardt said. “As I got to my sophomore year in college, I just really started to bloom as a basketball player. I think a lot of that had to do with Kim Hansen coming in and really showing me how to be a dominant post player. I still did well in softball, but basketball really became the more dominant sport and I started to enjoy it more.”
Competing at a high level in both sports proved taxing, but rewarding for Eberhardt, who believes the dual commitment paid dividends both during and after her collegiate experience was complete.
“Basketball takes a lot of endurance and it’s really physical, and then in softball, it’s all about technique and skills,” she said. “It was a different mindset, for me at least, between the two sports. I think each sport teaches you different things, and you exercise different muscles and skills. It was hard, but I enjoyed being in both sports because that was what I loved to do.
“I still use a lot of what I learned back then in my professional life. It’s about teamwork and camaraderie, and making sure you have your priorities set, and knowing the people on your team so you can communicate with them effectively. The things you learn in sports really translate into the corporate world.”
