On Saturday, February 1, five members of the Saint Xavier University community were inducted into the Athletics Department Hall of Fame.
The five inductees were: Women’s Soccer player Lissa Coby, class of ’08 and ’13; Head Baseball Coach (1993-2014) and Assistant Athletics Director Mike Dooley; Baseball player Luke Gregerson, class of ‘06; Women’s Volleyball player Traci Collins, class of ’08; and Football player Chris Rodgers, class of ‘08.
Since it’s beginning in 1990, when Saint Xavier saw the induction of the first seventeen members of the Athletics Hall of Fame, there have been 122 inductees including the five from Saturday.
When asked what he believes goes into choosing those athletes for induction Athletic Director Bob Hallberg explains that the mentality is, “Lets concentrate on finding someone whose not only good but outstanding. That begins with the recruitment of athletes who are good citizens, and then focuses on an athlete’s statistics that put him or her beyond others.” According to Hallberg if we based the decision off of leadership the amount of inductees would be much broader with more people.
Previous years have seen larger groups of athletes being inducted at one time, especially during the early years of the Hall of Fame which began almost twenty years after the Athletic Department was created in 1971.
According to Rob Huizenga, Assistant A.D./Sports Information who Chaired the Hall of Fame committee, they are trying to reformat the process and make it more consistent. This includes having the program occur every other year and keeping the number of inductees at five or six.
Around September of each year all athletic coaches nominate exceptional former Saint Xavier Athletes, approximately 15 to 20, for the Hall of Fame committee to go through. This year the committee consisted of Rob Huizenga, Myra Minuskin, Jay Battles, and Lisa Eble.
When it comes to deciding which nominees will be inducted there is not set criteria, although there are guidelines.
First, the athletes have to have been alumni for about five years. Then, they look at each individual’s athletic accomplishments while here at Saint Xavier. One such accomplishment shared by many Hall of Fame members is being named an All American, marking each athlete as one of the best in the nation, as well as each athlete’s individual stats. Lastly, there is also the feedback from the coaches, which goes beyond just nominating a player or players, but also expanding on what makes the player so eligible.
Huizenga explains that when making this decision the committee focuses on each athlete’s accomplishments while here at Saint Xavier, but every once in a while there is an inductee whose accomplishments achieved after leaving Saint Xavier is also taken into consideration. This is seen most recently through inductee Luke Gregerson who went on to a baseball career in the major leagues.
While Huizenga has previously worked in the past on helping coordinate the event, this was his first year chairing the committee.
When asked his thoughts on this year’s inductees he said this is, “One of our best induction classes ever. As a committee, we really wanted to focus on the fact that the Hall of Fame is our highest honor. Each individual was an easy target for an award of this magnitude because they were standouts while they were here.”
This event is more than just a ceremony, but also a dinner celebration that includes not only Saint Xavier coaches and staff as well as past and present inductees, but also family friends and former teammates of these inductees. Because of the events magnitude, more goes into it than just nominating and deciding on which athletes should become a part of the Hall of Fame.
Huizenga stated that two other faculty members that deserved credit for this event were Eileen Watson, Athletics Office Coordinator, and Jennifer Kenyeri, Director of Special Events, both of whom played a big role in the logistics of this massive event.
For more information regarding the Athletics Department Hall of Fame’s most recent inductees turn to page 11 of Sports.
Caitlyn Hicks
Senior News Editor