The College’s Hall of Fame ceremony was headlined by former basketball star Greg Grant, but the induction list did not stop there.
After Grant accepted his induction into the Hall of Fame, former Lions safety Greg Bellotti took the stage. His first words?
“I want to thank the Hall of Fame Committee for scheduling me to follow Greg Grant,” Bellotti said as the crowd roared with laughter.
Bellotti, a member of the 1990 football team that made it to the NCAA tournament, was just one of six other individuals besides Grant who were enshrined on Friday, Oct. 21.
“The individual accolades, I mean, they’re great,” Bellotti said. “They’re special, probably more special for my kids to see. I thought I was pretty good, but I had a great team. It’s a lot different when there’s ten other guys they have to deal with and I’m just kind of the guy who happened to get a lot of the press, and the defense was kind of built around me to make plays.”
Another member of the 2011 class was Jill Cosse, who won a total five national titles in field hockey and lacrosse during her time as a Lion.
“I would not trade one day I was ever here, whether it was a good day or a bad day, if we won a championship or didn’t win,” Cosse said. “I loved my life here, so to be honored like this is a dream come true, really, because I never really played for notoriety. I played for my teammates and wanting to be successful.”
Fellow inductee Tim Jacoutot echoed Cosse’s words.
“I love it here,” Jacoutot, who was a three-time national champion wrestler, said. “This is my home, this is my college and I enjoy all the sports teams.”
Other members of the Class of 2011 include: Matthew Stypul (men’s swimming, ’97), Sue Piekarz Rodriguez (women’s track and field, ’91), Bobby Jones (football/baseball, ’64) and the late Herbert Lorenz (men’s track and field, ’63).