Tony Bennett named member of Summit League’s inaugural Hall of Fame class

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett was selected as a member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class for the Summit League, according to a release Thursday afternoon. Bennett, an alumni of the Summit League’s University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (which is now in the Horizon League), is one of eight members of the 2017 class.

According to the release, “A nine-member selection committee representing each current member institution reviewed and selected the annual induction classes. The inaugural honorees came from a pool of eligible individuals who were selected to The Summit League's 30 Most Distinguished Performers list during the league's 30th anniversary celebration in 2011-12.” The Summit League is currently made up of the University of Denver, Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, the University of Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota State University, Oral Roberts University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, and Western Illinois University.

Bennett led the Phoenix from 1988-1992 and was named the GTE Men's Basketball Academic All-America of the Year award and was the Summit League Player of the Year (nobody does it better!) in his senior season. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard...he still holds the NCAA record for three point shooting (49.7%)! Charlotte drafted Bennett 35th overall, where he played for three seasons. Coaching stints in New Zealand and at Wisconsin and Washington State led Bennett to Charlottesville, and there was much rejoicing.

The other members of the inaugural Summit League Hall of Fame class are: Brian Anderson (baseball), Bryce Drew(men's basketball), Dr. Homer Drew (men's basketball), F.L. "Frosty" Ferzacca (administrator), Caleb Green (men's basketball), Krista Ragan-Binum (women's basketball), and Anita Rapp (women's soccer).