Michael Walton named Hall of Honor nominee

PORTALES — As both a coach and a player, Michael Walton protected the house for the Eastern New Mexico University football program. Now he’s been invited into the Lone Star Conference’s house.

The LSC named Walton as a 2020 LSC Hall of Honor nominee on Tuesday as recognition for his playing and coaching career in the conference. He and Texas A&M-Commerce women’s basketball great Britney Jordan were selected for induction by a panel of LSC athletic administrators and will be honored this fall.

“Michael Walton and Britney Jordan were outstanding student-athletes that brought tremendous pride and honor to the LSC and their institutions during their playing days, Michael as a standout defensive lineman and Britney as one of the most prolific scorers in league history,” LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner said in a news release. “They are most deserving of this distinction.”

Walton, who still holds the single-season and career tackle records for the Greyhounds, played linebacker from 1996 through 1999 and is a 2005 inductee in ENMU’s Hall of honors. Walton, a three-time Greatest Greyhound Award winner, is the third person associated with ENMU to be inducted into the LSC’s Hall of honors, joining the late B.B. Lees and former multi-sport star Jennifer Goble Poyer.

According to the LSC, the hall “recognizes outstanding individuals who have brought pride and honor to the conference through their contributions as an athlete or who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the betterment of the conference as a coach or administrator.”

Jordan still holds school records for points, field goals, free throws and assists and was a three-time All-LSC first-team selection. Her 31.3 points per game as a senior in 2008-09 is still a conference record, and she is the third player in Division II history to be drafted by a WNBA franchise.

Since the end of his playing career, Walton has coached for 15 years with two stints at ENMU, including the prior two seasons as the Greyhounds’ defensive coordinator.

This season, Walton is special teams coordinator for Division I Tarleton State.