Adrian College

James H. Hoke (1964 graduate)
Football & Baseball

James Hoke was the epitome of a two-sport athlete while at Adrian College excelling in football and baseball for the Bulldogs. He was a four-year letterwinner in both sports from the fall of 1960 until the spring of 1964. In addition, Hoke was named team Most Valuable Player during his junior and senior season in football.

The native of Pontiac, Michigan, was named team captain during the 1962 and 1963 football seasons and also led the MIAA in punting average during the 1963 season. Hoke was a fullback and led a talented backfield during his era. On the diamond, Hoke was selected team captain as a junior and senior and was named All-MIAA in 1963 as a junior. He also led the team with four home runs as a senior in 1964 playing in the outfield.

While at Adrian College, Hoke was varsity club president for two years and was also the president of the English Honor Society known as Lambda Iota Tau. He served as editor of the College World student newspaper and won the Outstanding Philosophy Student award in 1964. He was the first recipient of the award and credits Dr. Earl Labor as being his biggest influence academically at the College. Hoke received his bachelor of arts degree from Adrian College and later went on to earn a master’s degree from Thomas Edison College.

After his collegiate playing days, Hoke spent one season as a player and general manager of the Tri-City Apollos of the Continental Football League in 1969. The team played their home games at Midland Community Stadium in Midland, Michigan.

Hoke currently resides in Waterford, Michigan and is the CEO of Mind Design, Inc. He has made a career as a hypnotist appearing on television and in print media. He has made appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live and Good Morning L.A. among many others. He is also author of “I Would If I Could and I Can” published in 1981.

 

John L. Iafolla (1984 graduate)
Football

When opposing offenses did their game plan for the upcoming week, the one thing they did not want to do was challenge #39 in black and gold. The linebacker wearing that number was John Iafolla, who made sure no more yardage was going to be gained once he got to the ball carrier. Iafolla, a native of South Lyon, Michigan, was named Third Team Division III All-American in his senior year of 1983. He also shared the MIAA Most Valuable Player award in 1983 with teammate Steve Motte as the Bulldogs captured the conference championship with a 5-0 league mark. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time in school history where they dropped a one-point loss at eventual national champion Augustana.

Iafolla was selected First Team All-MIAA as a junior and senior and led Adrian in tackles in 1982 and 1983. The teams that he played on had an overall record of 32-5 which is the most wins in a four-year span in school history. He was the team Most Valuable Player on defense for two years and was named MIAA Player of the Week on four occasions. Iafolla recorded 120 tackles during his senior campaign and left Adrian College with 278 career tackles in 27 career games, which currently is third all-time at AC.

Iafolla graduated from Adrian College with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1984. He is currently a marketing consultant after many years in beverage sales and personal financial planning. He resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife Julie and daughter Marissa.

This is Iafolla’s third hall of fame induction in the last three years:  2008 with the AC Bulldogs 1983 Football Team, 2009 for South Lyon High School and this year.

 

Todd A. Alcock (1997 graduate)
Football

It all starts up front in the trenches on the football field and no one owned the line of scrimmage better than Todd Alcock who stood 6-6 and weighed 310 pounds. Alcock, a native of Britton, Michigan, chose nearby Adrian College to continue his career and the Bulldog faithful were mighty glad he did. Alcock was a four-year letterwinner on the offensive line at tackle from 1993-96. He is one of a select few in Adrian College history to be named All-MIAA for three seasons from 1994-96.

Alcock was named Adrian College’s Male Senior Athlete of the Year in 1997 and also was a Second Team Academic All-American as a senior sponsored by GTE and CoSIDA. Alcock earned team MVP honors in 1996 and was also a Burger King National Scholar Athlete of the Week in 1996 which included a $10,000 award. Prior to the 1996 season, he was named to several preseason All-American lists including The Sporting News and Street and Smith’s. Alcock earned MIAA All-Academic honors for two years and held a 3.73 grade point average.

Alcock and his wife, Beth, have two children, Eva and Jaret, and reside in Britton. He currently works for the Washtenaw County Public Health department and received his bachelor’s degree in earth science and environmental studies from Adrian College in 1997.

Renae M. Huyck (1997 graduate)
Basketball and Softball

Renae Huyck had an outstanding career at Adrian College where she earned four letters in basketball and two letters in softball. Huyck was named Adrian College’s Female Senior Athlete of the Year in 1997. Huyck, a 5-10 forward from Ovid, Michigan, was named First Team All-MIAA during the 1996-97 season as well as team Most Valuable Player. She played in 25 games and shot 45.7 percent from the field. In addition, she connected on 66 free throws and averaged 12.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. Huyck helped lead Adrian College to a 15-11 record while finishing third in the MIAA with an 8-4 league record. She ranked sixth in the MIAA in scoring during her senior year.

Huyck also was named Second Team All-MIAA during her junior campaign in 1995-96. During that year, she was also selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player. Huyck graduated with 1,067 career points which places her in elite company. As a softball player, she had her best season in 1994 as a sophomore. Huyck batted .327 in 24 games and scored 12 runs. She also had 12 runs batted in and a .975 fielding percentage. She received MIAA Honorable Mention plaudits during the 1994 season.

Huyck earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Adrian College in 1997. She currently resides in Ovid and has been owner of Green Planet Lawn Maintenance for the past 10 years. She remains actively involved in athletics as a volleyball and basketball coach at Ovid-Elsie High School for the past eight years.

1988, 1989 Football Teams

The 1988 and 1989 football teams at Adrian College hold the distinction of being the last back-to-back MIAA champions for the Bulldogs. The 1988 squad shared the MIAA title with Alma College with a 4-1 record in league play and won the head-to-head matchup against the Scots, 32-27. They began the season with three straight wins and then hit a brief speed bump with a pair of losses including a tough 9-7 loss to Olivet. The Bulldogs showed their tenacity by winning the final four games of the regular season in convincing fashion including wins over Albion (37-7), Hope (39-13) and Kalamazoo (24-0). The team got the NCAA Division III playoff nod and traveled to Augustana for a rematch from the 1983 season. The Vikings got the best of the Bulldogs, 25-7, scoring the final 25 points of the game after Adrian led 7-0 in the first quarter after a four-yard TD pass from Pete Mazzoni to Jeff Upton. Head Coach Ron Labadie guided the team to a 7-2 record outscoring their opponents, 229-133, during the year.

Mazzoni completed 106-of-191 passes in 1988 for 1,461 yards and 11 TD’s. Upton caught 42 of those passes for 680 yards and five scores as the leading receiver. Bill Badour was the team’s leading rusher and scorer.  He carried the ball 188 times for 772 yards and 12 TD’s and also caught a TD giving him 78 points. Tim Doty recorded 129 total tackles from his linebacker spot to lead the squad. Jeff Goodes booted seven field goals in league games which tied for second on the all-time list at the time. Jeff Gallagher, Upton, Mazzoni and Badour were all named First Team All-MIAA on offense while Alan Jakubowski, Mike Scott, Doty and Mike Williams were named First Team All-MIAA on defense.

The 1989 football squad finished the decade in style by winning another MIAA championship which was shared with Albion College (4-1). The 1980’s was the finest 10-year stretch in school history as Adrian College posted a .761 winning percentage with a 70-22 record. The winning percentage was among the top 15 Division III schools and was tops in the state of Michigan.

The team realized that repeating was not going to be easy with a firm bulls-eye on its back. The non-conference schedule was very difficult. After a 21-3 opening win against Ohio Northern, the team dropped four straight including a hard-fought 15-13 defeat at Hope. But just like the year before, adversity made the team stronger and they rattled off four straight wins to end the season. The Bulldogs had wins over Albion (14-10), Alma (29-23), Kalamazoo (28-0) and Olivet (19-6).

Badour once again led the team in rushing with 777 yards on the ground. He carried the ball 199 times and scored 11 TD’s. Mazzoni completed 108-of-220 passes for 1,504 yards and nine TD’s. Brad Gross was Mazzoni’s favorite target ending the season with 40 receptions for 679 yards and five scores. Joe Piersante led the defense with 103 total tackles and Aaron Marshall recorded four interceptions and 12 pass breakups in the secondary. John Krimmel and Tom Windels led the offensive line and were named First Team All-MIAA. Gross, Mazzoni and Badour were also named First Team All-MIAA on offense. Ricci Woodall, Nick Zambeck and Stephan Pietszak were all First Team All-MIAA on defense.

1990, 1991 Softball Teams

The Adrian College softball teams in 1990 and 1991 captured back-to-back MIAA conference championships going a combined 22-2 in league play. The 1990 squad won the first conference title in school history under the direction of head coach Sharon Falor. Falor then accepted a job as women’s assistant basketball coach at Northern Arizona prior to NCAA regionals. The Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision to Calvin and a 6-1 decision to Millikin. It was the first season in which the MIAA hosted a post-season tournament and the combined result of the regular season and tournament determined the conference champion. Adrian had no trouble winning both going 26-9 overall and reaching a #9 national ranking in the process. The team had a nine-game winning streak during the season and even scored 55 runs in doubleheader sweep of Penn State-Behrend to start the year.

Jodie McLean was named team Most Valuable Player and also was a recipient of GTE Academic All-District honors along with teammate Lisa Scheid. McLean carried a 3.86 GPA in math and played shortstop for the Bulldogs. She batted .340 for the season  with 11 RBI’s. Shannon Gaul and Amy Freimund were also named First Team All-MIAA. Gaul was the conference batting champion with a .511 average in 12 league games. She collected 24 hits and stole five bases. Freimund was the pitching ace throwing 71.2 innings and posting an ERA of 1.06 with 30 strikeouts.

After a successful 1990 season, the Bulldogs were ranked 15^th in the national pre-season poll heading into 1991. The team lived up to expectations by going 14-0 to start the season. They would finish 17-9 overall and complete a perfect 12-0 MIAA record capturing another league crown. Doug McDaniel took over the duties of head coach during the 1990 post-season run and couldn’t have asked for a better start to his rookie campaign. The Bulldogs won the regular season and then placed third in the conference tournament. They still won the outright title and advanced to the NCAA regionals. After a 4-3 opening game win over Aurora, the Bulldogs dropped the next two games against Hope by the scores of 3-1 and 7-3.

Sophomore Audrey Seymour led the MIAA in batting going 17-of-35 for a .486 average. She along with Karen Baird, Amy Freimund and Lisa Scheid were named First Team All-MIAA. Baird led the league in total bases with 26 and was second with 14 RBI’s. Freimund posted a 1.26 ERA and went 6-0 in league contests. Scheid also went 6-0 in league games and posted a 1.37 ERA in 41 innings. Molly Minard and Jennifer McFarlane were both named to the All-Regional Team while Baird and McFarlane were also named Second Team All-Region for the year. Scheid also was voted to the GTE Academic All-District team for the second straight year.