Jan. 14, 2011
Tickets to Hall of Fame Awards Dinner
VILLANOVA, Pa.--The Villanova University Varsity Club will grow by 11 members this year, as the Hall of Fame induction class for 2011 was announced today. The 11 members to be inducted at the 35th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Dinner represent nine different sports, while Dan Regan will be presented with the Jake Nevin Award for his many years of service as the Faculty Athletics Representative for the Wildcats. The annual Hall of Fame Awards Dinner will be held on Friday, February 25 at the Connelly Center and the inductees will also be recognized the next day at halftime of the men's basketball game against St. John's at the Wells Fargo Center.
Tickets to the Hall of Fame Awards Dinner are available to the public at a cost of $50 for adults and $25 for kids. Tickets may be purchased online at Villanova.com by clicking on the link at the top of this release.
The members of the 2011 Hall of Fame induction class are Dennis McCaffrey (baseball), Lance Miller (men's basketball), Bill Lacey and Joe Miller (football), Chet Walsh (golf), Mike Ruopoli (men's lacrosse), Ken Santos (men's soccer), Meaghan McCaffrey (women's swimming), Paul Fitzsimmons (men's tennis), Nnenna Lynch and Gina Procaccio (women's track & field) and Dan Regan (Jake Nevin Award winner).
Below are capsules of each of the nine honorees.
Dennis McCaffery ('91) - Baseball
McCaffery transferred to Villanova and played the 1990 and 1991 seasons for the Wildcats. In his first season at Villanova, he was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection in 1990. McCaffery was a starter on the Wildcats 1991 squad which won a BIG EAST title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Despite only two years with the team, McCaffery is tied for sixth in school history with a .373 career batting average and he ranks 10th in a single season with 58 RBI in 1991. Following his collegiate career, McCaffery was drafted by the California Angels in the 19th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. His career statistics for the Wildcats include a .373 batting average, 95 runs scored, 147 hits, 101 RBI, 27 doubles, 13 home runs, 221 total bases, 45 walks and nine stolen bases.
Lance Miller ('93) - Men's Basketball
Miller ranks among the all-time career leaders at Villanova in four different categories, including ranking seventh in career steals with 190. He also is 14th in assists (340), 20th in rebounds (674) and 24th in points scored (1,468). During his career, Miller was a second team All-BIG EAST selection in 1992 and a third team honoree in 1991 after previously being selected to the league's All-Rookie squad in 1990. Miller helped the Wildcats win 57 games during his career with two NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT berth.
Bill Lacey ('94) - Football
Lacey was a standout offensive tackle for Villanova and garnered first team All-Yankee Conference honors in both 1991 and 1992 for Wildcat teams that advanced to the playoffs. He also received second team accolades from both the Yankee Conference and the ECAC in 1993. Villanova posted a 27-19 (.587) overall record during Lacey's career, including going a combined 19-5 during the team's playoff seasons in his first two years on the team.
Joe Miller ('74) - Football
During his collegiate career, Miller was a two-year starter at tackle who received first team All-ECAC acclaim as a senior in 1973, when he was also a co-captain of the squad.
Chet Walsh ('87) - Golf
In a period of prolonged success for the Villanova golf program, Chet Walsh was a key part of the team as both a player and a coach. He is the only Wildcat golfer to have been part of a BIG EAST championship as both a player and coach, as he was a senior captain for the 1985 squad which won Villanova's first-ever conference title. Walsh went on to coach the Wildcats from 1989-91, during which he led the team to a runner-up and a first-place finish at the conference tournament. He coached Kevin Rogerson to the individual championship in 1989, while Villanova won the team title in 1990.
Mike Ruopoli ('86) - Men's Lacrosse
As a senior in 1986, Ruopoli received All-America honors and was a co-captain for Villanova. He remains one of the top offensive players in school history and is sixth all-time with 65 assists while ranking 14th in program history in points with 105. Ruopoli also tallied 40 goals scored during his career.
Ken Santos ('93) - Men's Soccer
Santos made an immediate impact for Villanova and was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 1989. He went on to earn first team All-BIG EAST accolades in 1990 and 1992 and finished his career with 20 goals, six assists and 46 points.
Meaghan McCaffrey ('95) - Women's Swimming
McCaffrey achieved All-America status and was a BIG EAST champion numerous times during her Villanova career and was named the Outstanding Female Swimmer of the Meet at the 1995 BIG EAST Championships. She was a nine-time All-American, seven times as an individual and twice as part of Villanova relays, and also was a 16-time conference champion (seven individual, nine relays). McCaffrey was the BIG EAST champion in the 50 yard freestyle all four years of her career and was a three-time All-American in the event. Her top season came in 1993, when she was an All-American in the 50 and 200 freestyle, as well as the 200 and 400 yard medley relays.
Paul Fitzsimmons ('83) - Men's Tennis
Fitzsimmons was a four year starter compiling a career record of 41-10 (.803) as a singles player and a mark of 30-9 (.769) in doubles for the Wildcats, and was a team co-captain as a senior. During his career, Fitzsimmons was the first Villanovan to be a BIG EAST singles champion becoming a first team All-BIG EAST selection in 1982 and second team selection in 1983. He also received ECAC accolades for winning the ECAC Championships doubles title in 1982 after being a runner-up in 1981. His success carried over to the team's results, as the Wildcats were 59-25 (.702) overall during his career.
Nnenna Lynch ('93) - Women's Track & Field
Lynch finished her collegiate career as one of the most successful student-athletes in school history and as a senior was named the Woman of the Year and a recipient of the Top Eight Award by the NCAA. She won an individual national championship outdoors in the 3000 meters in 1992 and was a nine-time BIG EAST champion, including six times indoors and three times outdoors. Lynch captured individual conference crowns in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters and still holds the sixth-fastest 1500 meter time in school history. She also holds a school record for running the leadoff leg of the 6,000 meter relay in 1990. As a cross country runner, Lynch helped lead the Wildcats to national championships all four years of her career and was among the team's top seven runners at the national championship race each year. Outside of racing, she was also an Academic All-American and BIG EAST Academic All-Star who was the first of only two Rhodes Scholars in Villanova history in 1992.
Gina Procaccio ('87) - Women's Track & Field
Procaccio made her mark as a student-athlete at Villanova and has helped the program's tradition continue as head coach for the past 11 years. Procaccio transferred to Villanova from Florida and was a four-time BIG EAST champion during her collegiate career, including winning three individual crowns and one relay title. In 1987, she won an indoor national championship in the 4x800 meter relay as part of a quartet that set an NCAA record which still stands with a time of 8:24.72. That same year, the Wildcats 4x800 relay squad twice set indoor world records, while Procaccio was also part of a world record setting relay quartet in the distance medley relay in 1987. Procaccio is the school record holder in the indoor 1000 meters as well as the mile relay and 4x800 meter relay. As head coach of the Villanova women's track & field and cross country teams, Procaccio is in her 11th season and has led the cross country squad to back-to-back national titles in the last two seasons.
Dan Regan - Jake Nevin Award Winner
Dan Regan has been a professor at Villanova since 1966 and has served as an academic advisor at the university since 1978. As the Faculty Representative for Athletics, Regan is also charged with overseeing the Office of Academic Support for the more than 500 student-athletes at Villanova.
Under the guidance of the Academic Support office, Villanova student-athletes continue to shine in the classroom as well as in competition. Regan was chosen as this year's recipient of the Jake Nevin Award in recognition of the academic success of the Wildcats and for more than three decades of service to the university.
Through the end of the 2009-10 academic year, Villanova student-athletes had registered a composite grade-point average of better than 3.0 for 13 consecutive semesters dating back to the spring of 2004. Last year alone there were 13 student-athletes who compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA and 137 athletes who tallied a GPA of 3.5 or better. In addition, the Wildcats boasted 274 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars for the 2009-10 academic year, the most ever in one year for the athletics program.
The accomplishments of the student-athletes stand out on the national level as well. In the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) data available, Villanova had 21 teams earn a multi-year score above the national average for their sport. Included in that group are nine teams who ranked within the top 10 percent of their sport, including men's lacrosse, men's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's basketball and softball.
Regan is a graduate of the University of Toronto who went on to receive a Master's degree from Villanova and a doctorate from Fordham. He is currently a professor of philosophy at Villanova.
