Third ever Hall of Fame class inducted

The day before Homecoming weekend showcases the stars of Columbia athletics today, the department will honor stalwarts of the past with the induction of the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2010, the third ever in the school’s history.

The black tie dinner and induction ceremony, to take place this evening in Low Library, will celebrate the contributions of 20 former student-athletes, three former head coaches, and the 1961 football team, the last squad to take home the Ancient Eight hardware. Also among the inductees will be Gerald Sherwin,CC ’55, former president of the Columbia College Alumni Association, and William Steinman, a staff member of Sports Information from 1970-2002. In all, 19 men, six women, and the ’61 football team compose the class of 2010.

“The Class of 2010 of the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame is outstanding. It is our third class and we are thrilled to induct them,” Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, director of intercollegiate athletics, wrote to Spectator. “We are looking forward to the evening.”

The Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame was announced in 2005 as part of a special initiative of Murphy’s, who had previously started a Hall of Fame during her time at the University of Denver. The first class was inducted in 2006, with the second enshrined in 2008. Past inductees include the late baseball great Lou Gehrig and former NFL standout Marcellus Wiley. Wiley, along with several other current members of the hall, are expected to attend the induction ceremony.

This year’s class features Beijing Olympic silver medalist in fencing Erinn Smart, National College Football Hall of Famer Walter Koppisch, U.S. Open tennis champion Oliver Campbell, and former longtime football coach, Buff Donelli. Donelli roamed the Light Blue sidelines for 11 years, and his reign included the 1961 championship team being inducted alongside him. Inductees offer a wide spectrum of the 158-year history of Columbia athletics, from Campbell—an 1891 graduate—to Smart—a Barnard alumna from the class of 2001.

Nominations for the Hall of Fame were accepted from November 2008 through March 2010. A selection committee, composed of athletics alumni and administrators, announced the class of 2010 this past June. Over 200 nominations were received, according to Columbia athletics.

Honorees are divided up into eight categories: former male student athletes from the “Heritage Era” (1852-1955), former male and female student-athletes from the “Modern Era” (1955-Present), former coaches from the “Heritage Era”, coaches from the “Modern Era”, teams, athletics administrators and staff, and individuals recognized for special achievement.

The 1961 football team stands as one of Columbia’s greatest and not just for their achievements during their undergraduate years in Morningside Heights. The captain of that year’s squad, William V. Campbell, is the chair of the Columbia University Trustees, a former Columbia head football coach, and a National Football Foundation Gold Medal winner. The most prestigious academic honor given in college football was renamed in Campbell’s honor in 2009. His teammates included first team All-Ivy honorees Bob Asack, Tony Day, Lee Black, Tom Haggerty, and Russ Warren, as well as second-teamer Dick Hassan. Warren has already been inducted into the Hall of Fame as an individual student-athlete.

Along with Donelli, Edward Kennedy, the swimming and diving coach from 1910-1955, and Dieter Ficken, the men’s soccer coach from 1977-2005, will be enshrined on the western wall of the Levien Gym lobby where the Hall of Fame is located. Ficken won eight Ivy League championships for the Lions, including seven straight between 1979-1985. During that span, Columbia enjoyed trips to the Final Four in 1979 and 1983, with a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss in the NCAA final, preventing the Lions from winning it all in ’83. That team, ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season and undefeated going into the championship match, was enshrined as part of the class of 2008.

The proceeds from the evening’s black tie gala celebration will go to the Columbia Athletics Fund for Excellence.

“The Fund for Excellence is a critical annual giving fund that provides resources to support the recruitment of talented student-athletes and coaches, sustain and enhance ongoing operations, enable program improvements, increase travel budgets, develop and maintain facilities, and implement new initiatives that make the athletics program the best it can be,” Dr. Murphy wrote.

Tickets for the event are sold out.