Xavier Announces The 2018-19 Athletic Hall Of Fame Class

CINCINNATI - Xavier University Athletics is proud to announce the outstanding 2018-19 induction class for the Xavier University Athletic Hall of Fame, including former conference champion swimmer Jamie Christman, conference champion golfer Timothy Donovan, Jr., long-time administrator John Kucia as well as basketball standouts Reetta S. Piipari and Darnell L. Williams, who earned long lists of individual accolades and led Xavier to multiple championship seasons in women's and men's basketball. The new class, which consists of five Xavier University graduates, will bring the total number of members in the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame to 138.

Xavier will induct its newest five members to the Hall of Fame at an awards dinner at Cintas Center on Friday night, Nov. 30. The Hall of Fame Class will also be honored at halftime of the Xavier's men's basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 1 vs. Oakland. Complete event and reservation information will be announced at a later date.

JAMIE T. CHRISTMAN ('97)

Jamie Christman was a four-year standout on the Xavier men's swim team, owning the distinction of winning an individual gold medal in both the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Christman, a three-time Academic All-Conference honoree, set the then-school record for the 50 free at the 1995 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Championships with a time of 20.52, winning the gold medal is that event. Christman set the then-school record for the 100 free (45.72) while finishing third in the MCC Championships for that event later in the meet. Christman was also a member of all three free relay teams that set then-school records in 1995. The 200 free relay team set the school record of 1:24.77, the 400 free relay team set a record of 3:08.59 and the 800 free relay team set a record of 6:59.38.

Xavier University Athletics stepped up to the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning with the 1995-96 school year. Christman picked up where he left off in the MCC. In 1996 Christman finished sixth in the Atlantic 10 Championships. In 1997, Christman won the Atlantic 10 Championship gold medal in the 50 Free and finished sixth in the 100 Free.

TIMOTHY E. DONOVAN, JR. ('01)

Timothy Donovan, Jr. enjoyed a standout career as a Musketeer golfer but is most remembered for putting on one of the most amazing individual performances in Xavier history for an conference championship. Donovan won the 2001 Atlantic 10 Men's Golf Championship at Penn National Golf Club with an A-10 record-setting 19-under-par 197 mark that still stands today.

Donovan, who was named 2001 Atlantic 10 Men's Golf Student Athlete of the Year and All-Atlantic 10 Conference, holds the individual record for 36 holes with 67-64 (-13), which he earned at that 2001 A-10 Championship. His combined score of 197 is tied for the school-record for 54 holes. Donovan led Xavier to the 2001 Atlantic 10 Championship and a berth into the 2001 NCAA Championship field.

Donovan, a two-time Academic All-American and the 2001-02 Xavier Co-Player of the Year, currently has the 15^th best career scoring average in Xavier history at 75.71 and had an average of 74.14 for the 2000-01 season, which was in the top 20 for single-season success at Xavier when he finished his career.

JOHN F. KUCIA ('69)

John Kucia worked at Xavier University for 34 years, serving as the principal assistant to four university presidents. Kucia retired from the University on June 30 and received the 2018 Paul L. O'Connor, S.J., Leadership Award.

Kucia oversaw Xavier Athletics and played a pivotal role in moving our teams from the MCC to the Atlantic 10 to now the Big East Conference. Across 18 sports programs, he has seen Xavier make more than 100 NCAA appearances, including 16 for men's basketball in the past 18 years.

Kucia, who earned his doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor's degree from Xavier in 1969 and a master's from XU in 1972. His professional association with Xavier began in 1984 when he became Director for Alumni Relations, eventually serving as Administrative Assistant to the President and Administrative Vice President, directly reporting to presidents Albert DiUlio, S.J., former Marine Michael Conaton (interim), James Hoff, S.J., and Michael Graham, S.J., current President of Xavier University.

In his more than three decades in the president's office, Kucia developed unique collaborative and leadership skills that resulted in historic development and change for Xavier University. From leading the initiative in 1992 to close Ledgewood Avenue to replace a busy city street with pedestrian green space for the campus, to strategic property acquisitions that paved the way for construction of signature campus buildings, Kucia has played a key role in expanding to nearly 200 acres what was once considered a land-locked campus. That list of signature buildings include the Cintas Center, the home of Xavier University basketball and volleyball.

REETTA S. PIIPARI ('03)

Reetta Piipari, a native of Finland that played prep basketball at Minster (OH) High School, left her mark on the record books at her collegiate home at Xavier. Piipari finished her Xavier career ranked 13th all-time at Xavier in scoring with 1,384 points, averaging 11.0 points and 5.2 assists per game. Piipari played in 126 games, finishing first in school history in career assists with 659. Piipari also ranks fourth all-time in 3-pointers made (224), fourth in 3-pointers attempted (577), fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.388) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.764). She holds the single-game Xavier record for assists (17); also had 13 assists in a game on four occasions. She holds the school record for single-season assists with 281.

Piipari earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors in each of her final three season, including 2002 First Team honors. She made the 2001 A-10 All-Tournament Team after helping lead XU to the conference title.

Piipari's impact on the Xavier women's basketball program goes way beyond individual numbers. She helped Xavier post an 83-37 (.692) overall record and a 44-20 (.688) Atlantic 10 record over four seasons, winning two conference titles (1990-00, 2000-01). During her career, Xavier advanced to three NCAA Tournaments (2000, 2001, 2003), including the 2001 NCAA Elite Eight. Xavier won a school record 31 games during the 2000-01 season.

DARNELL L. WILLIAMS ('99)

Darnell Williams ('99) enjoyed a tremendous four-year career on the men's basketball team and still ranks 16th on Xavier's all-time scoring list with 1,572 career points. It's hard not to think about how many more he would have scored if not for a knee injury he suffered during an NIT All-Star Team tour in Italy in the summer of 1998, an injury that would sideline him for the entire 1998-99 season.

There was plenty to celebrate both individually and as a team during Williams' time as a Musketeer. Williams came to Xavier in the 1995-96 season, XU's first as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, part of the star-studded freshman class that recorded an 8-8 A-10 regular season record and a 1-1 A-10 Tournament record. Williams set a Xavier freshman scoring record with 35 points in a win over Duquesne at Cincinnati Gardens. Williams scored more points than any XU player that season, 345 in 28 games compared with 338 in 27 games for fellow Hall of Famer Lenny Brown.

Williams won 66 games over his final three seasons, helping XU capture NCAA berths in 1997 and 1998, an NIT berth in 2000 as a redshirt senior as well as two A-10 regular season and one A-10 tournament title. Williams led XU to a 23-6 overall record, a 13-3 A-10 record and an A-10 West Division Championship and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his sophomore season. He earned Chevrolet/CBS Game MVP honors for his 16-point, six-rebound, five-assist game in the win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament.

As a junior in the 1997-98 season, Williams led the team in scoring at 17.3 ppg. and field goal shooting at 55.9 percent while earning First Team All-Mideast honors (Basketball Times), First Team All-Atlantic 10 (Basketball Weekly), Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team and Second Team All-Atlantic 10 (A-10 Coaches). He led the team to a 22-8 record overall, a first place tie in the Atlantic 10 West Division at 11-5 and a second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Williams, who could slash to the basket and hit the three-pointer with deep range, recorded a team-high 14 games of 20 points or more, including a big game-high 24-point effort in a win at Temple. Numerous national experts and pro scouts ranked Williams as the best player on that Xavier team, high praise for a guy whose teammates included the likes of James Posey, Lenny Brown, Torraye Braggs and Gary Lumpkin.

Schedule

Upcoming Events