ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame added 10 inductees during its Oct. 10, 2014 ceremony at Emerson Suites. It was the 45th annual event and the class included nine individual inductees and one team induction.
 
1979 FOOTBALL TEAM (Induction Video)
Under head coach Jim Butterfield, the Ithaca College football team captured the school's first-ever national championship with a 14-10 win over Wittenberg at Phenix City, Ala. The comeback victory and national title capped a 10-2 season for Ithaca. Quarterback Doug Bencsko passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the title game, and the Bomber defense limited top-ranked Wittenberg to just 10 points. It was the fourth time in five opportunities during the 1979 season that Ithaca beat an opponent that came into the game undefeated.
 
Ithaca started its season by winning four straight games. Mid-season defeats at the hands of Clarion State and American International didn't deter the Bombers. They won their final six games of the season and outscored their opponents 170-50 over those contests. Ithaca defeated Dubuque 27-7 in the opening round of the playoffs, and Carnegie Mellon in the national semifinals. Ithaca's defense held opponents to 14 points or less in 12 of its 13 games. Team captains were Bill George and John Laper, and they earned All-American honors that year, along with John Nicolo.
 
LISA BOYER '79 (Induction Video)
Women's Basketball, Coaching, Softball
As an outstanding contributor to the sport of basketball at the collegiate and professional levels, Lisa Boyer has been both a leader and pioneer in the game. Her coaching career spans more than 30 years, the last 12 as the top assistant coach at Temple University and South Carolina to head coach and basketball hall-of-famer Dawn Staley. Boyer was a trailblazer as the first woman to hold an assistant coaching position in the NBA, where she worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2001-02 under another hall of famer, John Lucas. Boyer has held head coaching positions at the collegiate level and professional level. A native of Ogdensburg, N.Y., Boyer was a standout forward for Ithaca College, from which she graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1979. She went on to earn a master of education degree from North Carolina-Greensboro in 1982 before beginning her incredibly successful coaching career.
 
JENNIFER NARDONE CANTELMO '98 (Induction Video)
Gymnastics
As a senior in 1998, Jennifer Nardone Cantelmo totaled three All-American finishes at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championships and helped Ithaca win its first national title in gymnastics. Nardone was third in the all-around competition, third on balance beam, and sixth on vault to lead the Bombers to the title. That championship meet capped an outstanding career, during which Nardone also achieved All-American honors in all-around as a sophomore in 1996. She earned 11 All-ECAC honors including ECAC titles in all-around in 1997, and vault and balance beam in 1998. Her scores on floor exercise and balance beam established school records in 1995, and the beam record stood for six years. During Nardone's career, Ithaca's team won three ECAC Championships and added top-three finishes at the NCGA Championships in 1995 and 1997. She earned the ECAC Medal of Merit and NCGA Senior Academic Team honors.
 
BOB CORRAN '71 (Induction Video)
Athletics Administration
Bob Corran's venture into college athletics took hold at Ithaca College, where he was a varsity athlete in ice hockey, lacrosse and football and also played freshman soccer. He has gone on to impact the lives of student-athletes as a coach and athletics administrator for more than 40 years. Corran was athletic director at the University of Calgary for 12 years and the University of Minnesota-Duluth for six years before taking his current role. Corran became the Director of Athletics at Vermont in 2003 and added the title of Associate Vice President at the university in 2008, where he continues to lead the Catamounts' Division I programs. Wherever Corran has been, success has followed. Since arriving on the Burlington campus, Corran has been instrumental in helping change the culture of UVM's athletic department. The Catamounts have won seven America East Academic Cups while steadily rising in the league's Commissioner's Cup standings. During his tenure at Minnesota Duluth, Bulldog teams won 58 conference championships and three NCAA Championships. Under his leadership, Calgary won 53 conference titles and 23 national championships. He served as president of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union and on the executive committee for the Calgary Olympics in 1988.
 
KEN HAMMEL '91 (Induction Video)
Baseball, Football
Ken Hammel left his mark on Ithaca College success on the football field and baseball diamond as a valuable contributor in both sports, and helped both teams to national championships during his career. Hammel was a two-time All-America in football as a wide receiver, and a two-time All-ECAC Upstate New York selection. He totaled 83 receptions in three years on the football field, including career totals of 83 receptions for 1,666 yards and 11 touchdowns. He ranked third in catches, second in receiving yards and third in touchdown receptions at the time of his graduation. As an outfielder on the Ithaca baseball team, Hammel batted .318 over a career that saw Ithaca play in the NCAA Tournament all four years and win 118 games in that span. He scored 75 runs and drove in 53 runs in 105 career games. Hammel was honored with the school's James K. Harris Award as the best two-sport athlete and the Ben Light Senior Athlete of the Year Award. He also earned the Carlton "Carp" Wood Award for sportsmanship and dedication.
 
AMANDA LAYTHAM LoPICCOLO '04 (Induction Video)
Track & Field, Cross Country
A six-time All-American in track & field and twice honored as Academic All-American, Amanda Laytham LoPiccolo left her mark on the women's track & field programs in distance running events. She holds five school records, including a time of 4:35.35 in the indoor 1,500-meter run which she set as a junior. She placed second in that event at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships to earn her highest finish in an event at the national meet and earn her second All-America honor, one year after placing third in the same event. She added individual All-American finishes as a junior in the outdoor 1,500-meter run, and as a senior in the indoor 1,500-meter run. She added All-American honors in the indoor distance medley relay in 2002 and 2003, and is part of the quartet that still holds the school record in that event. She is a two-time Academic All-American including a first-team honor in 2002 and a third-team honor in 2003, and a two-time Academic All-District selection.
 
PAULA MILLER (Induction Video)                                                                                     
Coach, Swimming & Diving
Paula Miller has contributed to one of Ithaca's most successful overall programs as head coach of the women's swimming & diving team for the last 30 years. She is a two-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, winning that award in 1987 and 1999, and her tenure has included leading the team to 12 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships. Miller has coached 76 student-athletes to 471 all-American honors and seven members of the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. Ithaca teams have won more than 250 dual meets under her direction. She has led her teams to 18 New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) titles and 24 conference championships, 14 of those in the Empire 8. She served as head coach for both men's and women's swimming & diving, and led the men's program to a 29-5 dual-meet record and three top-20 finishes at the NCAAs in her three years as head coach of that team in the mid-1980s. Miller is a 1973 graduate of Bridgewater State and was inducted into her alma mater's athletic hall of fame in 1990.
 
LISA BLACK PEDATELLA '95 (Induction Video)
Volleyball
As an All-America player on the court and an Academic All-American in the classroom, Lisa Black Pedatella was among the leading players and best overall team leaders for the Ithaca College volleyball team during its most successful era. Black earned All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in a senior season in 1994 that saw Ithaca advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and achieve a school-record 54 wins during the season. She teamed with fellow all-American Tracy Swyers to provide a potent combination of outside hitters. Black Pedatella was an all-region honoree by the AVCA as a junior and senior. Her 550 kills as a junior in 1993 still ranks among the best single-season totals in school history as Ithaca went 37-13 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. She ranks fifth in program history with 1,644 digs, sixth in program history with 1,619 kills, and 10th in program history in hitting percentage.
 
PAUL VERONESI '72 (Induction Video)
Men's Basketball
Paul Veronesi distinguished himself as one of the all-time great scorers in the Ithaca College men's basketball program's long history. He still ranks as the all-time leader in average points per game, with 1,189 points over 63 games in his three varsity seasons, an average of 18.87 points per game. Veronesi earned All-America recognition following his junior season and the team went to the NCAA Tournament in his senior season. Veronesi missed just two games in his varsity career, and while known for his scoring ability, also showed unselfishness with more than 200 assists. Veronesi showed his scoring touch as soon as he came to Ithaca College with 451 points and a 21.5 points-per-game average as a freshman during the 1968-69 campaign. A native of Agawam, Mass., Veronesi has a memorial scholarship in his name presented to a graduate of Agawam High School each year.
 
DAVID WOOD '79 (Induction Video)
Men's Basketball
David Wood was among the first players ever to contribute through all four years of a varsity career, and distinguished himself as a top performer for the men's basketball teams of the late-1970s. Wood started immediately as a freshman and played four years as the team's point guard. He totaled a then school-record 374 assists. As a senior, Wood handed out 138 assists, a single-season record at the time that included a single-game record 15 assists. He excelled in distributing the basketball to teammates, but also totaled more than 500 points in his career. His sophomore season saw Ithaca claim a conference title and make the program's third-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Wood is a native of Vestal, New York, where he played high-school basketball for IC Hall of Famer Don Andrejko. He graduated from IC with a degree in physical education in 1979.