INDIANA, Pa. – The Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Athletic Department will induct an 11-member Hall of Fame Class on Saturday, September 18, prior to its football game against No. 11 Shepherd.

The class of 11 IUP greats represent eight different sports and comprise the department's 25th induction class. 

The IUP Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2021:

• Nicole Blaesser Monette, women's cross country/track & field, 2003-07
• Ray Bosetti, baseball, 1958-60 
• Ben Bruns, baseball, 1964-66 
• Jodi Frederick Houck, women's basketball, 1996-2001 
• Leander Jordan, football, 1996-99 
• Frederick Joseph, men's golf, 1989-2018 
• Paul Kovell, football, 1987-90 
• Dan Radakovich, football, 1977-80, 1985-present 
• Sarah Romasco Burns, women's soccer, 2006-09 
• Gavin Smith, men's golf, 2006-10 
• Lisa Templin Hess, women's swimming, 1992-96 

"We are very excited to bring back our Hall of Fame induction class and celebration for 2021," said IUP Director of Athletics Todd Garzarelli. "Through their successes and contributions, these 11 individuals have brought so much pride to our university, athletic department, and their respective sport programs, and they deserve to be celebrated this fall. 

"This is truly an exceptional class and I look forward to welcoming each of them into our Hall of Fame in September."

Adding to the class is Chris Holuta, vice president of The Reschini Group, who will be honored with the Honorary Bell Ringer Award during the enshrinement. 

The new inductees bring the total to 290 former athletes, coaches and administrators who have made significant contributions to IUP athletics and have enhanced its image and reputation and are now enshrined in the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame.

Below are more details on the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
 

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Nicole Blaesser Monette
Cross Country/Track & Field
2003-07
Nicole Monette, who excelled as a distance runner at IUP, hasn't slowed down since leaving school, even at the age of 36. She ranks among the finest ultramarathoners in the land.

The highlight of Monette's time at IUP was overcoming a fall to earn All-America honors with a seventh-place finish as a senior at the NCAA Division II cross country championships in Pensacola, Fla. She had earlier won the East Region race, by a whopping 52 seconds. She also claimed a PSAC title in the 3,000 meters indoors as a senior running for coach Ed Fry.

For her efforts, Monette was named East Region Runner of the Year in 2007 by the United States Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association; was an ESPN the Magazine first-team Academic All-American for cross country and track and field, District 2, College Division; won a PSAC Top Ten award for combined athletic and academic excellence; and was named IUP's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Monette earned a second All-America citation in 2008 while running as a Slippery Rock grad student when she finished eighth at nationals in the outdoor 10,000 meters.

A year later, Monette finished third in the Pittsburgh Marathon and fourth in the United States marathon championships, and in 2012 she qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials. Monette has since transitioned to longer distances: She won the Yeti 100-mile Endurance Run in Virginia in 2020 while setting a women's course record of 16 hours, 19 minutes, 57 seconds, and in January of this year finished second in the Hoka One One Project Carbon X 100K in Arizona in 7:43:18, the ninth-fastest time ever over that distance.

Monette, who graduated from IUP in 2007 with a degree in exercise science, earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Slippery Rock in 2010. She is a physical therapist at Team Rehabilitation in Rochester Hills, Mich. She resides in nearby Oxford with her husband. Patrick Monette, and children Peter, 7; Jacob, 5; and Madelyn, 2.

Ray Bosetti
Baseball
1958-60
Ray Bosetti played center field and captained the 1960 Indiana State Teachers College baseball team, the first in school history to participate in a national tournament. Coach Sam Smith's squad claimed NAIA District 30 and Area 8 titles to land one of eight berths in the NAIA World Series, held in Sioux City, Iowa. IUP lost its opener to Sam Houston (Texas) State, rebounded with a 2-1 victory over Southern Illinois and then was eliminated by eventual runner-up Georgia Southern. Smith's team also captured the PSAC title and finished 14-5, at that time the most wins in program history.

Bosetti, who served two years in the Army after graduating from Moon Area High School, earned an education degree from IUP in 1960. He taught driver's education for 39 years at Moon and served for 37 years as the school's baseball coach, the longest tenure of any coach in any sport in Moon history. The Tigers won 391 games under his guidance, claimed eight WPIAL section titles and made 11 WPIAL playoff appearances, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 1986.

Bosetti is perhaps better known for his softball exploits than for his accomplishments at IUP and Moon. He was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2010 and has celebrated nine world championships, the first in 2001 when the Clearwater (Fla.) Reds captured an International Senior Softball Association title in the 60-and-over age division. He was most recently a member of a world title team in 2019, when Center for Sight, based in Englewood, Fla., won an ISSA 85-and-over championship. An infielder for many years, he now excels as a hot-hitting pitcher, Bosetti regularly earns all-tournament honors and has collected numerous MVP trophies. He is still winning games as a pitcher, at the age of 87.

Bosetti splits his time between residences in Coraopolis and Dunedin, Fla. He and wife Rosanne Defonso have two daughters—Heather and Raychelle—and three grandchildren.

Ben Bruns
Baseball
1964-66
A total of nine IUP players have been selected in the annual Major League Baseball amateur draft. Ben Bruns was the first.

 A center fielder for coach Owen Dougherty's outstanding 1966 team, Bruns was picked in the 15th round, No. 284 overall, by the Boston Red Sox in the June free-agent draft and spent two seasons in the organization's farm system. Bruns played for Covington (Va.) of the Appalachian League (Rookie classification) and Oneonta (N.Y.) of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania League in 1966 and for Greenville (S.C.) of the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1967.

Bruns came to IUP after having excelled on the diamond in his hometown of Altoona. He played high school and American Legion baseball, and participated in the annual Pennsylvania East-West American Legion All-Star Game—a showcase for professional scouts—in 1964.

Bruns played an integral role in IUP's success on the diamond in 1966. A sophomore, he started the season 0-for-22 but then caught fire and hit at a torrid .450 clip the rest of the way. Dougherty's crew reeled off 14 consecutive victories at one point and advanced to the NAIA District 18 championship game against California, which pulled out a 3-2 victory in an epic 13-inning duel. IUP finished 16-5, at that time the winningest season in school history.

He also played freshman football for a season under Dougherty.

After earning an economics degree from IUP in 1968, Bruns served two years in the Navy. He returned to campus in 1970 and briefly attended graduate school before deciding to go into business in his adopted hometown. He operated a women's clothing store for a time, opened Subs and Suds and Culpeppers eating establishments and owned Benjamin's restaurant from 1996 to 2019. He still helps out son Kristopher, who runs Subs and Suds and Brunzies bar and grill.

Bruns and his wife, Peggy, reside in Indiana. They have two children—Heidi and Kristopher—and three grandchildren.

Jodi Frederick Houck
Basketball
1996-01
Jodi Frederick-Houck started at forward for the most successful IUP women's basketball team of the 20th century.

She scored points, grabbed rebounds and blocked shots in bunches during the 1998-99 season, when IUP set a school record for victories. Coach Sandy Thomas' team finished 26-6, captured PSAC West, PSAC tournament and NCAA Division II East Region championships, and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The dream season didn't end until the national quarterfinals, with a loss to Northern Kentucky.

Frederick-Houck was a force in the paint that year, averaging 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and leading the Indians, as they were then known, with 54 blocks. She earned All-PSAC West first-team honors and was also selected to the East Region all-tournament team after helping IUP knock off Millersville and Shippensburg to reach the Elite Eight in Pine Bluff, Ark.

Frederick-Houck redshirted after tearing her ACL four games into her senior season. She rehabbed her knee and returned in 2000-01, averaging a career-high 13.2 points per game and adding 42 more blocked shots. Frederick-Houck finished her career with a school-record 186 blocks—she still ranks second, four behind Brittany Robinson, despite last playing 20 years ago—is No. 6 on the all-time rebounds list with 807 and ranks 19th in points with 1,191.

Frederick-Houck excelled academically as well as athletically. She was named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete all four years, was a Provost Scholar multiple years and was named to the Verizon Academic All-America second team in 1999. She graduated from IUP in 2001 with a degree in elementary education and earned master's degrees from Wilkes University in 2007 (classroom technology) and 2018 (educational leadership),

Frederick-Houck is employed as an assistant principal in the Pequea Valley School District in Lancaster County. She resides in Reading with her husband, Tom Houck, and children Tommy, 15; Chloe, 13; and Robert, 11.

Leander Jordan
Football
1996-99
Leander Jordan, who regularly dominated opponents both as a run blocker and in pass protection, parlayed an All-America career at IUP into a career in the NFL. Jordan played professionally for three different teams over eight seasons.

He capped his highly decorated tenure at IUP as a first-team Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association All-America guard in 1999. Jordan was also a second-team CoSIDA/Daktronics/CCA All-American that season and a first-team All-PSAC West pick. He was named to the PSAC West second team as a junior.

IUP made three appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs during Jordan's time in uniform, highlighted by a run to the national semifinals in 1999. Coach Frank Cignetti's team defeated Slippery Rock and Millersville before bowing to eventual champion Northwest Missouri State. IUP's best record during Jordan's career was 10-2 in 1998.

He was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, the 82nd player taken overall. Jordan played as both a guard and a tackle in the NFL. He spent two seasons with the Panthers and two with the Jacksonville Jaguars before moving on to San Diego, where he opened holes for two-time NFL rushing champion and future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers won two AFC West titles in Jordan's three years with the team and finished 14-2 in 2006, the best record in franchise history. He wrapped up his NFL career with Jacksonville in 2008.

Jordan graduated from IUP in 2011 with a degree in criminology and earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix University in 2013. He is founder and CEO of ATL Alumni Inc., an Atlanta nonprofit.

He resides in Decatur, Ga., with his significant other, LaQuanza Vallery, and their daughter, Jewlz, 1. Jordan has five other children—Chantelle, 23; Leander Jr., 21; Ezra, 12; Trinity, 8; and Khaiylel, 5—and one grandchild.

Jordan appeared in 37 games, starting 14, during his NFL career. Among IUP alums, only offensive lineman Chris Villarrial (155 games), linebacker Jim Haslett (94), tight end John Jones (49) and wide receiver Dave Smith (44) have made more NFL appearances.

Frederick Joseph
Golf
1989-2018
No head coach in IUP history can match Fred Joseph for longevity, and few were as successful. Joseph not only made IUP a force regionally; he elevated the golf program to national prominence during a 26-year reign. And he did it as an unpaid volunteer.

His teams captured 13 PSAC titles, including an unprecedented six in succession from 2007 to 2012. Joseph also led IUP to five regional championships, 14 NCAA Division II tournament appearances and 22 consecutive regional tournament berths. Incredibly, many of those accomplishments came while Joseph held a full-time job as IUP's director of financial aid. He retired in 2001 after 29 years in that position.

Joseph was selected as the PSAC Coach of the Year 12 times and earned regional coach of the year honors on nine occasions. He coached one national champion, 15 All-Americans, 21 All-America Scholars and 13 PSAC Golfers of the Year. In addition, his golfers won 15 individual PSAC tournament championships.

He was instrumental in making IUP a mainstay on the national stage, highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the NCAA tournament in 2014. Joseph also had cause to celebrate in 2009 when fellow 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Gavin Smith became the first IUP golfer to win an individual NCAA title and the first in 41 years to claim a national golf championship of any kind.

Joseph served for three years as an assistant under Don White before taking over as head coach in the fall of 1992. He still volunteers as an assistant under his successor, Dan Braun, extending his association with IUP golf to 32 years.

Joseph graduated in 1962 with a degree in physics and mathematics from Mount Union (Ohio) College, where he played four years on the tennis team, then earned a master's in higher education from Kent State in 1968.

He resides in Indiana with his wife, Candace. They have two children, Jennifer and Joseph, and one grandchild.

Paul Kovell
Football
1987-90
Paul Kovell, who ranks as one of the most prolific pass catchers in IUP history, was a major factor in the program's emergence as a national power under coach Frank Cignetti.

Kovell graduated as the third-leading receiver in school history with 128 catches, the most among tight ends, good for 1,743 yards and 12 touchdowns. He still holds the No. 1 position among tight ends and ranks sixth overall. Kovell was a four-time All-PSAC West selection, earning first-team honors in 1989 and 1990.

During Kovell's career, the Indians, as they were then known, posted a 41-9 record, the most wins in school history over any four-year period to that point, won three PSAC West titles and a PSAC championship, and made four appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, an achievement no previous IUP team had managed even once.

The 1989 squad posted the first two playoff victories in school history, beating Grand Valley (Mich.) State and Portland (Ore.) State, both on the road. Mississippi College halted IUP's playoff march in the NCAA semifinals.

The 1990 Indians went a step further, becoming the first IUP football team to play for a national championship. North Dakota State prevailed in the nationally televised showdown in Florence, Ala., dropping IUP to a final record of 12-2—at that time the most wins in school history. Kovell set career highs with 39 receptions for 568 yards, highlighted by a big performance (five catches for 110 yards and a score) in a pivotal victory over Edinboro.

After graduation, he went to training camps with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Canadian Football League Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Kovell earned a criminology degree from IUP in 1991. He works out of Pittsburgh as a medical sales manager for the Salt Lake City company BioFire Diagnostics.

Kovell resides in Upper St. Clair with his wife, Tracey. They have two sons, Gunnar, 19, and Wyatt, 17.

Dan Radakovich
Football
1977-80, 1985-present
Dan Radakovich made only a negligible impact during his time at IUP. But as the athletic director at Clemson University, he has led the Tigers to unprecedented heights.

Most prominent among the 19 teams Radakovich oversees is the football program, which won national championships in 2016 and 2018, earned runner-up honors in 2015 and 2019, has claimed the last six Atlantic Coast Conference titles and produced the NFL's No. 1 draft pick, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, in April.

Clemson stident-athletes have also excelled in the classroom under Radakovich's watch. They had a graduation rate of 93 percent in 2020 and a record 3.57 grade-point average in the spring of 2020.

Since taking over at Clemson in 2012, Radakovich has helped complete more than $180 million in facility upgrades and more than doubled athletic department revenue. For his efforts, Sports Business Journal named him its Athletic Director of the Year in 2017. He was honored by IUP with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.

Radakovich earned a letter as an IUP sophomore tight end for coach Bill Neal's team in 1977, when he caught five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. His junior season was cut short by injury and he spent his senior year serving as a student coach.

Radakovich graduated from IUP in 1980 with a degree in finance and earned a master's in business administration from the University of Miami in 1982.

He held various positions in the athletic departments at Miami, Long Beach State, South Carolina and American University before landing at LSU in 2001 as associate director of athletics. The Tigers won the national title in football (2003) during his tenure there. Radakovich later spent six a half years as athletic director at Georgia Tech before moving on to Clemson.

He resides in Seneca, S.C., wife his wife, Marcie. They have two sons, Christian and Grant.

Sarah Romasco Burns
Soccer
2006-09
Sarah Romasco-Burns was such a terror with a soccer ball at her feet that, 12 years after last suiting up for IUP, she still holds school records for career goals (65), assists (40) and points (170). In fact, her point total is second only to East Stroudsburg's Terri Meierhofer (178) in PSAC history.

Romasco-Burns, who also holds IUP's single-season assists record (13) and shares the standard for single-game goals (4), earned first-team All-PSAC and National Soccer Coaches Association all-region honors in each of her four seasons in uniform. Romasco-Burns burst onto the scene in 2006 when she earned PSAC Rookie of the Year and Athlete of the Year honors after pacing the conference in scoring (55 points), tying for the lead in goals (21)—then a school record—and finishing second with 13 assists. She led the PSAC in all three categories as a sophomore, with 20 goals, 11 assists and 51 points,

Sparked by her offensive fireworks, coach Adel Heder's 2006 team finished 15-7, claimed the PSAC West title, advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament and defeated New Haven, 3-1, the program's first-ever national tourney win. IUP finished 14-7-2 in Romasco-Burns' senior year and celebrated a pair of NCAA tournament victories, over Gannon and West Chester. IUP won 54 games during her career, the best four-year span in school history to that point.

Romasco-Burns was named IUP's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior and was selected a first-team ESPN the Magazine All-District 2 Academic All-American in 2008 and 2009. She graduated with honors from IUP with a degree in math education in 2009 and earned a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Clarion in 2018.

Romasco-Burns is employed as the senior manager of secondary curriculum by Lincoln Learning Solutions in Rochester, Pa. She resides in Economy with her husband, John Burns, and children Ava, 6, and Jackson, 5.

Gavin Smith
Golf
2006-10
A real-life version of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" played out in the spring of 2009 when Gavin Smith captured an NCAA Division II championship at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash.

The native of Stirling, Scotland, using a borrowed wedge (Smith inadvertently left his back in Indiana), was tied with Kelbi Lee of Ferris (Mich.) State after four rounds before draining a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole. He became the first PSAC golfer to win an NCAA championship and the first IUP golfer to celebrate a national title in 41 years, following Rick Hrip's first-place finish at the NAIA tournament in 1968.

Smith was a Golf Coaches Association of America first-team All-American in 2009 and 2010, a three-time all-region honoree and the only three-time Golfer of the Year in PSAC history. He was also named the PSAC Rookie of the Year in 2007. Smith is one of only three golfers to claim Golfer of the Year and Rookie of the year honors in the same season. IUP's Graham Hill (2005) and Shaun Fedor (2020) are the others.

Smith claimed PSAC tournament individual championships in 2007 and 2009, led coach Fred Joseph's team to three consecutive conference titles (2007-09), regional championships in 2008 and 2009 and NCAA tournament appearances in each of his last three seasons.

His career stroke average of 73.47 per round ranks No. 1 on the all-time IUP list. Smith's 73.2 average in 2008-09 is the second-best single-season figure in school history, after Zack Kempa's 72.4 in 2012-13. His 73.3 average in 2007-08 is tied with Kempa for third best.

He holds school records for tournaments won in a career (12, in 33 events) and in a single season (5 in 2009-10). He also finished first in four tournaments as a sophomore.

Smith, director of sales for FSP Digital Ltd. in Toronto, resides in Orangeville, Ontario, with his wife, Emily. They are expecting their first child in December.

Lisa Templin Hess
Swimming
1992-96
Lisa Templin earned All-America honors in each of her last three seasons at IUP, specializing in the backstroke. She regularly won 100- and 200-yard backstroke races and swam the opening backstroke leg on IUP's outstanding 200- and 400-meter medley relay teams.

Templin qualified for the NCAA Division II meet as a sophomore, junior and senior, her best finish a sixth place in the 200 medley relay along with Tawney Nardozza, Katie Woodruff and Deidre Lamb at Canton, Ohio, in 1995. They shattered the school record with a time of 1 minute, 48.44 seconds.

The 200 medley relay team, with Templin swimming the backstroke leg, placed eighth at nationals in 1994 (with Nardozza, Woodruff and Jamee Fizz) and ninth in 1996 (with Lamb, Jill Weber and Tiffany Staver). Templin's contributions helped IUP finish eighth at the NCAA meet in 1994 and 10th in 1995 under coach Fran Nee and 11th in 1996 under coach Peter Ward.

The women posted the first perfect dual meet record (9-0) in program history and finished second in the PSAC meet during her senior season. Templin struggled with bronchitis and a severe sinus infection that kept her out of the water for several weeks, but she came back in time for the PSAC meet and helped the 200 medley relay team qualify for nationals.

Templin earned all-conference honors in each of her four seasons at IUP. She was also a four-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America academic All-American as a senior

After graduating from IUP in 1996 with a degree in English education, Templin earned her master's in education from Cabrini University in 2013 and her doctorate from Nova Southeastern (Fla.) University in 2018. She is currently an assistant superintendent in the Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County.    

Templin resides in Mohnton, outside of Reading. She has three adult children: Ryan, Ty and Kyle.

Chris Holuta
Honorary Bell Ringer Award
Chris Holuta, executive vice president of The Reschini Group, an Indiana insurance firm, is the winner of the honorary Bell Ringer Award for continued support of IUP athletics.

For three decades Holuta has worked to ensure that the athletic department's mission is realized. He not only contributes financially; he is personally involved. Holuta meets with the athletes, reinforcing the message that hard work is a key to success and acting as a mentor to individuals when called upon.

He has long invested time and effort in area youths, whether it be at the Little League, high school or collegiate level, to help them reach their goals.

Holuta graduated from IUP with an accounting degree in 1989, worked for a year at S&T Bank and was then hired by Reschini. He was then one of nine employees; the Reschini staff currently numbers in excess of 100. Since his arrival, Reschini has blossomed from a small agency into one of the top 100 insurance firms in the nation, out of more than 25,000.

Holuta serves or has served on various area boards, including the United Way of Indiana County, Highmark, the Foundation for IUP, Jimmy Stewart Museum, American Cancer Society, S&T Bank, Hopeful Hearts and Downtown Indiana. He also volunteered as a Little League coach for 20 years.

Holuta and his wife, Luci, reside in Indiana. They have three sons: Nick, 27; Matt, 25; and Alex, 17.