Wesleyan Athletics is pleased to announce its 2024 Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted on Friday, November 1 during the University's Homecoming/Family Weekend festivities.
The 11
th class in school history features eight individuals and one team, bringing the total in Wesleyan's Hall of Fame to 68 individuals and nine teams. Among the 2024 inductees includes: Joe Summa '71, Fran Rivkin '78, Eric Mangini '94, Matt Perceval '00, Rebecca Vogel Zylber '05, Lisa Drennan '09, former Athletic Director and Track & Field Head Coach Fred 'Fritz' Martin, former Men's Crew Head Coach Phil Calhoun '62, and the 1978 Women's Crew varsity 8 boat.
The induction dinner will take place on Friday, November 1 during Homecoming/Family Weekend in Beckham Hall (45 Wyllys Avenue | Middletown, CT | 06457) on campus. Cocktail hour runs from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM, followed by dinner and the ceremony. Tickets are $100. Ten dinner guests are allowed per table. Capacity is limited to 200 so please register early using the link below. For sponsorship information, please visit the link below.
Wesleyan Hall of Fame Class of 2024
Joe Summa '71 (men's basketball)
A two-year team captain, Summa led the Cardinals to 13 wins in his junior year before the team went 16-4 in 1970-71, which then stood as a single-season team record for wins. He finished his career with 983 career points, second-most at the time in school history, as well as the all-time assist leader (353) and made field goals (412). He scored 61 points combined in wins over Williams and Amherst in 1971 to secure the Cardinals' first Little Three title in 12 years. Averaging 19.5 points per game as a senior, he was named the 1971 Bob Cousy Award winner, given to the top player under 6-feet in New England.
Fran Rivkin '78 (track & field, field hockey, ice hockey, basketball, and lacrosse)
A founding member of both the women's track & field team and women's ice hockey teams at Wesleyan, Rivkin competed on a varsity team in 11 of the 12 possible seasons in her four years as a Cardinal. She lettered in track & field all four years (serving as team captain the last two), field hockey three years (captain last two), ice hockey three years (first women's goalie), basketball (freshman season), and lacrosse at the same time as track one year. Rivkin has the distinction of being the only woman to have ever received the Ahrens Award in school history.
Eric Mangini '94 (football)
The school record holder for sacks (33.5), Mangini was a force on the interior of the Wesleyan defensive line over his four years. His 11.5 sacks as a senior in the 1993 season still holds as the single-season team record to this day. A football lifer, Mangini rose through the coaching ranks at the sports highest level, being a staff member or head coach for five division titles, three conference titles, and three Super Bowl Championships. He opened his career as the secondary coach for the New England Patriots (2001-04), winning three Super Bowl rings in that time, before serving as the Defensive Coordinator for the Pats in 2005. Mangini then served as Head Coach for the New York Jets for three seasons (2006-08) and Cleveland Browns for two years (2009-10).
Matt Perceval '00 (football)
A three-time NESCAC First Team All-Star and Second Team All-American, Perceval produced at an elite level over the course of his four-year career. His seven receiving touchdowns in a 55-28 win over Middlebury in the 1998 season remains a single-game NCAA record (across all divisions). Perceval produced a jaw-dropping 73-catch season as a senior, going for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1999, earning All-American honors. He owns a host of school records, including career receiving yardage (2,879), receiving touchdowns (36), kickoff return yardage (1,505), and points scored (226), as well as single-season receptions (73) and receiving touchdowns (14).
Becca Vogel Zylber '05 (women's lacrosse)
The leading scorer in team history, Vogel produced 176 goals and 37 assists for 213 career points in 57 games played over her four years at Wesleyan. Vogel was a three-time All-NESCAC honoree, earning First Team honors as a junior and senior, while she earned Second Team All-American honors as a senior in 2005 when she produced a career-high 52 goals and nine assists for 61 points in 15 games. At the time, she was just the second All-American in team history and the first since 1986.
Lisa Drennan '09 (women's volleyball)
One of the single greatest players in team history, Drennan still holds team records for highest kills per set in a career (4.92), most kills per set in a season (5.56), and most kills in a single match (34). She was named the NESCAC Player of the Year twice (2006, 2008), earning Second Team All-American honors as a senior. Drennan is the only Cardinal in team history to earn four career All-NESCAC honors, earning three First Team distinctions while she was a Second Team honoree as a freshman. For three consecutive years (2006-08), Drennan ranked top five nationally in Division III in kills per set while she finished her career with 1,865 kills, ranking second-most in team history.
Fred 'Fritz' Martin (Posthumously- Athletic Director, Head Coach Track + Cross Country)
A member of Wesleyan's staff for 43 years (1920-63), Fritz Martin was and remains one of the longest-serving members of the athletic department in school history. During his tenure as head coach of track & field, his teams established nearly every school record while he guided the Cardinals to 153 wins and only 74 defeats, winning 11 Little Three Championships including seven in his last 12 years. As the cross country head coach, his teams won 139 meets against 86 defeats, winning the Little Three title 14 times including 13 triumphs over his final 14 seasons. One of his most outstanding seasons came in 1960-61 when varsity and freshman track & field and cross country teams all went undefeated. In addition to coaching track and cross country, he coached football, boxing, and handball and was responsible for establishing wrestling as a varsity sport.
Phil Calhoun '62 (Head Coach Men's Crew)
The first-ever men's crew head coach at Wesleyan, Calhoun's dedication and inspiration began the renaissance of rowing at the school in 1964, continuing through the end of his tenure at Wesleyan in 1973 up through current day as he remains an avid supporter of the Cardinals and the sport of crew. His Cardinals rowed their way to a 1967 New England Championship, then known as the Rusty Callow Regatta, while Wesleyan won four of the first five Little Three Championships. Calhoun won the Harborow Regatta five times while the Cardinals made the finals of the Rusty Callow every year. In that 1967 season, Calhoun's squad placed second at the Dad Vail Regatta (national championship), before sporting finishes of fourth and eighth in later campaigns throughout his tenure.
1978 Women's Crew Varsity 8
In just their fourth season as a varsity program at Wesleyan, the 1978 women's crew varsity 8 boat, coached by Pat Callahan, triumphed at the Dad Vail Regatta. Competing against the best collegiate crews from across the nation, Wesleyan's varsity heavyweight eight captured first place, winning what was considered the national championship at the time. That boat was comprised of future gold medal winning Olympian Kathy Keeler '78 in addition to co-captain Joan Chevalier '78, Sandra Cleveland '80, co-captain Dianne Edgar '78, Pamela Grant '80, Cecily Johnston '79, Linda Iannone '79 (coxswain), Cindy Markert '78, and Elisabeth Sikes '80.
