The Saginaw Valley State Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame committee is happy to announce the inductees for the Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The class is composed of five student-athletes, two coach/administrators, one athletic department contributor, and one team.
The inductees are John Darga (cross country/track & field), Becca (Rudey) Schlaff (track & field), Andrea Buxton (volleyball), Elizabeth (Liz) Mulvaney Garcia (track & field), Dale Brown (men's basketball), Robert Maybouer (track & field), Robert Pratt (men's basketball), 1997 Bowling team, and Joe Vogl (contributor).
John Darga was a member of the SVSU cross country and track & field teams during the early 1980s. During his time as a Cardinal student-athlete, Darga was named a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American in 1980 for cross country and three-time All-American (1980, 1981, 1982) in track & field. He was a member of the back-to-back NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field National Championship teams in 1982 and 1983. In those same two seasons, the team won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championships and was the runners-up for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in 1983.
Becca (Rudey) Schlaff competed for the Saginaw Valley State women's cross country and track & field teams in the 2000s where she earned U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-America in cross country during the 2006 season and an NCAA All-America in track & field in 2007. Schlaff was the team co-captain on both the cross country and track & field teams and was an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
Andrea Buxton played volleyball for the Cardinals and is a three-time first-team All-GLIAC selection (2009, 2010, 2011) in volleyball for SVSU. She is the career leader in kills with 1,315 and is currently ranked second in career attack attempts with 3,607. Buxton was featured on ESPN for a half-time interview during her playing career. She coached Garber volleyball in 2012-13 where they won a district championship and made an appearance in the regional finals.
Elizabeth (Liz) Mulvaney Garcia was a member of the women's track & field squad in the late 1990s. She earned NCAA All-America status in the shot for the 1998 NCAA Indoor and outdoor track & field National Championships.
Dale Brown finished his career with the SVSU men's basketball team in 1978 as the career leader in points with 1,657. That mark now ranks fifth in the program record books. Brown was named the team MVP as a junior and senior. The Cardinals finished the season 21-8 during Brown's senior season.
Robert Maybouer joined the SVSU track & field coaching staff as an assistant on the men's team before becoming the first full-time head coach for the women's track & field team. He coached the team from 1980-86. Maybouer coached 37 NAIA All-Americans during his time with the Cardinals. He moved on to coach at the NCAA Division I level in the Mid-American Conference where he won conference coach of the year six times.
Robert Pratt was the longest-tenured head coach of the men's basketball team from 1973-97. He finished his career with 395 wins to make himself the winningest coach in team history. Pratt accounts for 57.7% of the program's all-time wins. He has coached all nine All-Americans that played for Saginaw Valley. Those nine athletes totaled 12 All-America honors including three first-teamers, one second-teamer, and eight honorable mentions. Half of the top 10 career-leading scorers were coached by Robert Pratt.
Joe Vogl has devoted 42 years of service to SVSU. He joined the nest in 1978 as the manager of operations for the Ryder Center before moving to the role of Director of Athletics and Athletics Marketing and Development. On top of his duties on campus, Vogl spent 35 years as the coach for the golf program. He spent 13 years on the Midwest Regional Ranking Committee and three years on the DII National Men's Golf Committee.
The 1997 Bowling Team is the fourth, and final, SVSU bowling team to win a national championship during the life of the program.
Banquet Information
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Time: TBD
Place: TBD
Tickets
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Hall of Fame History
SVSU Athletics and the Hall of Fame Committee established the Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame to recognize and honor individuals who have made exemplary contributions to Saginaw Valley State University Athletics. The inaugural class was announced Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at a press conference in the Ryder Center, and was formally inducted on Sept. 17, 2010, at a dinner ceremony and honored at halftime of the Sept. 18 football game against Lake Erie College.
Click here for the comprehensive list of SVSU Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
| Class of 2023 | |
| Class of 2022 | |
| Class of 2020 | |
| Class of 2019 | |
| Class of 2018 | |
| Class of 2017 | |
| Class of 2016 | |
| Class of 2015 | |
| Class of 2014 | |
| Class of 2013 |
| Class of 2012 |
| Class of 2011 |
| Class of 2010 |
Nomination Information
A complete list of the Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame Criteria and Nomination Form can be found below.
| Hall of Fame Criteria and Nomination Form |