Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Announced
8/24/2023 2:00:00 PM | General
22 individuals and four teams to be honored at the black-tie event in October
NEW YORK — Columbia University has unveiled its 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class, to be inducted at a special black-tie dinner and induction ceremony at Cipriani 25 on Thursday, October 12.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class includes 22 individuals and four teams representing 14 sports programs and over 141 years of Columbia Athletics history. There are 17 former student-athletes, along with four long-time staff members. The inductees were selected by a selection committee vote comprising former student-athletes and administrators from the athletics program and the university.
"We are thrilled to celebrate our latest Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame class," Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education Peter Pilling stated. "After a five-year wait due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to bring back this wonderful event. This is a talented group of individuals and teams that have, and continue to, represent this University and athletics program in such a positive way. Congratulations to all of the inductees. We are looking forward to welcoming you all back in October."
A pair of Olympians, Katie Meili '13CC and Nicole Ross '13CC, highlight the honorees among student-athletes from women's varsity sports programs.
Ross was a three-time All-American in foil for the Lions' fencing program and won the 2010 NCAA Individual Championship. The New York City native has represented Team USA in various international competitions since her graduation and competed at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Meili, one of the most decorated student-athletes in Columbia history, earned All-America honors in five events and back-to-back Most Outstanding Swimmer awards at the Ivy League Championships after posting 10 first-place finishes (seven individual, three relays) in 2012 and 2013. She won a bronze medal in the 100 breaststroke and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x100 medley relay squad at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Another Olympic Gold Medalist, Harry Babcock 1912SEAS, is among 10 former men's sports student-athletes honored this year. The winner of the Olympic Pole Vault competition at the 1912 Stockholm Games headlines the Heritage Era class of student-athletes who graduated from Columbia more than 50 years ago.
Among Modern Era men's sports inductees, football's Josh Martin '13CC and baseball's Dario Pizzano '13CC will enter the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
Martin was a three-time All-Ivy League selection from 2010-12, who made 140 career tackles (85 solo), registered 25 tackles for loss and ranks third in school history in sacks with 18.0. He enjoyed a seven-year playing career in the NFL from 2013-20.
Pizzano played three seasons with the Lions before being drafted by the Seattle Mariners following his junior season. The left-handed slugger boasted a career average of .374 with 25 homers and 108 RBI with Columbia, was a three-time All-Ivy League honoree and was the conference player of the year in 2012. He completed his degree while playing professionally in 2013 and wrapped up a nine-year pro career in 2021.
Also entering the class is men's basketball standout Ricky Free '79CC. Free finished his career at Columbia with 1,214 points in just three seasons, which puts him 15th all-time in program history. The three-time All-Ivy League selection also ranks in the program's top five in career field goal percentage (55.2 percent - third) and rebounding (662).
Among four staff inductees, legendary Columbia men's tennis head coach Bid Goswami earned the call after 37 years at the helm of the Lions program. Goswami posted a career mark of 510-200 and won 14 Ivy League team titles, including six straight from 2013-19 to conclude a brilliant career.
Former Director Athletics Director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy is also selected in the staff category. Murphy was with Columbia from 2004-2015; the Lions won 30 Ivy League Championships during that span. Additionally, she oversaw the planning and construction of the Campbell Sports Center at the Baker Athletics Complex, which opened in 2013, and the creation of the Women's Leadership Council in 2007.
Four teams will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame this October, including the 1993 NCAA Fencing Champions, and the 1976 Baseball team featuring Hall of Fame pitcher and Trustee Emeritus Rolando Acosta '79CC '82LAW, which was the first Columbia team to earn an invitation to the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The 2006-07 women's golf squad that captured the program's first Ivy League title also received the nod.
The full list of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:
Men's Sports Student-Athletes, Heritage Era
Harry Babcock 1912SEAS (Track & Field)
Claude Benham '57CC (Football, Baseball)
Al Butts '64CC (Baseball, Football)
Bob Koehler '62CC (Baseball)
Men's Sports Student-Athletes, Modern Era
Ricky Free '79CC (Basketball)
Austin Knowlin '10CC (Football)
Josh Martin '13CC (Football)
Dario Pizzano '13CC (Baseball)
Steve Santos '13CC (Wrestling)
Shahin Shayan '80CC (Soccer)
Women's Sports Student-Athletes
Nicole Bartnik '13CC (Tennis)
Kyra Caldwell '12CC (Track & Field)
Sharay Hale '12CC (Track & Field)
Katie Meili '13CC (Swimming)
Libby Peters '06CC (Rowing)
Nicole Ross '13CC (Fencing)
Team, Heritage Era
1878 Heavyweight Rowing
Team, Modern Era
1976 Baseball
1992-1993 Men's & Women's Fencing
2006-07 Women's Golf
Athletics Staff
Al Carlson, Head Men's & Women's Golf Coach/Associate Athletics Director 1978-2015
Bid Goswami, Head Men's Tennis Coach 1982-2019
Jim Gossett, Head Athletic Trainer/Associate Athletics Director 1979-2021
Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education 2004-2015
Special Category
Andrew F. Barth '83CC '85BUS
Philip '71CC & Cheryl '82BC Milstein
Nominations for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame were submitted by the general public with a deadline of March 3, 2023. Inductees are eligible in the following categories: Category 1: Men's Sports Student-Athletes – Heritage Era (prior to 1972-73), Category 2: Men's Sports Student-Athletes – Modern Era (1973-74 through 2012-13), Category 3: Women's Sports Student-Athletes (1898 to 2012-13), Category 4: Athletics Staff, Category 5: Teams – Heritage Era (1867 to 1972-73), Category 6: Teams – Modern Era (1973-74 to 2012-13), Category 7; Category 8: Special Category for Individual Achievement.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Emily Maury, Associate Director of Athletics Development and Alumni Relations. Media inquiries may be directed to Associate Athletics Director for Communications & Public Relations, Mike Kowalsky.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class includes 22 individuals and four teams representing 14 sports programs and over 141 years of Columbia Athletics history. There are 17 former student-athletes, along with four long-time staff members. The inductees were selected by a selection committee vote comprising former student-athletes and administrators from the athletics program and the university.
"We are thrilled to celebrate our latest Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame class," Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education Peter Pilling stated. "After a five-year wait due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to bring back this wonderful event. This is a talented group of individuals and teams that have, and continue to, represent this University and athletics program in such a positive way. Congratulations to all of the inductees. We are looking forward to welcoming you all back in October."
A pair of Olympians, Katie Meili '13CC and Nicole Ross '13CC, highlight the honorees among student-athletes from women's varsity sports programs.
Ross was a three-time All-American in foil for the Lions' fencing program and won the 2010 NCAA Individual Championship. The New York City native has represented Team USA in various international competitions since her graduation and competed at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Meili, one of the most decorated student-athletes in Columbia history, earned All-America honors in five events and back-to-back Most Outstanding Swimmer awards at the Ivy League Championships after posting 10 first-place finishes (seven individual, three relays) in 2012 and 2013. She won a bronze medal in the 100 breaststroke and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x100 medley relay squad at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Another Olympic Gold Medalist, Harry Babcock 1912SEAS, is among 10 former men's sports student-athletes honored this year. The winner of the Olympic Pole Vault competition at the 1912 Stockholm Games headlines the Heritage Era class of student-athletes who graduated from Columbia more than 50 years ago.
Among Modern Era men's sports inductees, football's Josh Martin '13CC and baseball's Dario Pizzano '13CC will enter the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
Martin was a three-time All-Ivy League selection from 2010-12, who made 140 career tackles (85 solo), registered 25 tackles for loss and ranks third in school history in sacks with 18.0. He enjoyed a seven-year playing career in the NFL from 2013-20.
Pizzano played three seasons with the Lions before being drafted by the Seattle Mariners following his junior season. The left-handed slugger boasted a career average of .374 with 25 homers and 108 RBI with Columbia, was a three-time All-Ivy League honoree and was the conference player of the year in 2012. He completed his degree while playing professionally in 2013 and wrapped up a nine-year pro career in 2021.
Also entering the class is men's basketball standout Ricky Free '79CC. Free finished his career at Columbia with 1,214 points in just three seasons, which puts him 15th all-time in program history. The three-time All-Ivy League selection also ranks in the program's top five in career field goal percentage (55.2 percent - third) and rebounding (662).
Among four staff inductees, legendary Columbia men's tennis head coach Bid Goswami earned the call after 37 years at the helm of the Lions program. Goswami posted a career mark of 510-200 and won 14 Ivy League team titles, including six straight from 2013-19 to conclude a brilliant career.
Former Director Athletics Director Dr. M. Dianne Murphy is also selected in the staff category. Murphy was with Columbia from 2004-2015; the Lions won 30 Ivy League Championships during that span. Additionally, she oversaw the planning and construction of the Campbell Sports Center at the Baker Athletics Complex, which opened in 2013, and the creation of the Women's Leadership Council in 2007.
Four teams will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame this October, including the 1993 NCAA Fencing Champions, and the 1976 Baseball team featuring Hall of Fame pitcher and Trustee Emeritus Rolando Acosta '79CC '82LAW, which was the first Columbia team to earn an invitation to the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The 2006-07 women's golf squad that captured the program's first Ivy League title also received the nod.
The full list of the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:
Men's Sports Student-Athletes, Heritage Era
Harry Babcock 1912SEAS (Track & Field)
Claude Benham '57CC (Football, Baseball)
Al Butts '64CC (Baseball, Football)
Bob Koehler '62CC (Baseball)
Men's Sports Student-Athletes, Modern Era
Ricky Free '79CC (Basketball)
Austin Knowlin '10CC (Football)
Josh Martin '13CC (Football)
Dario Pizzano '13CC (Baseball)
Steve Santos '13CC (Wrestling)
Shahin Shayan '80CC (Soccer)
Women's Sports Student-Athletes
Nicole Bartnik '13CC (Tennis)
Kyra Caldwell '12CC (Track & Field)
Sharay Hale '12CC (Track & Field)
Katie Meili '13CC (Swimming)
Libby Peters '06CC (Rowing)
Nicole Ross '13CC (Fencing)
Team, Heritage Era
1878 Heavyweight Rowing
Team, Modern Era
1976 Baseball
1992-1993 Men's & Women's Fencing
2006-07 Women's Golf
Athletics Staff
Al Carlson, Head Men's & Women's Golf Coach/Associate Athletics Director 1978-2015
Bid Goswami, Head Men's Tennis Coach 1982-2019
Jim Gossett, Head Athletic Trainer/Associate Athletics Director 1979-2021
Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education 2004-2015
Special Category
Andrew F. Barth '83CC '85BUS
Philip '71CC & Cheryl '82BC Milstein
Nominations for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame were submitted by the general public with a deadline of March 3, 2023. Inductees are eligible in the following categories: Category 1: Men's Sports Student-Athletes – Heritage Era (prior to 1972-73), Category 2: Men's Sports Student-Athletes – Modern Era (1973-74 through 2012-13), Category 3: Women's Sports Student-Athletes (1898 to 2012-13), Category 4: Athletics Staff, Category 5: Teams – Heritage Era (1867 to 1972-73), Category 6: Teams – Modern Era (1973-74 to 2012-13), Category 7; Category 8: Special Category for Individual Achievement.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Emily Maury, Associate Director of Athletics Development and Alumni Relations. Media inquiries may be directed to Associate Athletics Director for Communications & Public Relations, Mike Kowalsky.
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