Oak Forest Hs Welcomes Two New Members to the Hall of Fame

Oak Forest High School recently welcomed two new members to the Hall of Fame.

Inducted were former students Tom Inczauskis, class of 1987, and Karen Stack Umlauf, class of 1979.  Both inductees are being inducted as Pride of Oak Forest Hall of Fame Members.  Mr. Scott Loess, former Oak Forest High School Athletic Director, introduced his former golf player Mr. Inczauskis, while Dr. Sandy Ryder, former Oak Forest High School Girls Basketball Coach, introduced her former basketball player Ms. Umlauf.

Mr. Inczauskis was a two sport athlete while at Oak Forest High School, playing on the basketball and golf teams.  He distinguished himself as a part of the 1987 Bengal Basketball team that made a trip to the Elite Eight in Champaign.  Inczauskis also earned all-conference in golf all four years and was conference champion his senior year.  He returned to coach golf for Oak Forest High School and Tinley Park High School after graduating with his BA from Governor’s State University.

Inczauskis is a graduate of the PGA Gold Professional Training program, a PGA Certified instructor, and a member of the PGA President’s Council for Growing the Game of Golf.  Over the past twenty years, he has served as head professional at courses in Illinois and North Carolina.  He has been coaching the women’s golf team at Methodist University, where his team in 2010 and 2011 won the Division III National Championship.  He has coached six All-Americans, a national player of the year, and an individual national champion. 

His emphasis on education is reflected in his team holding a 3.17 GPA on a 4 point scale.  This dedication to both sports and education has earned Inczauskis the Pride of Oak Forest designation in the Hall of Fame.

Mrs. Karen Stack Umlauf, Class of 1979, helped lead the Lady Bengal Basketball team to a downstate appearance. The Lady Bengals finished 4^th in State, and Umlauf was named second team All-State. 

Umlauf earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.  Afterwards, she played professional basketball in France and founded the Chicago Challengers, Chicago’s first women’s professional basketball team.  She served as the television analyst for the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and the Chicago Sky.  An advocate for female athletes, she founded AAU teams to enhance competition for girls’ basketball teams. 

Umlauf has been with the Chicago Bulls organization for the last twenty-seven years and is currently serving as their Director of Basketball Administration.   Since joining the Chicago Bulls in 1985, she acquired many responsibilities, among them taking charge of the Berto Center in 1991 and then becoming the director of basketball operations for over twenty years. 

Karen’s dedication to developing the sport of basketball with an emphasis on young women’s programs has earned her the Pride of Oak Forest designation in the Hall of Fame.

Pictured left to right: Inductee Karen Stack Umlauf, Associate Principal Dan Dunne, Inductee Tom Inczauskis and Principal Brad Sikora.