BOSTON, MA – The University of Massachusetts Boston has announced its 2004 Athletic Hall of Fame class today, naming William Berglund, Porchia “Ann” Brissett, Joseph Casey, Catherine Forbes “Kit” Clark, Murtonda Durant, Chris Harvey, Dick Leahy, William Squires and James P. “Gus” Sullivan, along with the 1984-85 NCAA Champion indoor track and field teams, as its new inductees. The electees were voted in by an 18-member Hall of Fame committee in May and will be formally inducted at a ceremony on October 6, 2004 on the campus of UMass Boston.

The Hall of Fame recognizes and honors former outstanding UMass Boston/Boston State College student-athletes, coaches, administrators and friends of the athletic program for their accomplishments and services to the Department of Athletics. William Berglund owned a career record of 48-18-1 for a .723 winning percentage and earned NAIA All-American status in 1968. He was also named to the All-East and All-New England squads in both 1968 and 1969. Berglund holds the distinction of being the only goalie to win three Codfish Bowl tournaments and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 1967 and 1968, thus earning him a spot on the All-Time 35 Anniversary Codfish Bowl team. He led the 1967-68 team to a number four national ranking and to an appearance in the First Annual NAIA National Championship tournament, while being selected to the All-Tournament squad. Berglund was the Warriors’ goaltender during its glorious undefeated 1965-66 season as well, when they reeled off 20 straight victories without a loss and were ranked as the number one Small College team in the country.

Porchia “Ann” Brissett was the first star of UMass Boston’s legendary track and field run during the mid-1980s. It was no coincidence that her arrival at UMass Boston coincided with the emergence of the UMass Boston women’s team as a national Division III track and field power. In her three years at UMB, she became UMass Boston’s first track and field All-American and earned All-America status eight times during her career, including four individual NCAA championships. She was a member of the 1984 and 1986 outdoor championship 4X400 relay squads, and captured the 1985 indoor triple jump title, as well as the 1986 outdoor crown for the 400 meter hurdles. The 1988 UMass Boston graduate was recognized for her outstanding achievements by being named the Division III New England College Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Year in 1985 for her junior year. Brissett was also a recipient of a special award by the NAACP at its Diamond Anniversary Banquet.

Joseph Casey graduated from Boston State College in 1969 and finished his outstanding basketball career as the school’s all-time leader in games played (105) and rebounds (1,799) and ripped down a school-record 17.4 boards per outing. The North Reading, MA resident holds the season-rebounding mark with 501 caroms during the 1966-67 season and pulled down a single-game school-record 34 rebounds in 1968. The center starred at BSC from 1965-69, scoring 1,256 points to rank third all-time and led his teams to a 71-35 mark for a .670 winning percentage over that span. He was named to the New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Conference squad for the 1966-67 campaign and helped the Warriors to an appearance in the NAIA National Championship Tournament, while posting an 18-7 mark.

Kit Clark was a lifelong resident of Savin Hill and a longtime Dorchester civic leader, whose concern bridged youth and older generations, local government and higher education, and unified them with an uncompromising belief in community. Clark was a member of the UMass Boston Board of Trustees from 1974 until her death in 1977. Most particularly, she is remembered for her deep commitment to services of high quality for students and led the effort to assure the construction of an athletic facility on the UMass Boston campus. She served as president of the Columbia-Savin Hill Neighborhood Housing Service and the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association, as well. Clark also held the office of vice president of the Dorchester United Housing Association, was the director of Senior House of Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses and served as vice president of the Republican City Committee and was a Republican State Committee member.

Murtonda Durant was a model of consistency and success, earning All-America status 15 times in a four-year career, while being a major factor in UMass Boston’s dominance of women’s track and field. The Mattapan, MA resident helped the Beacons to four NCAA team championships, including three consecutive indoor titles and was part of UMass Boston’s incredible feat of becoming the first school in NCAA history to capture both indoor and outdoor team championships during the same year. UMB finished as the national runner-up three times and placed fourth in the outdoor championships during Durant’s freshman season. A 1989 graduate of UMass Boston, she specialized in the 400 meters, qualifying as an All-American in all four indoor and all four outdoor races she competed in at the NCAA Championships and won the indoor title in 1985 and 1987 when she ran a 56.66 to set an NCAA record, which stood for 10 years.

Chris Harvey was one of the greatest lacrosse players to compete in New England. The attackman played two seasons for Boston State College and finished his career with one tremendous season at UMass Boston after Boston State merged with UMass Boston in 1982. Harvey’s senior season at UMass Boston was a memorable one as he earned a spot on the Division III United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-American team and was named a Colonial Division All-Star as well. The 1987 UMB graduate racked up 93 points in 13 games, while amassing 58 goals and 35 assists that year to rank within the top three national leaders in points per game and goals per outing for the Beacons, while leading them to the Colonial Division title and an ECAC Semi-final showdown with Bowdoin College. His single-game goal total is still the second-highest mark of any UMass Boston player.

Dick Leahy, one of the greatest ice hockey players in Boston State College annals, was named to the All-East and All-New England teams in 1968, while helping the Warriors to a fourth-place finish at the inaugural NAIA National Championship Hockey tournament. The 1970 graduate averaged 1.5 points per game with 103 points in 68 games, good for the fifth-highest scoring average in school history. He was Boston State’s second-leading scorer in both 1968 and 1969 and was named the team Most Valuable Player in 1969, while earning the first of two school Sportsmanship Awards. No stranger to success, Leahy helped the Warriors to three straight Codfish Bowl titles and was selected to the Codfish Bowl All-Tournament team in 1969..

William Squires is easily, the greatest track and field coach in Boston State College history. The words “legendary” and “world class” often precede his name when talking about the greatest distance running coaches in U.S. history. The renowned coach spent 18 years tutoring the runners at Boston State College and owned an overall record of 274-84, good for a .765 winning percentage. Squires also led the Warriors to 49 team championships and earned NCAA Coach of the Year honors on three occasions. Prior to coaching some of the greatest distance runners on the national level, Squires trained 16 collegiate All-Americans and three NCAA champions. He founded and coached the Greater Boston Track Club, considered one of the greatest track clubs in the world.

Gus Sullivan‘s name is synonymous with Boston State College athletics. He served as the school’s Director of Athletics for 31 years from 1948-78 and began the program with just the sport of basketball. Upon his retirement in 1978, BSC boasted a program of 20 athletic teams for men and women. Sullivan also founded the nation’s second oldest college hockey invitational, when he established the Codfish Bowl in 1965, a tournament that routinely featured the region’s top hockey teams. Under Sullivan’s guidance, Boston State was a member of the NCAA, ECAC, NAIA, NESCAC, NECAC, MASCAC and NRA and was a major power when the NCAA was made up of two basic divisions – small college and major college. During his tenure, Sullivan held many distinguished titles, serving as District Chairman of the NAIA, Chairman of the ECAC Hockey Tournament, President of the NESCAC, Chairman of the NESCAC Sports Committee and became the first commissioner of the MASCAC in 1974.

The 1984-85 Indoor Track and Field Team captured UMass Boston’s first indoor NCAA III title, as well as its first national team title of any kind and boasted eight All-America performances and three individual champions during its championship run. It was an improbable feat considering nine freshman, two sophomores and a pair of juniors made up the roster, which included virtually no one competing in the field events. The squad also won the ECAC indoor crown, paced by five first place finishes and two meet records, and finished third at the New England Championships, while taking three first place finishes. Members of the squad include: Donna Bogues, Delores Booth, Darrelle Boyd, Porchia “Ann” Brissett, Charlene Byrd, Murtonda Durant, Genesia Eddins, Donna Jules, Sonji Larts, Jackie McGill, Kelly Rainey, Paula Taylor, Michele Williams, Rosalind Williams, Head Coach Sherman Hart and Assistant Coach Jeff Hennessey.