INDIANA, Pa. – The Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) department of athletics is set to induct the 2023 Hall of Fame class on Saturday, September 9, prior to its home football game against East Stroudsburg.
The class consists of 10 former student-athletes, two long-time athletic trainers and one team representing 10 different sport programs, all making up the department's 27th total induction class. Along with the coach/administrator and team categories, Dr. Jack Frank will be recognized as the Honorary Bell Ringer.
The full IUP Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is listed below:
- Paul Bingham; baseball, 2007-10
- Derrick Freeman; men's basketball, 1993-96
- Michelle Jones; volleyball, 2003-06
- Brianna Liebold; women's track & field, 2008-11
- Donald Lindich; baseball/football, 1961-64
- Chris Morgan; football, 2003-06
- Jackie Rutkowski; women's lacrosse, 2004-07
- Megan Woodall, women's basketball, 1998-2001
- Kerry Yacamelli; football, 1990-94
- Nicholas Yutko; men's cross country, 1979-83 (posthumous)
- Ron Trenney, Frank Trenney; athletic trainers
- 1968 Men's Golf Team
- Dr. Jack and Jeannette Frank; Honorary Bell Ringer
"Here at IUP, we are fortunate to have a rich history and tradition within intercollegiate athletics," said IUP Director of Athletics
Todd Garzarelli. "This 2023 Hall of Fame class played a vital role in that storied tradition of success, and are certainly worthy of recognition this fall for their many contributions."
More details on the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 can be found below, courtesy of Bob Fulton:
Paul Bingham, Baseball
Paul Bingham's offensive prowess is reflected in the fact that his name is sprinkled throughout the IUP record book.
He holds school career marks for batting average (.417), hits (268), triples (28), total bases (378), walks (111) and stolen bases (98), and single-season records for runs (70), hits (88), triples (12) and stolen bases (45). His career triples total stands as the NCAA Division II record.
Bingham hit .409 as a freshman and was again a top contributor as a sophomore in 2008, when coach Jeff Ditch's team went 36-19 and set a school record for victories. A losing season followed in 2009, but the Crimson Hawks bounced back in 2010 as Bingham went on a tear. He hit .463, the second-best figure in school history, broke the PSAC record with 45 steals and tied a 33-year-old conference mark with 12 triples.
The honors, consequently, poured in. Bingham was named a first-team Daktronics and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American and a second-team American Baseball Coaches Association All-American; a first-team ABCA/Rawlings and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region selection; and the PSAC West Player of the Year. He was also a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Division II Player of the Year Award, the only shortstop and one of only two PSAC players so honored.
IUP rode his individual brilliance to a 31-24 record and a PSAC West championship. Bingham, who graduated from IUP in 2010 with a degree in GIS cartography, was selected in the 20th round of the annual amateur draft by San Diego and spent two seasons in the Padres' minor league system. He works for Globus Medical in Audubon, as a new product sourcing lead. Bingham lives in Royersford with his wife, Allison, and their children, Beau, 2½, and Maeve, four months.
Derrick Freeman, Men's Basketball
Derrick Freeman gave IUP fans a glimpse of what he was bringing to the basketball program in December of 1993 when he exploded for 37 points in only his eighth game in uniform.
The Indians, as they were then known, made the first three NCAA tournament appearances in school history with Freeman in the lineup after he transferred from Burlington (N.J.) County Community College. The 1993-94 team (27-3) set a school record for wins that lasted all of one year as coach Kurt Kanaskie's 1994-95 squad rolled to a 29-2 record after starting 21-0 and climbing to No. 1 in the national polls for the first time ever. The Indians reached the NCAA Division II semifinals before losing to UC Riverside.
By the time Freeman, a 6-5 forward, wrapped up his career, his name was everywhere in the IUP record book. He still ranks 10th in career points (1,535), eighth in points per game (17.2), eighth in field goal percentage (.557), fourth in steals (204) and ninth in blocked shots (78). Freeman set a record against Clarion as a senior when he went 13-for-13 from the floor, the most field goals ever by an IUP player without a miss.
He reserved some of his finest efforts for the postseason. Freeman scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal loss to Cal State Bakersfield in 1994 and spearheaded a quarterfinal victory over Central Missouri State in 1995 with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Freeman became IUP basketball's first-ever first-team All-American in 1995 when he was honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He earned second-team NABC All-America honors as a senior. A three-time All-PSAC West performer, Freeman was also named the ECAC South Division II Player of the Year in 1995, was again a first-team ECAC selection in 1996, earned CoSIDA All-East first-team honors in 1995 and a second-team nod in 1996, and was named the MVP of the PSAC tournament and NCAA Division II East Region tournament as a junior.
After finishing up at IUP, Freeman took his talents overseas. He launched his lengthy professional career in Ireland in 1996 and later suited up for teams in Germany, the Netherlands and England. Freeman wrapped up his basketball career in 2010. He is self-employed and resides in Burlington, N.J.
Michelle Jones, Women's Volleyball
It could be said that on a volleyball court, Michelle Jones was a cold-blooded killer. An outside hitter who made defenders cower when she rose to smash the ball—despite the fact she was "merely" 5-foot-9—Jones accumulated 1,395 career kills, good for third place on the all-time IUP list. Her best single-season totals of 403 kills in 2004 and 389 in 2003 rank 11th and 12th in IUP history.
Jones also ranks sixth in kills per set in a career with a 3.14 average, 12th in kills per set in a season with a 3.47 average in 2003 and 14th all time in hitting percentage, with a .238 figure. Her numbers might have been even more impressive had injuries and a serious illness not hampered her as a junior and senior.
IUP enjoyed some outstanding seasons during Jones' years in uniform. Under coach Carmine Cortazzo, the Indians, as they were then known, went 24-12 in 2003 and advanced to the PSAC and NCAA Division II tournaments. In 2004, IUP went 27-11—the fourth-best win total in school history—reeled off 10 consecutive victories at one point and again appeared in both the conference and national tournaments. The Indians finished 25-11 in 2005 after starting the season 9-0. In all, IUP was 92-48 during Jones' time in the program and advanced to the NCAAs in all four seasons, winning first-round matches in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Jones graduated from IUP in 2007 with a degree in fashion merchandising and small business management. She also graduated from The Art Institute of Philadelphia in 2010 with a degree in fashion design and earned a master's degree in business administration and management from Ashford University in 2020. An enterprise account manager for T-Mobile, Jones lives in Greensburg with her daughter, Brooklynn, 6.
Brianna Liebold, Track & Field
Brianna Liebold leaped into the IUP record book and consistently excelled at a national level during her four years with the Crimson Hawks, despite serious ankle issues.
Liebold won seven PSAC titles in the long jump and triple jump and earned All-America honors on three occasions. Her best finish at the NCAA Division II meet was a third in the long jump indoors as a junior. No IUP woman has ever finished higher in a field event, indoors or outdoors.
Liebold could always be counted on to score points for the Crimson Hawks at the PSAC meet. She claimed indoor titles in the long jump in 2009 and 2011 and the triple jump in 2010 and 2011, and outdoor championships in the triple jump in 2009 and 2011 and the long jump in 2011. Liebold was named the PSAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2010 and 2011, the PSAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2011 and the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year in 2011.
She was a three-time All-American in the long jump. Liebold placed third indoors with a jump of 19 feet, 2½ inches at the 2010 meet in Albuquerque, N.M. She finished sixth indoors in 2011, also at Albuquerque, with a leap of 18-10½, and concluded her career with an eighth-place effort (19-0¼) outdoors at Cal State Stanislaus in 2011.
Liebold still holds school records for the indoor triple jump (39-9¼) and the 4x100 relay (47.3). Her personal best indoor long jump of 19-8¼ has been sur-passed only once in school history. She also played one season of soccer at IUP, as a midfielder.
Liebold, who earned a BA in sports administration from IUP in 2011 and a master's from California of Pennsylvania in sports psychology in 2013, works in talent acquisition for Morgan Properties in King of Prussia. She lives in Trappe with her husband, Adam Dolphin, and their son, Brayden, 3.
Donald Lindich, Baseball/Football
Don Lindich enrolled at IUP—then known as Indiana State College—in Janu-ary of 1961 and graduated in January of 1965, having left his mark on two athletic programs. He earned eight letters in football and baseball and served as a captain for both teams.
Lindich, who saw playing time in football as a defensive back, quarterback and punter, found his way into the IUP record book in 1962. He scored the very first touchdown in Miller Stadium history, picking up a Westminster fumble and racing 97 yards to the end zone to give the Indians, as they were then known, their only lead in a home opener they were fated to lose. It's still the longest fumble return in IUP history. He struck again later that season, picking off a Slippery Rock pass and taking it back 88 yards, a key play in a 21-6 victory. That stood as the school record for longest interception return until John Stuart had a 91-yard pick-6 against Lock Haven in 1992.
Lindich was renowned as a ballhawk during his years in uniform. His 14 career interceptions were, at the time of his graduation, second only to Pete Archibald's 17. His total still ranks ninth. With Lindich patrolling the secondary, IUP enjoyed the winningest three-year span in school history to that point. Coach Chuck Mills led ISC to 5-2-1 and 7-1-1 records in 1962 and 1963 before Chuck Klausing led the Indians to an 8-2 season and the program's first-ever berth in the PSAC championship game in 1964. Lindich earned first-team NAIA Mid-Atlantic Region honors as a defensive back. He also excelled on the baseball diamond, as a shortstop.
Lindich batted a career-high .414 in 1962 for a team that reached the NAIA regional playoffs and in 1964 was voted the Indians' MVP after ISC finished 15-8 that season under coach Owen Dougherty to set a school record for victories. He was presented the Stu-dent Council Award for Accomplishment in Athletics in 1964. Lindich, a retired accountant and corporate controller, resides in Plantation, Fla. He has two grown children, Don and Tricia, and two grandchildren.
Chris Morgan, Football
Running back Chris Morgan finished his career with 3,817 yards rushing, good for third place on the all-time IUP list. Incredible, given that he began carrying the football only because coach Frank Cignetti was in a bind.
Morgan started nine games as a freshman at free safety, but when tailback Mike Jemison went down with an injury, Cignetti asked him to step into the breach. Though he barely knew the plays, Morgan responded by rushing for 117 yards as IUP dispatched rival Slippery Rock, 27-14. Morgan gained 156 yards a week later in a 42-40 win over Bloomsburg to banish any thoughts of him ever returning to the defensive side of the ball.
Morgan earned second-team All-PSAC West honors in 2004 and was elevated to the first team in 2005 and 2006. He was voted the PSAC's Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, earned CoSIDA and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics second-team All-America honors and was a nominee for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented to the top NCAA Division II player in the nation.
Morgan rushed for 1,318 yards as a senior, the ninth-best single-season total in IUP history, and finished second in the conference and ninth nationally in yards per game (131.8). He owns two of the school's three best single-game totals: 286 yards (on only 18 carries) in a 35-21 win over East Stroudsburg in 2007 and 266 during a 44-13 rout of Lock Haven in 2004. Morgan ranks third all time with 34 rushing touchdowns, fourth in all-purpose yards (4,408), fifth with 36 total TDs and ninth with 216 points.
IUP claimed three PSAC West titles during Morgan's years in the program, highlighted by a 10-1 record in 2003. Morgan, who earned a BS degree in sports administration from IUP in 2008 and a master's in sports administration from his alma mater in 2009, works as a machine operator for Wilkinsburg Penn Joint Water Authority in Pittsburgh. He resides in Braddock.
Jaclyn Rutkowski, Women's Lacrosse
Jackie Rutkowski's position on the field was attack, fitting given how relentlessly she bore down on opposing defenses.
Rutkowski was a prolific offensive force during her four years in the lacrosse program and led the team as a senior in 2007 with school-record totals of 50 goals, 29 assists and 79 points. She earned All-PSAC first-team honors for her efforts.
Rutkowski graduated as IUP's all-time leader in points (192) and assists (58) and stood a close second in school history in goals (134) behind only Amy Hood (136). She currently ranks sixth in career goals and assists and seventh in points. Rutkowski's 50 goals as a senior rank ninth as a single-season total. She shares the school record for goals in a game—nine in a 28-5 rout of Slippery Rock in 2007—and twice accounted for 10 points in a game that season, an unprecedented feat at the time.
Rutkowski also played one season of field hockey at IUP, as a goalkeeper. The 2005 team finished 14-7 and advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals before losing 2-1 in overtime to perennial national power Bloomsburg.
Rutkowski graduated from IUP in 2007 with a degree in health and physical education and earned a master's degree in sport and recreational science from Ohio University in 2010. She was hired as head coach when Albion (Mich.) College launched its lacrosse program in 2009 and led the Britons for four seasons. Her 2011 team was named an Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Squad for finishing second among NCAA programs—all divisions—with a 3.51 grade-point average. Rutkowski also assisted Mindy Richmond in 2016, when IUP set a school record with 13 wins, climbed as high as No. 12 in the rankings and reached the PSAC semifinals.
An admissions representative for the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, Rutkowski resides in Canonsburg.
Megan Woodall Mills, Women's Basketball
Megan Woodall's forte in her three years at IUP was distributing the basketball. She finished her career with 387 assists, good for sixth in program history. It should be noted that everyone above her played more than three seasons.
After scoring 1,521 points at Indiana High School, Woodall launched her collegiate career at Division I Kent, where she appeared in 22 games as a freshman. But a lack of playing time prompted a return to her hometown, where coach Sandy Thomas handed her the reins as the team's point guard. Her impact was immediate.
During the 1998-99 season, Woodall led the team in assists (123) and steals (52) and dished out a career-high 11 assists in an 81-67 win over Clarion. The Indians, as they were then known, finished 26-6 to set school records for victories and winning percentage (.813), won PSAC and East Region titles, posted the first two NCAA tournament wins in program history and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time ever. IUP lost there to Northern Kentucky, despite Woodall scoring a season-high 17 points.
She contributed 132 assists and 64 steals a year later and earned All-PSAC West first-team honors as IUP finished 24-5 and again advanced to the NCAA tournament. Woodall produced another fine season as a senior, contributing 132 assists, 65 steals and 10.7 points per game to earn second-team All-PSAC honors. Woodall holds the distinction of being the first player in program history to record a triple-double. She scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 10 assists on Jan. 7, 2001, to lead the Indians to an 82-52 victory over East Stroudsburg.
A 2001 graduate of IUP with a degree in accounting, Woodall works as an administrative assistant for Klaben Auto Group in Kent, Ohio. She resides in Kent with her husband, former professional golfer Jon Mills, and their children, Benjamin, 12, and Emma, 10.
Kerry Yacamelli, Football
Kerry Yacamelli not only played an integral role in the success of some of IUP's most decorated football teams. He also paved the way for some of the school's greatest individual performers as they rewrote the IUP record book.
After redshirting in 1990, Yacamelli spent four seasons as one of coach Frank Cignetti's mainstays on the offensive line, opening holes for ball carriers and protecting quarterbacks. He was a key blocker for tailback Michael Mann, IUP's all-time leading rusher (4.805 yards) and scorer (312 points on 52 touchdowns) and gave record-setting quarterback Tony Aliucci ample time to spot open receivers. Aliucci led Division II in passing efficiency in 1990 and a year later was runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy, awarded the top Division II player in the land.
Yacamelli earned All-PSAC second-team honors at offensive tackle as a senior in 1994, when he served as a team captain and was voted by teammates as IUP's Most Inspirational Player. IUP went 43-6-1 during Yacamelli's career and averaged a robust 36.9 points per game, with a high of 39.4 in 1993, then a school record. The Indians, as they were then known, went deep into the NCAA playoffs on three occasions, twice reaching the semifinals and in 1993 advancing to the national championship game, where they suffered an excruciating last-second defeat to a North Alabama team playing on its home field. IUP set a school record that year with its 13 victories.
Yacamelli earned a BS degree in elementary education from IUP in 1995 and a master's in middle school mathematics from his alma mater in 2001. He is a math teacher in the Gateway School District in Monroeville. He and his wife, Kristine, a 1994 IUP grad, reside in Trafford. They have three children: Kylie, 21; Cade, 19; and Cody, 14.
Nicholas Yutko, Cross Country (posthumous)
After a relatively quiet first three years as a member of IUP's cross country team, Nick Yutko really hit his stride as a senior in 1983 after sitting out the previous season. Yutko wrapped up his career by finishing sixth at the NCAA Division II meet, still the best performance by an IUP runner at nationals. He earned All-America honors for his efforts.
Coach Lou Sutton's team ranked among the nation's elite in 1983, with Yutko typically at the front of the IUP pack. The Indians, as they were then known, won the PSAC meet at East Stroudsburg by a ridiculously wide margin, scoring 36 points to runner-up Millersville's 93. Yutko finished fourth over the five-mile course in a time of 25 minutes, 31 seconds to earn All-PSAC honors.
IUP placed second at the Northeast Region meet in Worcester, Mass., a week later, with Yutko again leading the way. He covered the 10-kilometer distance in 32:18 to finish eighth. That earned IUP a berth at nationals for the ninth consecutive year.
Yutko continued his late-season surge at the Division II meet, held in Parkside, Wis. He crossed the finish line in 30:56, good for sixth place in a field of 132 competitors. That still ranks as the sixth-best time over a 10K course in the history of IUP cross country. The Indians finished sixth as a team. Sutton's runners placed in the top 10 at nationals in all four of Yutko's years as a runner, finishing fifth at the NAIA meet in 1979 and eighth at the NCAAs in both 1980 and 1981.
Yutko was the founder and president of Dreamscape Comics Inc. in Bethlehem for 27 years before his death in 2012 at the age of 51. He was survived by his companion of 18 years, Jeanne Takacs.
Frank Trenney, Administrator (Athletic Training)
Frank Trenney earned his undergraduate degree in health and physical education and physical education and sport from IUP in 1992 and earned a master's in kinesiology in 1993 from that other Indiana University, the one in Bloomington, Ind. He served as assistant athletic trainer at IUP from 1994 to 1997 before succeeding Ron as head trainer. Although Frank covered multiple sports, he focused mainly on football and women's basketball. He retired in 2021.
Together, the Trenneys contributed their skills to IUP athletics for more than six decades, covering more than 400 football games and thousands of other events in the process. Ron and his wife, Amy, who earned undergraduate (1983) and graduate (1984) degrees from IUP, live in Indiana. They have two daughters—Emily, a 2011 IUP grad, and Katie, who earned undergraduate (2014) and graduate (2015) degrees from IUP—and have a grandchild on the way. Frank resides in Blairsville.
Ronald Trenney, Administrator (Athletic Training)
Ron Trenney and his younger brother Frank both served the IUP Department of Sports Medicine with distinction, combining for more than 60 years of athletic training expertise.
The Trenneys worked with thousands of athletes over that time and both served as faculty members in IUP's acclaimed athletic training program, helping to mentor the next generation of athletic trainers, a number of whom landed positions with professional sports teams.
Ron graduated from IUP in 1983 with a degree in health and physical education and earned a master's in health education from Penn State in 1993. He served as IUP's head athletic trainer from 1986 to 1997, working principally with coach Frank Cignetti's football team during a time when the program was rising to national prominence. Trenney also assisted with other sports as needed.
He volunteered with IUP sports medicine from 1997 until his retirement in 2021 while serving as a faculty member and assistant department chairperson in the Department of Kinesiology, Health and Sport Science.
1968 Men's Golf Team, Team Category
Coach Bernie Ganley's golfers not only won the 1968 NAIA championship, the first national title by an IUP team in any sport. They blew away the competition by a 30-stroke margin, one of the largest ever in the event.
IUP led from start to finish at Bemidji (Minn.) Country Club, as did senior Rick Hrip, who claimed individual honors. He thus became the first IUP athlete to capture a national championship. Ganley's team—the top five consisted of Hrip, sophomore Rick Worsham, junior Terry Eisenhute, senior Mike Arnold and junior Dave Prosser—was a battle-tested bunch. That spring IUP not only played but vanquished a succession of big-time opponents: Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Rutgers, Penn, Bucknell, Col-gate and Ohio University. The Indians, as they were then known, rolled through their regular-season schedule before capturing the NAIA District 18 crown to punch their ticket to Minnesota for the national tournament.
IUP was tied with Appalachian (N.C.) State after the first round, opened a 10-stroke lead in the second and widened the gap to 23 in the third before finishing with an aggregate score of 1,162, a whopping 30 strokes clear of runner-up Detroit College.
Hrip wound up shooting a 287 to nose out Appalachian State's John Parker by one stroke for top individual honors. Worsham placed third with a 290 and Eisenhute was fourth with a 291, giving IUP three of the top four golfers and three All-Americans. Arnold carded a 298 and Prosser a 299. Only the four lowest individual scores went toward the team score each round.
The Indians were the first NAIA golf champion from the Northeast and only the second from east of the Mississippi. Their 1,162 was tied for the second-lowest 72-hole score in the history of the NAIA tournament.
John "Jack" Frank and Jeannette Frank, Honorary Bell Ringer Award
Jack and Jeannette Frank have been selected to receive the honorary Bell Ringer Award for their contributions to IUP athletics.
A 1958 IUP grad and former Navy man, Jack returned to campus in 1966 as assistant dean of men and a counselor to veterans, helping them make the transition from military service to school. He held that position for 25 years.
Frank, who earned his master's degree from Westminster and his doctorate from Case Western Reserve University, retired as a full professor at IUP in 1991. He served on the school's Judicial Board, the IUP Co-op Board of Directors, the Foundation for IUP Board and the IUP Alumni Board. Frank also volunteered his time with the school's Football Mentoring Program, counseling freshmen football players. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2006 for his more than 50 years of dedication and service to IUP. Even now, as a senior citizen, Jack remains involved with athletics at his alma mater. He visits campus on an almost daily basis to attend sports practices and games, and regularly checks in on administrators and students, always willing to offer advice and wisdom.
Jeannette, a graduate of Kansas State University, was teaching French in Arlington, Va., when she met Jack, then a high school counselor. She worked as a substitute teacher for a time in the Indiana Area School District after Jack was hired at IUP. Jeannette is a member of the Monday Musical Club and enjoys volunteering at Graystone Presbyterian Church, especially helping in the library there. The Franks reside in Indiana. They have two children—Janelle, a 1992 IUP grad, and Jeffrey, a 1996 IUP alum—and four granddaughters.
