Fredonia State will add four new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony Oct. 2 during Homecoming Weekend.
Tickets are $25 per person for the dinner and reception that start at 6 p.m. in Cranston Marche of University Commons. Tickets can be purchased online>>
The Class of 2010 consists of three former athletes, Tom Cordaro and Jonathan Payne (men’s soccer), and Jamie Ricigliano (baseball). In addition, former men’s basketball coach Bill Hughes will join the hall.
Cordaro played for the Blue Devils for three seasons (1994-96). The Blue Devils won back-to-back SUNYAC titles, made two NCAA appearances and were ranked No. 1 nationally for a time in 1996 while Cordaro was team captain. He received the A. Huntley Parker Award as the SUNYAC men’s soccer player of the year in 1995. Also after that season, he was chosen All-New York State Region and Second Team NSCAA/UMBRO All-American. He received the Dr. Sam Molnar Scholar-Athlete Award for the 1996-97 academic year.
Payne, a center back, was a four-year starter, 1997 through 2000, and also a team captain. He was chosen All-SUNYAC three times, All-New York State Region three times, and Third Team NSCAA All-American in 2000. The Blue Devils posted 40 shutouts with Payne as a starter on defense and won 34 of 36 SUNYAC games, two SUNYAC titles, two ECAC titles, and made one NCAA appearance.
Ricigliano was a four-year player (1998-2001) and a three-time All-SUNYAC honoree. His name appears all over the Fredonia State hitting record lists, including career leadership in home runs (16) and runs scored (78). His also ranks in the top five in single-season batting average, career batting average, career hits, single-season homers, and career doubles.
Hughes coached the Blue Devils for 10 seasons (1967-1976, 1977-78) and ranks second in school history in career wins and career winning percentage. Known for a disciplined style of play, Hughes’s Blue Devil teams allowed the fewest points in the nation four times (according to NCAA Division III and NAIA records). He coached five future Fredonia State Athletics Hall of Famers and was SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 1982 while coaching at the University at Buffalo. Hughes was NAIA District Coach of the Year at Roberts Wesleyan in 1967 and was inducted into the Roberts Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
