By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
There’s a new approach to the Elon Sports Hall of Fame – and a unique inductee in the upcoming class.
Elon will honor some of its past greats in this week’s induction ceremony.
The list of inductees includes the Fightin’ Christian mascot.
Beginning this school year, Elon has moved Hall of Fame activities from September to the winter in what’s being dubbed Hall of Fame and Champions Weekend. Activities are slated for Thursday through Sunday.
The Fightin’ Christian was the mascot for 78 years before the university retired the mascot in 1999 in favor of the Phoenix.
The late Clay Hassard, a longtime member of the athletics department, is among those on the induction list.
Hassard, a 1985 graduate, played as an offensive lineman for the football team and then spent five seasons as an assistant on the football team’s coaching staff. In 1990, he joined the athletics department’s administrative staff and eventually became associate athletics director. He helped oversee football operations for years.
The inductees also include men’s tennis player Stefan Fortmann (2012-15), women’s track and field standout Sydney Griffin (2012-16), football offensive lineman David Harrison (2006-09) and baseball infielder Casey Jones (2012-15).
Fortmann was Player of the Year in what was then the Colonial Athletic Association in 2015. Griffin, a hurdler and sprinter, set eight school records. Harrison, a two-time All-Southern Conference performer, was on the first Elon team to reach the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2009. Jones was the 2014 Southern Conference Player of the Year, hitting .418 as a junior.
The induction ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Alumni Gym. Inductees also will be honored at that night’s men’s basketball game at Schar Center.
Several conference championship teams will be celebrated Friday at a women’s basketball game. They are the 1985 baseball team, the 1995 men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s soccer teams, and the 2015 men’s soccer and women’s outdoor track and field teams.
The men’s basketball team plays home games Thursday night and Saturday night. There are women’s basketball games Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, February 2, a National Girls and Women in Sports Day clinic will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Schar Center prior to a women’s game. There are sessions open to girls ages 12 and younger and another session for parents.
