Hall of Fame Inductees Exemplify Alma College Tradition of Excellence
ALMA, Mich. - Fame is a tricky word, isn’t it?Upon entering college, most Division III student-athletes have abandoned their search for fame and intimately understand the spirit of sport.
And yet, there are a select number of Alma College alumni and supporters who are famous for their high level of athletic accomplishments.
On October 14, 2005, the best of the best will be inducted into the Alma College Athletic Hall of Fame. Two national champions – the 1992 women’s basketball team and Amy Doucette ‘95 – headline the list of prominent inductees. Joining Alma’s only national champions in 108 years of athletics are three-time All-American in both basketball and track Colleen Wruble Pricco ‘93, All-American Katie Mans Gorno ‘94, multiple MIAA Champion Robert Smith ‘78 and MIAA standouts in both baseball and football Roger Frayer ‘69 and Mike Burns ‘76.
In addition to these standout athletes on the field, Bob Gigliotti ’70 will be inducted as a distinguished alumnus for his long list of service to the College and especially the sport of golf. Gigliotti served most recently as the general chairman of the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. Rounding out the Class of 2005, Candace Croucher Dugan joins the Hall of Fame for her meritorious service. One of the premier civil trial attorneys in the country, Croucher Dugan has been a member of the Alma College Board of Trustees since 2003 and has been an outgoing spokesperson for the advancement of intercollegiate athletics at Alma College.
“The tradition of Alma College Athletics is excellence,” says Director of Athletics Ellen Curtis. “While thoughts of athletic fame are usually abandoned at this level, the expectation of excellence set by Alma College Athletic Hall of Fame members is as strong as you will find anywhere in sport.
“The teams we cheer for over the years – even if we do not know the names of the players – remain true to the standards and principles that have elected these eight individuals and this national championship team to the most exclusive club in Scots Athletics,” says Curtis.
The Hall of Fame induction guidelines require a student-athlete to be 10 years removed from competition before they are eligible for induction to the elite echelon of Alma Athletics. Individuals can – and traditionally do – get passed over several times before they are finally admitted into a club boasting a membership of less than one percent of all athletes ever to wear the Maroon and Cream.
Amy Doucette graduated in the spring of 1995 and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as the only individual national champion in school history to date and the only two-time national champion as a member of the ’92 women’s basketball team. The 1992 women’s basketball national championship team, touted as the “Team of Destiny” in a 1992 edition of Accents, put up not only the greatest season in the history of women’s sports at Alma, but the greatest season in any sport – male or female – since the College was founded. And no team since has come close to matching the feat those 13 players and two coaches accomplished in the spring of 1992. Amy Elbers ’92, Lauri LaBeau ’93, Julie Long ’93, Colleen Wruble Pricoo ’93, Kelly Jaster ’94, Susie Kieffer ’94, Katie Mans Gorno ’94, Stephanie Mortensen ’94, Tara Sherman ’94, Andrea Balliet Cabble ’95, Amy Doucette ’95, Terri Hogan ’95, Jaime McCallister ’95, assistant coach Mark Guyette and head coach Charlie Goffnett stand out from the trophy case in the Hogan Physical Education Center, royalty among champions.
Women’s sports at Alma College in the late eighties and early nineties were said to be among the nation’s best and most competitive. This year’s induction class especially showcases this fact. Joining Doucette, Colleen Wruble Pricoo and Katie Mans Gorno pushed the ’92 team to the national crown.
Wruble Pricco was named to the MIAA’s first team and was a First Team AWSF Fast Break All-America selection in 1992, garnering team MVP honors. Over the course of her career Wrubel earned All-America honors three times, first team All-MIAA recognition five times, a two-time team MVP and three-time MIAA Champion.
Add to the mix Katie Mans Gorno, the MIAA MVP in 1993-94 – just the team’s third-ever conference MVP – and the first Kodak first-team All-American in school history and the talent on that national championship team was unmistakable.
Not to be outdone, this year’s men’s inductees were powerful forces on the field in their collegiate prime.
To this day, Robert Smith owns the MIAA 440-yard record with a time of 48.7 seconds – it was the final year that imperial distances were used by the MIAA. But that was just the tip of the Smith iceberg, as he qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1977 and ‘78. He won four MIAA Championships in three different events – triple jump, 440-yard, 400 meter and was named All-MIAA 13 times in six different events and was the MIAA Most Valuable Runner in 1978.
Mike Burns pitched for the Scots from 1973-76 and received All-MIAA recognition three times and was an All-National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) pitcher twice. Drafted in the 10th round of the amateur baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers in 1976, Burns went on to play professionally for six years with both the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox.
Roger Frayer was a four-year varsity letterwinner in both football and baseball for the Scots and was captain of the 1968 undefeated MIAA Champion football team and was captain and team MVP of the 1969 baseball team. Frayer went on to work as a teacher and coach for Livonia Public Schools, coaching Livonia Churchill to three undefeated football seasons and a ’74 baseball championship in his first 10 years. In 2000, he retired as Director of Athletics at Livonia Stevenson High School after 22 years.
At the same time, Bob Gigliotti was giving up his gridiron dreams to follow his academic pursuits at Alma College. Gigliotti played one year of football for the Scots before retiring his cleats. But he has gone on to become one of the premier names in professional golf, especially in the state of Michigan. Gigliotti, a member of Oakland Hills Country Club since 1985, was instrumental in hosting the 2004 Ryder Cup, serving as general chairman for the event. He also served as the executive vice chairman of the U.S. Senior Open in 1991 and for the U.S. Open in 1996. A longtime supporter of Alma College, Gigliotti served as president of the alumni association, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and as a visiting professor in taxation, to name only a few of his many services to the Maroon and Cream.
Rounding out the class is the active vice chair of the Alma College Board of Trustees, Candace Croucher Dugan. A 1972 graduate of Oberlin College, Croucher Dugan went on to receive her M.A. from Central Michigan University in 1975 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1983. She has coached sport at all levels, including stints as varsity basketball and track coach at Oberlin College and CMU. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of Holland Community Hospital and on the Holland Historical Trust’s Board of Trustees, to name just a selection of her many charitable involvements. She is a true champion of all Alma College athletic endeavors.
For induction ceremony ticket information, call the Alma College Athletic Office at (989) 463-7279.
Posted: Mon, October 10th, 2005 at 5:25PM
