Gryphon Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2010
September 20, 2010 - Campus Bulletin
Three athletes, a University of Guelph athletics "builder" and two championship teams will be inducted into the Gryphon Hall of Fame as part of 2010 Homecoming festivities.
Mike Ayanbadejo, Maria Gallo, Colette McAuley, Fred Ramprashad and the 1958 men's soccer and 1974 to 1978 track-and-field teams will be formally inducted during a special dinner Sept. 24.
“These outstanding individuals and teams are truly deserving of induction into our Hall of Fame,” said Tom Kendall, director of athletics. “We are thrilled to have such an impressive class inducted.”
Ayanbadejo, who played basketball from 1998 to 2003, is Guelph’s all-time leading scorer with 1,389 points. During his career, he was a four-time Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West all-star and a two-time All-Canadian, and was named OUA West rookie of the year in 1999 and OUA West player of the year in 2003. In his final season, he led the Gryphons to the OUA West Division title and a silver medal at the national championships.
Gallo was a member of the women’s rugby team from 1996 to 2000. She led the team to four provincial titles and to a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national title in 1998 and a silver medal in 1999. She was a two-time OUA all-star, a two-time CIS tournament all-star, a two-time CIS championship MVP and an All-Canadian in 1998.
McAuley was at U of G from 1992 to 1997 and competed in track and field and rugby. She is considered to be one of the most versatile all-round athletes in Guelph history. She was a member of the inaugural Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletics Association championship team, capturing the title for three consecutive years. She was also captain of the track team from 1995 to 1997.
Ramprashad enters the Hall of Fame in the “builder” category for supporting Gryphon athletics for more than 30 years. A respected professor, he was instrumental in developing the academic advising handbook for student-athletes in the early 1980s. His commitment to U of G and its athletics was recognized with a scholarship in his name in 2000 and with the John T. Powell Award for exemplary effort and devotion in 2001.
The 1958 men’s soccer team is the first soccer team to be inducted. More than 50 years ago, the team was crowned national co-champions with the Royal Military College — the first and last time a Guelph team has won the national title. Under the guidance of coaches John Flavell and Alex Peepre, the OA-VC men’s soccer team went undefeated that season.
The track-and-field athletes from the 1974 to 1978 era are being honoured for their high degree of talent and achievement and for keeping the sport active at U of G during lean years of minimal support.
The annual Hall of Fame dinner kicks off Homecoming weekend, where the Gryphon football team will face the Western Mustangs Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. The Gryphon Athletics Hall of Fame has more than 160 members.
