FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- This past Saturday, the Alaska Nanooks Athletic Department added four new members to the Nanook Hall of Fame, as Cathy Cox, Bart LeBon, Ric Schafer and Al Svenningson were inducted at the Gold Room of the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center.
The Class of 2015 is a historic one, as it includes the school's all-time women's basketball leading scorer (Cox), the school's longest tenured men's basketball coach (Svenningson), a men's basketball player who helped the Nanooks win their first post season championship (LeBon), and a pioneer hockey coach who led the program through its NCAA transition and the NCAA Division I transition.
"It was a pleasure and an honor to participate in this year's induction ceremony with four outstanding Alaska Nanooks," said Alaska Nanooks Director of Athletics, Dr. Gary Gray. "Coach Schafer and Coach Svenningson made so many significant contributions to the program while they were here, and then two basketball greats, Cathy Cox and Bart LeBon, were also major contributors to the women's and men's basketball programs respectively when they were student-athletes. It's definitely exciting to honor these wonderful people, who continue to enrich people's lives today, many years after their athletic careers concluded."
Each inductee was introduced by either family members or former teammates and conducted an on-stage interview with University of Alaska Fairbanks Vice Chancellor for University and Student Advancement, Dr. Mike Sfraga.
Cox played basketball for the women's team from 1986 to 1990. She is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,075 points and ranks fourth on the school's all-time rebounding list with 787. In her four-year career, Cox averaged 19.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The 19.6 points per game is also the highest career points per game average by a Nanook women's basketball player.
"It's awesome to be back in Fairbanks, the campus is just as I remember it," said Cox in her interview. "I got to see some people I haven't seen in years, and I'm so lucky to be inducted into the Nanook Hall of Fame. The night before, I was able to spend some time with my teammates and it was like we've never been apart. We talked about our time here and our lives after UAF. We laughed and cried, and honestly, the past couple of days are the best I've had in a while."
LeBon was a two-year member of the men's basketball team, playing under fellow 2015 Nanook Hall of Fame inductee Al Svenningson. In his first year on campus, LeBon helped the UAF men's basketball team to its first postseason tournament championship, as the Nanooks captured the 1973 NAIA District I Championship. After his graduation, LeBon, who is the Executive Vice President of Mt. McKinley Bank, has been a huge booster of the athletic program. He is the founder of the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational, which is a women's basketball tournament that has been played every year since 2001, and also served as chairman of the now-defunct Top of the World Men's Basketball Tournament. The Bart LeBon Humanitarian Award, which annually goes to a UAF student-athlete who lends a hand to the community and spends several hours volunteering, was named after him.
"Having a Bart LeBon in our community makes Fairbanks a better place," said Dr. Sfraga said about LeBon, who has been a huge philanthropist for both the community and UAF over the past several decades.
When speaking upon the 1972-73 team, who won the NAIA District I Championship, LeBon said the key to the team's success was having all five starters starting every game and propelled the team to win 20 of its 29 games that year.
Schafer continuously grew the Alaska Nanooks hockey program to what it is today during his seven-year tenure. Schafer was hired prior to the 1980-81 season and took charge of a program that was playing in its first year as a NCAA-sponsored team. After a four-year stint as a NCAA Division II team, Schafer guided the Nanooks through the NCAA Division I transition, which began in 1984. Schafer is still holds the program's highest winning percentage amongst coaches, as he holds a .505 mark.
"I knew coming up here was going to be tough," Schafer said of coming to Fairbanks. "I was 29 years old and I needed a job, so I came. We had a rough first couple of years, but we made the transition and became a pretty solid team. I look back at my time in Fairbanks with fond memories. I had a chance to speak with this year's team and I reminded them of the spirit of this program and how far it's come since my time here."
Svenningson was the head men's basketball coach for Nanooks from 1967-1985. Under his tutelage, Alaska won a school record 245 games during his 18 years and captured the school's first postseason tournament championship. He is still the longest-tenured men's basketball coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and coached several players who still rank inside the top five in both the all-time scoring and rebounding list.
"I stayed in Alaska for so long because I didn't want to go anywhere else," said Svenningson. "I had a chance to go coach other schools, but this place felt like home and I was happy here, so I never had that urgency to leave."
Each inductee was enshired with a plaque that will displayed in the Nanook Hall of Fame, located in the lobby of the Patty Center. The Class of 2015 was also honored at the Blue vs. Gold hockey game, as they received a ceremonaly bowl commeritationg their induction and Schafer had the honor of doing the ceremonial puck drop at the game.
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