HAYS – Great Bend native Shawn Behr will be welcomed into the Fort Hays State Sports Hall of Fame Saturday, Oct. 28. At Great Bend High School, Behr threw for a school record 392 yards against Dodge City and passed for 1,990 yards.
Quarterback Behr was an AP All-America First Team selection in 1995. Behr, who wore No. 34 as a quarterback, ironically threw for a school record 34 touchdowns and 3,497 yards.
Behr has invited his past offensive linemen, past coaches and his daughter's softball teammates to the Hall of Fame ceremony.
"It probably won't soak in until the ceremony," Behr said in a radio interview. "There's a lot of pride involved. There were 55 other guys who were benefactors of us being on the football field. I'm one of the guys who got acknowledgment for something that everyone else did."
His daughter Kya will introduce her father, who has coached his daughter's age-group softball team for six years.
Behr threw for over 300 yards in a game six times with a career-high of 390 against New Mexico Highlands.
The Tigers (8-2-2) tied for the Rocky Mountain title with Western State. Behr’s single-season yardage record lasted until 2010 and the single-season TD record lasted until 2019. The Tigers tied Pittsburg State 13-13 in a memorable showdown at Hays.
"Our defense was pretty sound and we had a potent offense," Behr said. "We could make some fireworks. It was fun time to be in Hays."
Behr led NCAA Division 2 in passing yards for the regular season in 1995 with 3,158. The Tigers qualified for NCAA Division 2 playoffs.
Behr ranked third on FHSU's career passing yards (3,550) behind Robert Long (7,002) and Dustin McEwen (5,718). Behr played professionally for the Helsinki Roosters in the World League of Professional Football.
Behr landed in Hays in a roundabout way. He committed to Garden City Community College, but switched to Idaho State when Garden City coach Brian McNeely secured the Idaho State football job. Behr played football for two years at Idaho State when the Bengals went 3-8 and 2-9. Behr trained to play baseball at Barton Community College and Fort Hays when he changed his mind and asked Fort Hays football Bob Cortese to walk-on for football.
"I fell into a situation where someone was looking out for me," Behr said. "They dropped me into Hays for a reason."
Other Hall of Fame inductees are Dale Votapka (Wrestling, 1959-60); Jim Beltch (Wrestling, 1958-62); Steve Boehmer (Track/Cross Country, 1967-71); Richard/Tawnita Augustine (Women's Gymnastics, 1981-90); Daniel Traffas (Baseball, 1994-95); Jamie (Heiman) Dreher (Women's Basketball, 1999-2003), and Tyrone Shephard (Men's Basketball, 2004-06).
The 9 a.m. induction ceremony is scheduled at the Memorial Union at Fort Hays. The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be recognized at halftime of the Fort Hays State/Central Oklahoma football game.
