NEW YORK - Columbia Athletics will induct 18 former student-athletes, two former head coaches, an athletics administrator, a special individual and two of its greatest teams, the 1933 Rose Bowl champion football team and the 1988 NCAA champion men's fencing team, in the 2012 Class of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame.

The induction will occur at a special ceremony in Low Memorial Library on Columbia University's Morningside Campus on Thursday, October 18, 2012. The inductees have been selected by a vote of a selection committee of Columbia Athletics affiliates, including alumni and athletics administrators.

"The members of the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2012 are among the brightest stars in the history of our athletics program," says Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director, Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education at Columbia. "Each of these tremendous individuals - and our celebrated teams - are truly deserving of induction."

Columbia University has fielded teams for intercollegiate athletics competition since the mid-1800s. Some records indicate that the first intercollegiate sporting event in which Columbia participated in was a rowing race in New York City in 1852.

Among the members of the Class of 2012 of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame are former Major League pitcher Frank Seminara, College Football Hall of Famers William Morley and Harold Weekes, Honda Award winner Caroline Bierbaum, legendary men's basketball coach Jack Rohan and New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft.

Four of the student-athletes who will be honored in this year's class are first-time nominees, including Bierbaum, four-time All-American fencer Emma Baratta, former Ivy League Player of the Year and Ivy League women's soccer champion Shannon Munoz, and All-American and eight-time Ivy League 400m Champion and Olympic runner Erison Hurtault.

The Class of 2012 of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame includes 14 men, eight women and two teams representing 10 different sports.

Nominees for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame were submitted by the general public from November 2010 through March 2012. Inductees are eligible in the following categories: Category 1: Former Male Student-athlete - Heritage Era (1852-1957), Category 2: Former Male Student-athlete - Modern Era (1957-present), Category 3:  Former Female Student-athlete, Category 4: Coaches - Heritage Era (1852-1957), Category 5: Coaches - Modern Era (1957-present), Category 6: Team, Category 7: Athletics Administrators and Staff, Category 9: Special Category for Individual Achievement.

Tickets to the black-tie dinner and induction ceremony are available by calling Cathleen Clark at (212) 851-9610. Media members may contact Darlene Camacho at (212) 854-2535 for information regarding press credentials. 


The members of the Class of 2012 of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame are:

Former Male Student-athletes - Heritage Era (1852-1957)

Horace Davenport '29CC, rowing

William Morley 1902CC, football

Robert Nielsen '51CC, fencing

Barry Pariser '55CC, fencing

Harold Weekes 1903CC, football

Former Male Student-athletes - Modern Era (1957-present)

Neil Farber '65CC, baseball/basketball

Ted Gregory '74CC, football

Steve Hasenfus '89CC, wrestling

Erison Hurtault '07CC, track

Frank Seminara '89CC, baseball

Des Werthman '93CC, football

Former Female Student-athletes

Danicia Ambron '94CC, swimming

Nora Beck '83BC, '89SOA, basketball

Emma Baratta '06CC, fencing

Caroline Bierbaum '06CC, cross country/track and field

Monica Conley '03CC, fencing

Caitlin Hickin '04CC, cross country/track and field

Shannon Munoz '07CC, soccer

Team - Heritage Era (1852-1957)

1933 Football Team

Team - Modern Era (1957-present)

1988 Men's Fencing Team

Coach - Heritage Era (1852-1957)

James Murray, Fencing, 1898-1948

Coach - Modern Era (1957-present)

Jack Rohan, Men's Basketball, 1961-74, 1990-95

Athletics Administrator

Marion R. Philips, Former Chair, Physical Education, Barnard College

Special Individual

Robert K. Kraft '63CC, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, New England Patriots and Owner and Chief Executive Officer, The Kraft Group