NM State Athletics announces new Hall of Fame class

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A trio of former NM State athletics greats - William Benjamin (men's basketball), the late Bob Kelly (football) and Maria Roth (volleyball) - will be the latest group of individuals inducted into the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame as Aggie athletics announced its 2022 class Monday.

The trio is set to be formally inducted on Friday, March 4, 2022, in a ceremony set to take place inside the Barbara Hubbard Room of the Pan American Center. The following day, they will be recognized during halftime of the NM State men's basketball game against Utah Valley inside the Pan American Center which is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

"Being able to make the calls to these individuals and their families is always one of the most rewarding moments of the year as the director of athletics at my alma mater," commented Mario Moccia. "After not being able to celebrate our 2021 class in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm very excited to keep one of this department's best traditions alive by bringing it back to an in-person ceremony this March. Willie, Bob and Maria will have their contributions to Aggie athletics celebrated with the highest honor than an Aggie student-athlete can achieve."

Not only will Benjamin, Kelly and Roth be formally inducted on Friday, March 4, Amber Simpson, one of the four inductees to the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame in March of 2021 will be in attendance. An in-person induction ceremony was not possible in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19 protocols in place within the state of New Mexico. 

William Benjamin | Men's Basketball | 1988-92
One of the players who ushered in a new era of dominance for NM State men's basketball in the late 1980s and early 1990s, William Benjamin helped the Aggies regain a reputation as one of the most fearsome squads in the nation. Through his tenure in the Crimson and White, Benjamin led NM State to a 95-30 overall mark which included a 55-17 mark in Big West action.

Each and every year Benjamin was associated with NM State, the Aggies made a trip to the postseason. NM State went to one NIT (1989) and a trio of NCAA Tournaments (1990, 1991 and 1992) with Benjamin on their side. A defensive menace and a long-range threat in the early days of college basketball's three-point line, Benjamin concluded his career with an accuracy rate of 40.9-percent (108-for-264) from long range - a career mark which is still the sixth-best among all Aggies.

At the time his career came to a close, his 209 steals were the most by any Aggie in the history of the program. That record stood for two decades and to this day he's one of only three NM State players with 200 or more steals to their credit.

In February of 2007, Benjamin was one of 21 individuals associated with NM State men's basketball who were named to the All-Century Team. Through he never received All-Big West accolades of any kind through his career, Benjamin's winning contributions did not go unnoticed by his teammates or the late head coach Neil McCarthy.

Today, basketball remains one of the focal points of Benjamin's life. He has constructed one of the finest boy's basketball powerhouses in the state of New Mexico through his tenure as the head coach at Las Cruces High School.

In 2013 and 2019 Benjamin was voted NMpreps Coach of the Year and in 2020 he was the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year. In a 13-year period under the direction of Benjamin, the Bulldawgs have won eight district championships and a pair of state championships. He has constructed one of the finest boy's basketball powerhouses in the state of New Mexico and in 2022 Las Cruces High School was recognized by MaxPreps as the number-one basketball program in the state.

Bob Kelly | Football | 1957-60
Back in the days of two-way players - and two-sport collegiate athletes - few in the country were better than NM State legend Bob Kelly. Not only did he play a major role in the most prosperous era of Aggie football, he was a force on both offense and defense while doing so.

Kelly starred as both a receiver and a defensive end for the Aggies from 1957-60 and helped the team clinch its first bowl victory in program history in 1959. Kelly's key interception in the first quarter of NM State's 28-8 triumph over North Texas in the Sun Bowl that season set up the second of four Aggie touchdowns in that victory. Kelly later latched on to a 15-yard scoring strike Charley Johnson, extending NM State's lead to 21-0.

The following year, Kelly again played a pivotal role in the Aggies' second-straight Sun Bowl victory, racking up a game-high 64 yards through the air in NM State's 20-13 victory over Utah State. NM State's 1960 club produced a perfect mark of 11-0 en route to the program's last bowl game win until the 2017 campaign. A two-year letterman for NM State's basketball team, Kelly suited up for the Aggies cagers from 1957-59 and helped the squad claim a share of the 1959 Border Conference crown before advancing to the second NCAA Tournament in program history.

Kelley still ranks 16th in program history in terms of total 100-yard receiving games (three) and also owns the ninth-longest receiving touchdown in program history (82 yards at Tulsa on Sept. 26, 1958). A 1960 All-Border Conference selection as a defensive end, Kelly became an interior lineman exclusively throughout his professional football days.

Upon the conclusion of his collegiate career, Kelly was selected in the 22nd round of the 1961 AFL Draft and enjoyed a five-year career for a trio of AFL (now NFL) clubs - the Houston Oilers (1961-64), the Kansas City Chiefs (1967) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1968).

Kelly captured an AFL championship with the Oilers in his debut season (1961) and took part in a total of 39 NFL engagements before his career came to an end. Following his professional football days, Kelly served as a teacher and coach at Hughes High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, for nearly three decades.

Kelly's induction to the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame is a posthumous one as the Aggie legend passed away on Dec. 18, 2014 at the age of 76. Kelly's wife, Beatrice, and his son, Bob Jr., will be in attendance for his induction in early March.

Maria Roth | Volleyball | 1991-95
One of the first great NM State volleyball players in the 1990s, Maria Roth made her presence felt night in and night out while competing for the Roadrunners both in non-conference and Big West action. 

Roth reeled in All-Big West acclaim on two occasions, gaining Second Team honors in 1994 and First Team laurels in 1995. The 1995 season was a special one for Roth as she became just the third Roadrunner to earn AVCA All-Region recognition. Roth secured District Seven honors at the conclusion of the 1995 campaign.

Few outside hitters in NM State history put up the kind of numbers Roth did through her tenure in a Roadrunner uniform. To this day, Roth remains among the program's top-ten in career kills (sixth, 1,309), career kills per set (eighth, 3.37), total attack attempts (fifth, 3,476) digs (eighth, 1,141) and digs per set (seventh, 2.94). 

Roth's affiliation with college athletics continued long after she received her NM State diploma. From 1997-02, the Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, native served as an assistant coach for NM State's volleyball team. With Roth on sidelines, NM State laid claim to the 2001 Sun Belt Western Division crown - the program's first conference title in the modern era. 

Athletic administration was Roth's next move and in July of 2002 she was named an Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at NM State. In August of 2009, Roth was elevated to the position of Associate Athletic Director. Her contributions to NM State athletics were many during her time as an administrator as she helped the institution add women's soccer and equestrian as varsity sports. In that role, Roth had direct oversight of as many as nine of NM State's men's and women's NCAA Division I programs.

As well as her day-to-day role in NM State's department of athletics, Roth served as the tournament director for the WAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament which were hosted inside the Pan American Center in 2007 and 2008. She played a major part in getting the WAC Tournaments to the Land of Enchantment for those two seasons, presenting the case for the league to send its conference tournament to the Aggies' home. 

A champion for women's athletics, Roth aided in the creation of NM State's 10-year gender equity plan, served on the NCAA Division I softball committee from 2008-12, lobbied the State of New Mexico legislature and contributed to NM State athletics' strategic plan beginning in 2005. 

Roth made the move to the University of Memphis in 2013 where she was installed as the institution's Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sport Services as well as its SWA. Through her time at Memphis, Roth also served on the NCAA Division I Championships and Sports Management Cabinet as the American Athletic Conference (AAC) representative. She returned home to her native Canada in order to be with her family in 2014. 

For complete coverage of NM State athletics throughout the remainder of the 2021-22 academic year and beyond, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Aggies), Twitter (@NMStateAggies) and Instagram (@NMStateAggies).