Springfield, Ohio – Six Wittenberg University greats will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Honor during 2015 Homecoming Weekend ceremonies, Oct. 2-4, in addition to the recipient of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Ann Brokaw ’91, Marcus Booker ’97, Sara Hamilton ’99, Jeremy Kaufman ’96, Bryan Magoteaux ’99 and Bill Reid ’75 will join 212 other Wittenberg greats who have previously been inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Honor, while Jim Coleman ’53 will posthumously receive the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
The honorees will be formally inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor at a banquet on Friday, Oct. 2. They will be introduced to Wittenberg’s loyal fans during halftime of the annual Homecoming football game against Wooster, which is set to kick off at 1 p.m. the next day at Edwards-Maurer Field.
Brokaw was a standout forward for the Wittenberg women’s basketball team from 1987-91, earning a pair of all-conference accolades as she helped spark the Tigers to the first two winning seasons in recorded program history. Brokaw served as a team captain in 1989-90 and 1990-91 as the Tigers posted a sparkling two-year record of 50-7, including a 23-1 run through the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). In addition to winning their first two league regular season titles, Brokaw’s senior season culminated in the Tigers’ first-ever NCAC Tournament crown and second straight NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1991. Brokaw, a two-time All-NCAC honoree, served as a graduate assistant coach the following season as the Tigers compiled a 21-7 record and won another league title. A native of Marietta, Ohio, Brokaw currently resides in Rocky River, Ohio.
Booker was a bruising running back for the Wittenberg football team who still ranks eighth on the program’s career rushing list nearly 20 years after he last stepped onto the field. The 1995 and 1996 NCAC Offensive Player of the Year and a three-time team MVP, Booker helped the Tigers to a tremendous four-year record of 36-5, including a mark of 26-4 against league competition that was highlighted by one league title to go along with three second-place finishes. Along the way, Booker averaged more than six yards per carry and nearly 81 yards rushing per game in his career. A native of Pataskala, Ohio, Booker currently resides in Heath, Ohio.
Hamilton is one of the finest goalkeepers in Wittenberg field hockey history. She ranks at or near the top of every major statistical category for goalkeepers at Wittenberg, including the No. 2 position for career saves with 540 and the top spot for shutouts in a season with 12 in 1997, a mark that still stands today. In addition, Hamilton owns the NCAC record for career shutouts with 30. After earning the team’s Most Improved Player award in 1995, Hamilton collected three All-NCAC awards, three All-Great Lakes Region awards and a third-team All-America award in 1998, in addition to the team’s co-MVP honor. During her career, Wittenberg racked up an impressive four-year record of 62-18 and won three NCAC titles. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Hamilton currently resides in Key Largo, Fla.
Kaufman is the most accomplished distance runner in the annals of Wittenberg’s men’s cross country and track & field programs. In cross country, Kaufman was a three-time first-team All-NCAC honoree, including NCAC Runner of the Year recognition after taking the top spot in the 1995 league championship meet. He earned team MVP honors all four years, he served as a team captain as a junior and senior, and Kaufman is one of just three Tigers in program history to earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships. In track, Kaufman still holds four school records – two indoor and two outdoor – and he earned a total of seven All-NCAC awards between indoor and outdoor competitions. An All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 1996, Kaufman was a two-year team captain in track and field and shared team MVP honors as a senior as the Tigers won the first two NCAC indoor titles in program history. A native of Prospect, Ohio, Kaufman currently resides in Chicago, Ill.
Magoteaux achieved at a high level at Wittenberg on both the football field and in the baseball stadium. His name can be found repeatedly in the baseball record book, topping numerous season and career statistical categories. Most notably, Magoteaux continues to stand atop the lists for runs batted in (176), hits (201), doubles (46), home runs (35) and total bases (372). An outfielder by trade, Magoteaux collected three first-team All-NCAC awards and first-team All-Mideast Region honors in 1999, in addition to three team MVP awards after he gained Rookie of the Year status in 1996. A defensive back for the Tiger football team, Magoteaux still ranks fifth in program history with 16 interceptions. He earned three first-team All-NCAC designations and the 1998 Golden Helmet award as he helped the Tigers to a four-year record of 39-4, including an NCAC mark of 28-3 and two league championships. A native of Piqua, Ohio, Magoteaux currently resides in Xenia, Ohio.
Reid led the Tiger football team in receptions and scoring in 1973 as he helped the Tigers win the first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament. He earned first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and Lutheran Brotherhood All-America honors in 1973, and he served as a team captain in 1974. The Tigers posted a four-year record of 29-9-2 and won a pair of OAC championships during Reid’s career. Also a talented performer on the track, Reid took second place in the 120-yard hurdles in the 1973 and 1974 OAC Outdoor Championship meets, in addition to an All-OAC award as a member of the 4x100-yard relay in 1974 (outdoor) and a league championship in the 55-yard high hurdles in 1974 (indoor). A native of Dayton, Ohio, Reid currently resides in Detroit, Mich.
Finally, Jim Coleman is being recognized for his extraordinary career in athletics, which started in Springfield as a child and blossomed during his four years as a student at Wittenberg. After he was introduced to the sport of volleyball during his formative years, Coleman brought it to Wittenberg as a student and later as a professor at the university. Married to Lee Doellman Coleman, class of 1958 and a 1988 inductee into Wittenberg’s Athletics Hall of Honor, Jim Coleman served three stints as the United States National Team’s head coach and was involved in the program through most of a 35-year span. He coached in seven Olympic Games, helping the USA Men’s Volleyball team to gold medals in 1984 and 1988, and he is credited with visionary leadership in the sport itself, teaming with his wife to create statistical systems and the net antennae used in today’s competition.
Coleman was one of the founders of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) in 1961, a league that now features some of the top NCAA Division I intercollegiate men’s programs in the country. Wittenberg competed in the MIVA in 1961 and 1962 before Coleman moved on to the first of several NCAA Division I college coaching positions.
In November 2014, Wittenberg announced the introduction of men’s volleyball as its 24th intercollegiate sport, and the program will compete for the first time since 1962 in January 2016.
Written By: Ryan Maurer