HCC Athletics Inducts 2 Members to Hall of Fame
Highland Community College athletics will induct two long standing pillars into HCC’s... Read More
HCC Athletics Inducts 2 Members to Hall of Fame
published November 8, 2024Highland Community College athletics will induct two long standing pillars into HCC’s Athletic Hall of Fame Friday, Nov. 15.
Tom Bond
After many successful years as track and cross-country coach at Troy High School, Tom Bond came to Highland Community College in 1995.
He started his career at HCC as the assistant men’s and women’s track and cross-country coach under Hall of Fame Coach, Tim Schwegler. Together, Schwegler and Bond won three Jayhawk Conference titles. Bond also coached many national qualifiers and recruited a high number of athletes.
Bond eventually took over as head coach for the women’s track and cross-country programs. In the 11-years he served as the women’s head coach the program accumulated 130 All-Americans, 198 All-Conference awards, 157 National Qualifiers, 46 national medalists, eight Top 20 finishes, three NJCAA Top Academic teams, 61 school records and three Region VI Coach of the Year awards.
As the head women’s track and cross-country coach one of his teams finished third in the Region VI Championship—placing the highest ever as a Division I team in school history.
Bond also coached the women’s basketball program for three-years taking one team to the first division II championship game.
Bond spent a total of 39-years coaching many talented athletes with 23 of those years at Highland Community College before his retirement.
Francis Flax
Francis Flax, a native of Ransom, Kansas, served as the athletic director, head men’s basketball coach and head softball coach at Highland Community College from 1979-1988. Flax coached a total of 32-
years at the community college level, ending his exceptional career as the Second All-Time Wins Leader in Region VI men’s basketball history.
Following his time at Highland Community College, Flax began the athletic department at Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kansas, serving as athletic director from 1990-2017. He started as the head men’s basketball coach in 1992 until handing the reigns over to his son in 2016. During his tenure at Brown Mackie, Flax won six Region VI titles sending his teams to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament where they won two National Championships, placed third once, fourth twice and fifth once. He sent 113 players to four-year schools, with 58 of them All-Region VI selections and 14 NJCAA Division II All-Americans. Flax was named the KBCA Junior College Coach of the Year four times. He served as the president of the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association from 2013-15 and was enshrined into the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Join us we honor and celebrate Tom Bond and Francis Flax at the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday, Nov. 15, at the Klinefelter Barn. The evening kicks off with a social hour at 6:00 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony at 7:00 p.m.
Be part of this special celebration—register and secure your tickets online at highlandcc.edu/hof-rsvp.
