4 Former Athletes, Photographer Inducted into Hall of Honor

Four former student-athletes and a volunteer photographer were added to the UT Dallas Athletic Hall of Honor at this year's induction ceremony.

Former soccer players Theresa Buckles Walters and Zac Lindley, baseball standout Trent Elizondo and men's basketball star Martin Salinas were inducted into the honorary panel, along with Doug Fejer, a volunteer sports photographer. The induction event was held Nov. 14.

The inductees bring the total membership in the Hall of Honors to 26 former student-athletes and program supporters. Nominations and selections are considered by a committee of University administrators, coaches and faculty.

The Hall of Honors program was started in 2007 to recognize former student-athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters who make significant contributions to the athletics program. A display of the current membership is housed in the foyer of the Activities Center, just outside the entrance to the main gymnasium.

Martin Salinas

Salinas finished his UT Dallas men's basketball career as the Comets' all-time leading scorer with 1,336 points. One of the best outside shooters in program history, Salinas set school records by hitting 272 of 736 three-pointers during his four-year career, among others.
 
Salinas was a member of the first four UT Dallas teams to qualify for the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament and led the Comets to their first ASC Championship in 2005. Salinas was named the Most Valuable Player of that tournament.
 
Salinas came to UT Dallas in 2003 from Nacogdoches, Texas. He earned a degree in business administration in 2007.
 
Following graduation, Salinas played one year of basketball for the Victoria Roadrunners in the top professional league in Mexico. He then returned to the Dallas area, where he began teaching private basketball skills lessons to local youth players and later founded the Panther Pack Basketball Program. Salinas currently leads an organization that includes 15 basketball teams for boys and girls from kindergarten to high school.

Theresa Buckles Walters

Walters was a leader on four of the most successful UT Dallas women's soccer teams in program history. Three of those teams went to the ASC championship games, and one shared the conference title in 2004.
 
Walters tallied 29 assists throughout her career, a school record. She also ranks among the all-time top four in total points (109), goals (40) and shots (227).
 
Walters followed her older brother to UT Dallas from Sugar Land, Texas. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2007 and has since been teaching first grade in the McKinney Independent School District. She is married to former UT  Dallas baseball player and Hall of Honors inductee Gordon Walters.     

Trent Elizondo            

Elizondo was a career .393 hitter and a two-time winner of the American Southwest Conference East Division Player of the Year award in his three seasons with the Comets. A transfer from Weatherford College after his freshman year, Elizondo was named the ASC Newcomer of the Year in 2005, and was selected to the ASC All-East Division team for three straight years.  He was also honored three times as an All-Region player by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
 
Elizondo was a member of the 2007 team that held a school record of 34 wins and finished third at the NCAA West Regional playoffs.
 
Elizondo, of The Woodlands, Texas, earned his psychology degree in 2007 and joined the management training program at The Sherwin-Williams Co., where he has earned several professional certifications. He currently travels around the country, consulting on coatings projects with clients in a variety of industries.

Zac Lindley       

Lindley has been called one of the most talented soccer players ever to play for UT Dallas by longtime men's soccer coach Jack Peel. Lindley was a key defender on UT Dallas' American Southwest Championship teams in 2004 and 2007.
 
Lindley earned ASC All-Conference honors in all three of its seasons at UT Dallas, including first-team selections in 2004 and 2007. He was a second-team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region selection in both 2006 and 2007.
 
Lindley, who attended high school in Oklahoma, earned a degree in business administration in 2008 and works as a field property examiner with the Catastrophe Claims Department of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Doug Fejer   

Doug Fejer is a local photography enthusiast who became the Comets' unofficial volunteer team photographer in 2004 and has been an integral part of UT Dallas Athletics ever since.
 
Working purely on a volunteer basis, Fejer has photographed more than 300 UT Dallas home games and other events. His photos have been used in various promotional publications and fund-raising efforts.
 
A self-employed CPA, Fejer earned an accounting degree from Michigan State University in 1980 and a graduate degree from The University of Texas in 1982.

Fejer lives and works near the UT Dallas campus and became involved with the athletic program by accident. His daughter's youth soccer coach asked him to photograph a college game in 2004, where the opponent was UT Dallas. Impressed with his work, the UT Dallas athletics staff contacted him afterward and invited him to shoot photos at their games any time he wanted. Since then, Fejer has attended hundreds of home games and insists he will someday “be taking photos from a wheelchair.”