Nine new hall of fame members were welcomed at a ceremony during Homecoming weekend in October. The 31st induction fete was also marked by an announcement of a name change from the Ithaca College Sports Hall of Fame to the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame "to better reflect the College’s comprehensive athletic programs," according to interim director of athletics Kristen Ford.

The Doris Kostrinsky Coaching Award was given to women’s soccer coach Mindy Quigg, who led her 1998 team to a 15-4-2 record and a spot in the NCAA final four. The Bombers also won the New York region title and were ranked fourth in the final national poll. Quigg had already been named female coach of the year by the Ithaca Journal. Three coaches reached milestones in their careers in 1998–99 — women’s swimming and diving coach Paula Miller (100 wins), crew coach Dan Robinson (150 wins), and softball coach Deb Pallozzi (250 wins) — and were honored at the ceremony as well.

There are now 180 members of the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. The 1999 inductees:

Joe Abraham ’43, M.S. ’55, who was inducted posthumously (he died in 1981), spent nearly 40 years in athletic training. He was a charter member of Canisius College’s Hall of Fame. A 1970 inductee into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame, he served as an athletic trainer at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. Abraham founded the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association and received the first Thomas Sheehan Award, given to the outstanding athletic trainer in New York State. The Joseph Abraham Award, given to the New York State high school athletic trainer who has provided outstanding injury care, was named for him.

A member of Ithaca’s swimming and volleyball teams, Maria Ampula-Romanosky ’94, M.S. ’95, was a 28-time all-American swimmer (an Ithaca record — and the most honors that can be earned by a swimmer), where her top finish was a second-place showing with the 1993 400-yard freestyle relay team. An 11-time state champion, she set five New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association records. She helped the Bombers win four straight Independent College Athletic Conference titles and in 1994 was named the conference’s swimmer of the meet and individual sport female athlete of the year. She earned two letters in volleyball, helping Ithaca to the 1991 Eastern College Athletic Conference championship. Ampula-Romanosky received the Iris Carnell Female Athlete of the Year Award and held six school and four pool records upon her graduation.

A guard, linebacker, and kicker for the football team, Sam Curko ’64, M.S. ’65, earned letters in 1961, 1962, and 1963. As a senior he earned all-American honors, served as the Bombers captain, and was named team most valuable player. He was among only 11 players picked to the Ithaca College all-decade team in 1969. After graduating, he spent five years on the New York Jets taxi squad before beginning a coaching career that included work at Monroe-Woodbury, Goshen, Greenport, and Southold High Schools.

Karin Curry Correll ’90 helped the gymnastics team make four appearances at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association champion-ships. A four-time all-American, she won two ECAC titles in her career. In 1990 she was named NCGA senior of the year and NYSWCAA scholar athlete of the year. She set a school record in the vault and was a big reason the Bombers went 23-7 from 1986 to 1990.

A pioneer of women’s sports at Ithaca, Nancy Hicks ’63, M.S. ’68, was the first coach of both the volleyball and women’s lacrosse teams. She led the volleyball team to the program’s first postseason appearance — a fourth-place finish in the 1970 state tournament. In lacrosse Hicks posted a 12-1 mark in seasons, during a time the Bombers set a school record with 15 straight wins. The 1969 team — Ithaca’s first — tied for fifth in the state playoffs.

A star on both Ithaca’s soccer and lacrosse teams, Leslie Murphy Jones ’85 still ranks among the scoring leaders in both sports. Playing on the school’s first four women’s soccer teams, she earned all-region honors and was named team most valuable player three times. Her 22 career assists still stand as a school record. In lacrosse she was a two-time all-American, earning first-team honors in 1985. The Bombers won 39 of 53 lacrosse games during her career. She was the program’s second-leading career scorer at the time of her graduation, and her 75 career assists are still an Ithaca record.

Harriet Marranca ’61, M.S. ’67, who passed away in 1996, was an assistant professor of exercise science and the first intercollegiate women’s gymnastics coach at the College. She posted a record of 67-48 and guided the Bombers to 12 top-five finishes at the state level, including championships in 1970 and 1981. She also served as adviser to Delta Psi Kappa, a professional health, physical education, and recreation fraternity. After retiring from coaching she continued teaching at IC and remained an active supporter of the gymnastics program until her death. The College’s annual invitational was renamed for her in 1997.

John Nugent ’50, M.S. ’54, participated in football and track while at Ithaca. He began his long coaching career as a Bombers football assistant in 1949. Over the next 26 years he coached six sports at a number of high schools, including Rye, where he spent 14 years as football coach and 17 years as golf coach, and served as athletic director. His football teams won four league titles and two sectional championships. The school’s football stadium was renamed in his honor in 1991. Nugent also spent three seasons as a scout with the NFL’s New England Patriots.

In 12 years as Ithaca’s volleyball coach (1972–77 and 1979–84), Sara Rich won a school-record 309 matches and posted a record of 309-101-3. The Bombers reached the postseason in all but one of Rich’s years, and she led the team to its first three NCAA playoff appearances. The 1984 team set a school record with 44 wins. Rich also coached the women’s lacrosse team, compiling a six-year record of 27-22-2. She chaired numerous committees at the state and regional level, including the state volleyball and lacrosse committees, and was an associate professor in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance from 1972 to 1997.