Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
Charisma, ability and commitment to the program made Mark Chrislip a natural leader of the Heidelberg men's basketball from 1972-76. Mark possessed a good outside shot and strong moves to the basket making him a tough player to defend. An intense competitor, he developed into an outstanding defender while grabbing 250 career rebounds from his guard position.
Over the course of his career, Mark led the resurgence of the program to a highly competitive level. Mark helped the team to a seven-game improvement in his freshman year and an 11-game improvement by his junior and senior seasons. In his final two campaigns, Heidelberg recorded winning seasons with 13 victories, the most since the 1949-50 season. This began a stretch of 13 consecutive seasons of double digit victories for the program.
As a senior, Mark became just the fifth player in the history of the program to eclipse 1,000 points. He concluded his career with 1,071, which currently stands 20th all-time. Mark began his career as a starter and scored 32 points in his first outing. He went on to get the starting nod in all 91 games of his career. The OAC named him to the all-league list on three occasions and he served as a team captain for two seasons. Mark also earned a spot on three all-tournament teams and was the Most Valuable Player of the Findlay Invitational.
Mark has returned annually to the Berg since graduation to play basketball with former teammates and friends in an event fondly called the Wooden Classic. He originally hails from Seville, Ohio and attended Cloverleaf High School. His brother Scott graduated from Heidelberg in 1977 and took part in football and track. Following his graduation from the Berg in 1976, Mark began a career in the sports marketing industry. He is currently the owner and CEO of MC&A Corp., a sports marketing and sales representative business he began in 1997. Â Mark and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 24 years and currently reside in Libertyville, Ill.
(This profile appeared in the Hall of Fame Banquet program.)
