Distinguished Alumni

• Graduated as a SigEp from North Texas in 1958
• Profession: Actor

Joe Don Baker got his acting start as an uncredited character in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, but his real entrance into Hollywood came when he would play a role as Steve McQueen’s younger brother in Sam Peckinpah’s Junior Bonner.

Baker also played the lead in 1973’s Walking Tall, the story of a real-life south Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser who was shot eight times in the line of duty.  The film is one of the quintessential action films of the 1970s.

Some of his other works include Fletch, The Natural, Cape Fear, Charley Varrick, Edge of Darkness and In the Heat of the Night.  Baker resides in Groesbeck, Texas where he was born in 1936.

• Graduated as a SigEp from North Texas in 1986
• Profession: Entrepreneur/Clothier

Whether you meet Jay Lombardo for the first time or have known him for years, be prepared for a hug instead of a handshake. Jay makes everything personal!

For the past 25 years as owner of Lombardo Custom Apparel, politicians, CEOs, entertainers and Super Bowl champions have all looked their best under Jay’s attentive eye and expertise. “When it comes to customer service”, Jay states, “our client’s image is our business, period! No matter your size or shape, we provide the wardrobe that will make you the best dressed person in whatever room you walk into.”
Because of that motto, Jay has been able to effectively separate his corporation from the rest of the pack, being named annually as a “Top Custom Clothier” in D Magazine.

“Lombardo”, as he is called by his fraternity brothers, had a knack for style and fashion early on during his college years, providing sports jackets, slacks, and ties for his SigEp brotherhood. The 1984 NTSU “Fight Night Champion” and Beta Nu pledge class member lead Sigma Phi Epsilon to a 100-man chapter in the 1980s. The party of the year for SigEp in those days was called the “Yard Party” which always featured a live band in the front yard of the SigEp house at 604 Ave. C.

“That happened right after spring break, we always looked forward to our Yard Party…..it not only was a very successful fundraiser at the time, but it was the best party of the year at NTSU, hands down,” said Lombardo.

Speaking of fundraisers, his proudest fraternal achievement might have been the new house fundraising project which started in 2002 at the Last Stand Party at 604 Ave. C. Lombardo took the lead, helping complete the million dollar project in 2005.

• Graduated from North Texas as a SigEp in 1969
• Profession: Entrepreneur/Restaurantuer

Duffy Oyster got his B.A. in Administrative Management back in 1969 after being the Senior Class President at North Texas. Duffy would use his success with management and fraternity-life while in Denton, TX to develop his one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial talents.
Over a 45-year-span, his entrepreneurial traits would help him eventually own 40 different businesses, transforming many under-producing businesses into overachieving successes. Some of his business acquisitions involved marinas, hotels, insurance companies, marketing companies, real estate, antique automobiles, fine art, rare coins, condominiums and, of course, restaurants.

Many of Duffy’s restaurants have been main-stays across DFW, as well as across the nation. Specific examples of Duffy’s restaurant accomplishments include Panchos, Jack in the Box, Foodmaker, Inc., Wendy’s, Tony Romas, Cool River, Oyster Landing, Mozart’s Coffee Shop and the Hula Hut in Austin, TX.

Duffy is one of the most giving Sig Eps in recent history. The Duffy and Tina Oyster Foundation is his largest charity funding children’s cancer programs through Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and the Candle Lighters Support organization.

• Graduated as a SigEp at North Texas in 1970
• Profession: NFL Referee

Scott Steenson has always loved officiating, in fact his first run as a football official came in 1978 at a “Pee Wee” football game. That love displayed for sports officiating early on would actually develop into a long, successful career at the very top of his profession as a National Football League official.

As a matter of a fact, Scott still officiates to this day and usually is your field judge wearing number “88”. Thanks to his work on NFL Sundays, the Alpha Eta has worked an on-field post-season assignment every year since being eligible, including wild card games, divisional games, conference championship games, and the Pro Bowl.
“Brother Steenson” made his way to the largest spectacle in professional sports in 1997 at the Super Dome, when he worked Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans between the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots.

His true love of his life is Sherri Steenson. She has always had a knack for professional sports as well, cheering for the Dallas Cowboys in their inaugural year at Texas Stadium in 1971. Sherri has also had her time in the limelight herself, cheering the Cowboys on to victory against the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI in New Orleans.

Bill Schmidt walked on as a track and field athlete at North Texas State University in 1966 and from there he would not only earn a full scholarship by throwing the javelin extremely far, but he would join a unique fraternity in Sigma Phi Epsilon. He would soon be known as a leader within Texas Beta and with the track team too being named captain of the team his senior year.

1970 was a year filled with highlights to say the least. Schmidt would earn All American honors, placing second in the javelin at the NCAA Championships. On top of graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration that same year, he would also be drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War.

Fortunately for Bill, he would be allowed to continue his dream of competing on the highest level in track during his military career. In August of 1971, Schmidt would win the military championships, setting a new world military record in the javelin at Turku, Finland. From there he would go onto the ultimate stage of competition, the 1972 Olympics.

Bill arrived at Munich, Germany knowing that the odds were certainly against him, but Schmidt would arrive with confidence and break history. His stellar performance would earn the United States a bronze medal, the only American ever to place in the javelin event at the Olympics and this feat still holds true today.

On another historical note, Schmidt and fellow Olympian swimmer Mark Spitz would be protected by U.S. Marines during the Munich Massacre by Palestinian terrorists. Thanks to an Israeli racewalker awakening and alerting American track coach Bill Bowerman, Schmidt and Spitz would avoid the terrorist threat.

Schmidt would earn a post graduate scholarship and attend the University of Tennessee. There he would get his Masters in Science in Business Education with a concentration in accounting. While in Knoxville, TN, he taught in Knoxville city schools and also coached boys and girls cross country and track teams at Central High School. In 1978, his track honors continued to impress; during this year, he would win the USA National Championships. A couple of years later, he would be named the “Javelin Thrower of the Decade” for the 1970s in the U.S. by Track and Field News. His career best in javelin was 283’2”.

His competitive nature didn’t stop there though; it would be his knack for sports marketing which would break history this time. Schmidt would revolutionize Gatorade in the mid-80s and make it literally a global sports drink! As the Vice President of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Gatorade from 1984-1999, Schmidt would team with the likes of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan to make Gatorade a multi-billion dollar product and a house-hold name.