Coker's Schmotzer Brothers to be Inducted in Padua Franciscan Hall of Fame

by Christian Stryker, Director of Media Relations and Sports Information, Coker College

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Headshot of Dave Schmotzer

HARTSVILLE, SC (09/22/2010)(readMedia)-- Coker College's resident twin coaches, Dan and Dave Schmotzer, will be inducted into the Padua Franciscan High School Hall of Fame on Thursday evening in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Padua Hall of Fame consists of four different categories. As standout athletes in both basketball and baseball at Padua, the Schmotzer brothers will become members of Padua's Fourth Hall of Fame Induction Class as the Athletic Award recipients.

The Padua Athletic Award is awarded to the male or female alum who either excelled in one or more sports while at Padua, or has made a major impact on the school's athletic program or local sports program leading to the enhancement of Padua's image.

Dan and Dave Schmotzer were both exceptional basketball and baseball players for Padua from 1966-70. Upon graduation from Padua, the brothers attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. At St. Edward's they were both star two-sport athletes for the basketball and baseball teams.

After college, they both became assistant coaches at Texas Christian University, with Dan serving as the assistant basketball coach and Dave as the assistant baseball coach for the Horned Frogs. With nearly 10 years of Division I coaching experience, each one moved on to become head coaches, Dan came to Coker and Dave went to Union College in Kentucky. In 1993, when Coker started a baseball program for the first time, Dave joined his brother Dan in Hartsville, S.C. as the head baseball coach.

Currently, the Schmotzers are the only identical twin brothers that are head coaches at the same NCAA institution. Dan has been the head basketball coach of the Cobras since 1987 and has racked up more than 275 wins during his time. Dave has been the only head coach for the Coker baseball team, and he has over 500 victories under his belt.

The Schmotzers will join five other Padua Hall of Fame Inductees in a special reception on Thursday night at the Hellenic Banquet Center in North Royalton.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.