BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has announced its 2018 NSIC Hall of Fame inductees with Concordia-St. Paul's James McNear (football, track & field, baseball, 2001-06) included in the seven member class.

McNear becomes Concordia's fourth NSIC Hall of Fame selection and the first male, joining Lisa (Harfield) Borowitz (2014 class), Jennifer Pozzani (2015 class) and Kristen (Schmidt) Soukup (2017 class). Among Concordia's four NSIC Hall of Famers, three are multi-sport athletes including McNear who was a three-sport Golden Bear like (Harfield) Borowitz while Pozzani was a two-sport standout. Schmidt, the only one sport player, was a two-way star as a pitcher and hitter to make Concordia's NSIC Hall of Fame a dynamic and versatile group.

The induction ceremony will be held Tuesday, July 10 at the Best Western Premier in Burnsville, Minnesota at the NSIC's 19th annual Summer Kickoff event. A social will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be reserved for the banquet by visiting the NSIC registration website and completing the registration form. Registration is due June 16 as space is limited for the event.

McNear is joined in the class by Donna Palivec (Bemidji State); Nate Hendrickson (MSU Moorhead); Ryan Miller (Northern State); Andrea (Schreier) Sawatzky (Southwest Minnesota State), Emily (Schroeder) Jones (Wayne State); and Cyndy (Schubbe) Jones (Winona State).

Founded in 1986, the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC - the former men's conference) Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor those who made significant contributions to the conference, to create favorable publicity and public relations for the league and to help preserve the history of the NIC, its member institutions, student-athletes, and other significant individuals affiliated with the league. For the first two inductions (1986 and 1990) each selection hailed from the NIC. In 1993, the Northern Sun Conference (NSC - the former women's conference) and the NIC merged, creating the current Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). After annual inductions since 2000, the NSIC Hall of Fame now boasts 197 members and one team.

Each NSIC school (who has been a league member for at least ten years) is asked to submit one candidate per institution for induction into the Hall. Each of the candidates are derived from individuals who have been affiliated with the NSIC, NIC, NSC and their member institutions.

In order to be eligible for the NSIC Hall of Fame, candidates must have made their contributions in one of the following areas: 1) former student-athletes, 2) administrator/coach, 3) official/supervisor/coordinator, 4) contributor/supporter, or 5) team. The conference provides two plaques; one of which will go to the inductee and one to the institution represented. A history of each inductee will be kept in the league office and each institution will prominently display the plaques of their respective NSIC Hall of Fame inductees.
 

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James McNear III was a three-sport athlete during his tenure at Concordia University, St. Paul. He was a four-year starter on the Golden Bear football team from 2002 to 2005, had a standout season in track & field in 2005 and as a fifth year senior, was a reserve outfielder for the 2006 CSP Baseball team that tied the school wins record (29-12-1) and finished 3rd in the NSIC (13-5).

McNear, nicknamed 'The Matrix' for his exceptional ability to evade the pass rush and make game-changing plays downfield through the air and on the ground, quarterbacked the Golden Bears to a pair of NSIC Championships in 2003 and 2005, leading the program to its first two postseason games in school history as CSP earned an invitation to the Mineral Water Bowl in both seasons.

The Golden Bears went 33-13 during the McNear era, including a 24-7 mark in NSIC play. As a starting quarterback, McNear led CSP to a 19-0 record at Griffin Stadium (the 'Griff Myth').

McNear was a Harlon Hill candidate in 2005 after earning multiple All-American accolades and NSIC Offensive Player of the Year honors. He was a preseason All-American that season and was twice named National Player of the Week. In 2003, McNear earned his first NSIC Offensive Player of the Year honor and his first All-NSIC first team honor.  He was named All-NSIC second team in 2004 and was an honorable mention selection in 2002 along with being named NSIC Newcomer of the Year.

McNear was the first player in NCAA Division II history to record four straight seasons of at least 2,500 yards of total offense; record 2,500-plus career rushing and 8,000-plus career passing yards; record 3,000-plus yards rushing and 9,000-plus yards passing; and 300-plus passing and 200-plus rushing in a single game (309p, 215r vs BSU).  McNear ended his career ranked second in NCAA Division II football history in career total offense (12,447 total; 9,420 passing & 3,027 rushing) and still ranks No. 23 all-time today. The dual threat quarterback combined for 105 total touchdowns (68p, 37r) in his career, and as a senior had an 18-6 TD-INT ratio with 2,440 passing yards and 1,249 rushing yards with a 7.2 per carry average and 12 touchdowns for a career-high 30 touchdown season, picking up his team's second NSIC title.

In 2005, McNear was named NSIC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after he was the NSIC Championship high point performer. During the championship he won the 55m hurdles, the triple jump and the high jump.  During the outdoor season he again earned meet high point performer honors after competing in six events, including winning the long jump and finishing second in the triple jump. He set CSP records in the following events: triple jump (45-6.75), long jump (22-2.5) and heptathlon.

McNear went on to play quarterback for the Omaha Beef from 2006 to 2013 in one of the top Indoor Football Leagues, earning team MVP honors five times and league MVP honors in 2012 with numerous All-League honors. McNear was inducted into Omaha Beef Ring of Honor in 2015.

Following his career with the Beef, McNear was employed with Coca-Cola refreshments and now works for Orbis as a regional account manager in Raleigh, North Carolina.  He also had stints as quarterback coach at Northern Iowa Area CC and Iowa Western CC from 2006 to 2009.

McNear and his wife Krista have four children, James IV, Taylor, Logan, Cora.
 

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CONCORDIA'S NSIC HALL OF FAME MEMBERS
2018: James McNear (2001-06), football, baseball and track & field
2017: Kristen (Schmidt) Soukup (2002-06), softball
2015: Jennifer Pozzani (2001-05), basketball & softball
2014: Lisa (Harfield) Borowitz (1999-03), soccer, basketball & softball