UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – 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), Liz Mulvahney-Garcia (track & field), Dale Brown (men's basketball), Robert Maybouer (track & field), Robert Pratt (men's basketball), 1997 Bowling team, and Joe Vogl (contributor).
"This is a tremendous Hall of Fame class, one that includes NAIA, GLIAC, and National Champions, All-Americans, career statistical leaders, loyal and dedicated Cardinals," said SVSU Interim Director of Athletics Angela Pohl.
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 track & field team 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.
Andrean 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.
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 over four decades of service to SVSU. He joined the nest in 1976 as a Financial Aid Coordinator before serving in a multitude of areas around campus including manager of the Ryder Center, Director of Athletics, and Director of Annual Giving. On top of his duties on campus, Vogl spent over 30 years as a 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.
"The David Kowalski Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame, located in the Ryder Center shines a bright light on Cardinals who wore a uniform, coached, and contributed on campus and beyond. The 2023 class includes honorees from multiple eras of Cardinal Athletics, each of which is representative of the proud tradition and commitment to excellence that SVSU Athletics is known for. I look forward to the opportunity to celebrate all of their accomplishments alongside their teammates, coaches, family, and friends this October," concluded Pohl.
The 2023 Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, October 20, during the homecoming festivities.