FORT MYERS, Fla. – Some of the most iconic individuals associated with the FGCU Department of Athletics will join perhaps one of the most well-known basketball teams in NCAA history as the inaugural class of the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame which has been announced today. Two of the most notable student-athletes in the department's 20-year history,
Chris Sale and
Brooke Youngquist Sweat, are joined by a trio of foundational forefathers in
Dr. Ben Hill Griffin III,
Dr. Bill Merwin, and
Duane Swanson, Sr., who each paved the way for the success the Eagles are currently enjoying. When the creation of the Athletics Hall of Fame was first announced last summer, it was unanimously decided that the 2012-13 FGCU men's basketball team, which put the University on the national map after becoming the first, and still only, No. 15 seed to reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, would be the first team and overall inductee into the class.
"This is a phenomenal collection of individuals whose efforts and talents have had generational impacts on FGCU Athletics," said Director of Athletics
Ken Kavanagh. "I greatly appreciate our Hall of Fame Committee for their efforts in determining this auspicious inaugural class. There is obviously no doubt that we would not be where we are today if not for the collective vision of Ben Hill Griffin III, Dr. Merwin, and Duane Swanson, Sr. Each believed in the positive impact that intercollegiate athletics could make on a young University. Brooke, Chris and the Dunk City team embody the finest examples of their vision and what it means to compete at the highest level for the Green & Blue."
As two of the most accomplished individual student-athletes in FGCU history, Sale and Youngquist Sweat continue to represent the Eagles at the highest level of their sport. A World Series Champion with the Boston Red Sox, Sale is a seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star. This marks the second time Sale has been part of an inaugural Hall of Fame class, as he was among the first honored by the ASUN Conference as well in 2015. Youngquist Sweat was also inducted into the ASUN Hall of Fame in 2018 and continues to be one of the top beach volleyball athletes representing Team USA in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and currently looking for a repeat experience in Tokyo this summer alongside partner Kerri Walsh Jennings.
The honors for Griffin, Merwin and Swanson all come posthumously, though their impact is still strongly felt on campus today. Griffin passed away earlier this year but is considered the father of Florida Gulf Coast University after his generous philanthropy and land donation literally set the foundation for the campus in Southwest Florida. What Griffin was for the University, the late President Merwin is considered for the Department of Athletics. Merwin's leadership and vision was key in FGCU's ascension to the NCAA Division I level and the success enjoyed with a current count of 82 conference championship titles and 38 NCAA tournament/championship appearances. Swanson, whom the FGCU baseball stadium is named after, was critical in making that complex along with the softball stadium, soccer facility and the Outdoor Sports Complex become reality – both through his own generous contributions and sharing that vision with others.
While these individuals all made FGCU Athletics a successful reality, it was perhaps the 2012-13 men's basketball team that elevated the University the most on the national stage. Earning their "Dunk City" moniker during the magical run through the NCAA Tournament, current USC head coach Andy Enfield's Eagles became a national storyline and to this day are still one of the most legendary postseason teams in collegiate history. From national television appearances to even winning an ESPY, that program's impact on the University was real as enrollment, exposure, and financial revenue all rose exponentially following that season.
"This is truly another historic marker in the journey of FGCU Athletics," said Kavanagh who is the chair of the Hall of Fame committee. "We are all extremely thankful for the significant contributions of this group and believe it is a fitting way to honor them in perpetuity."
Due to COVID-19, the official induction ceremony will be pushed back to either January or February of 2022 to facilitate an appropriate in-person event to celebrate this amazing group. Complete details will be released when they are formalized.
2020 FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame – Inaugural Class Biographies
Ben Hill Griffin III – Philanthropist
Dr. Griffin and his family have been generous supporters of higher education throughout Florida ... Under Dr. Griffin's leadership, Alico, Inc. donated 760 acres for the Florida Gulf Coast University campus, as well as an additional 215 acres, funding for three Endowed Chairs, scholarships and $5 million for FGCU Athletics …The University's indoor sports facility, "Alico Arena," recognizes his tremendous support for FGCU …Dr. Griffin passed away in July 2020 …One of the preeminent businessmen in the Florida citrus industry, he used his leadership for the benefit of the state's agricultural economy …Additionally, he used that success to support education throughout the state and, in particular, Southwest Florida, to help make Florida Gulf Coast University become a reality ... Besides the impact he made at both FGCU and his alma mater, the University of Florida, he established endowments and scholarships at Bethune-Cookman, Eckerd, Stetson, Warner, Webber International, the University of South Florida, Florida Southern and Polk Community Colleges to name a few ... He was also active in the Boy Scouts of America, the Heart of Florida Girl Scouts, and the FFA Leadership Lodge which promoted agriculture through 4-H, the FFA, and Youth Fairs ... On top of this honor, he is enshrined in the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame, the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame, and the Frostproof High School Hall of Fame ... He earned the UF Distinguished Alumnus Award; the FFA Distinguished Service Award and the John T. Leslie Award of Excellence during his lifetime ... He graduated from Frostproof High School in 1960, received his Associate of Arts degree from College of Central Florida and attended the University of Florida ...He also served with the Florida Army National Guard. He was previously honored as one of the first three FGCU Athletics Honorary Letterwinners in 2011.
Hill Griffin (son of Ben Hill Griffin III) On Behalf Of The Griffin Family
"Our father was very active in athletics during his high school years. From the beginning of FGCU, his love and support for athletics has been evident through both his financial and service contributions. We believe our father would consider it an honor to be inducted as a member of the inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class at FGCU! He was a strong advocate of higher education and he also knew the importance of athletics for university and college institutions."
Dr. William C. "Bill" Merwin – FGCU President
Dr. William C. "Bill" Merwin, the proverbial "Father of FGCU Athletics", was Florida Gulf Coast University's second president, serving from 1999 until his retirement in 2007 ... His leadership in developing the FGCU Athletics program cannot be overstated, and Dr. Merwin is honored on campus in perpetuity with the named "Merwin Hall" academic building ... Dr. Merwin passed away in May 2011 ... In his tenure, he guided the University's expansion from 3,200 to over 8,300 students, expanding campus housing, and raising over $175 million in private gifts and donations ... He also served as the President of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities in 2003. Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, he attended Aquinas High School before earning a bachelor and master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and completing his doctoral studies at the University of Georgia ... He was a recipient of the University of Wisconsin's Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumnus Award and earned a Fulbright Scholarship ... He served as Provost and Vice President at UNF before serving as the President at Northern Montana College, SUNY Potsdam, and then Salisbury State (MD). He was previously honored as one of the first three FGCU Athletics Honorary Letterwinners in 2011.
Bill Merwin (son of Dr. William C. Merwin)
"I can vividly recall the day my father was hired by Florida Gulf Coast University. He called me beaming with pride. After describing the beautiful campus, our conversation turned to one of our favorite topics, athletics. He went on in detail that the university was a diamond in the rough and in 10 years they would be a power to be reckoned with throughout the country. Having seen firsthand the joy on his face while attending numerous athletic events around campus, our family knew that this was a major sense of pride for him. He was and will always be a Florida Gulf Coast Eagle through and through. He is looking down on us now smiling with joy while rooting on the Eagles. To be an inaugural inductee into the Florida Gulf Coast Hall of Fame would have been a tremendous honor to him and it is a tremendous honor to the entire Merwin family. We cannot wait to celebrate with the Eagle Family in 2021."
Chris Sale – Baseball
Became the highest draft pick in program history when he was selected 13th overall in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox …Seven-time MLB All-Star ...Became the third player to earn three-consecutive starts in the All-Star Game in 2018 (only since 1955) … 2018 World Series Champion with the Boston Red Sox …One of only a few players in MLB history that have thrown both the first and last pitches of the World Series ...MLB career leader in strikeout-walk ratio (5.32) … Quickest player to reach 2,000 career strikeouts in MLB history (1,626 IP) ... Reached 1,500 MLB career strikeouts in the second-fewest innings pitched (1,290) ...That effort was the record before Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals) did so in 1,272 innings …Part of the inaugural ASUN Hall of Fame Class in 2015 … 2010 National Player of the Year (Collegiate Baseball) … ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American (2010) …CBF National Pitcher of the Year Finalist (2010) … Yahoo! Sports All-American (2010) … Baseball America All-American (2010) …Golden Spikes Award Runner-Up (2010) …Collected both ASUN Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-ASUN honors as a junior in 2010 …First Team All-ASUN selection in 2009 …ASUN All-Freshman Team in 2008 …Holds the Green & Blue career records in strikeouts (293) and strikeouts/nine inn. game (11.53) …His FGCU career ERA of 2.52 (228.2 IP) ranks third all-time in program history and 12th amongst league pitchers … Along with a perfect 11-0 record and 2.01 ERA over 17 games in 2010, he struck out a national-best 146 batters while walking only 14, which remains the fifth-best single-season total in ASUN history ... Following that season, he became the first player in program history to be named an All-American … He finished his career with FGCU – the only Division-I school to offer him a scholarship – with a 20-4 record in 52 appearances ... FGCU has won five ASUN regular-season championships since moving to D-I, three of which (2008, '09, '10) came during his tenure.
Chris Sale
"This is surreal and humbling to be a member of the inaugural class in the FGCU Hall of Fame. When you look at the names on the list and only two played games, that makes it such a significant honor when you think about the importance of those individuals. This is something I can truly appreciate as FGCU is where everything really started for me and it's the place I call home."
Brooke Youngquist Sweat – Volleyball
The most well-known member of the FGCU volleyball program, having competed in the Olympics as a beach volleyball athlete and later becoming a member of the 2018 class of the ASUN Hall of Fame ... Currently training with Kerri Walsh Jennings in an effort to head back to the Tokyo Olympics this summer … As a member of FGCU's indoor team from 2004-07, she compiled 1,173 kills, 1,369 digs, 100 aces and 50 double-doubles ... Her kill and ace totals remain the third-most in program history, while she sits at fourth in digs ... Her 50 double-doubles are a program record to this day ... She was a freshman on the program's inaugural team in 2004 that went 24-6 and advanced to the NCAA Division II South Region semifinals ... As a sophomore and junior, she led the team to 27-4 and 29-3 records and back-to-back South Region runner-up finishes ... As a senior, she led the program's very first Division I team to a 23-3 record and an ASUN regular season championship ... In that senior season, she was named Second Team All-ASUN, led FGCU in kills and was named the AVCA National Player of the Week ... She concluded her Division II tenure as a junior by being named an AVCA Second Team All-American and a Daktronics Honorable Mention All-American ...As a freshman, she had 20 kills and 19 digs in an NCAA Division II Tournament First Round win over Tampa …At the time of her ASUN Hall of Fame selection, she was a four-time AVP Defensive Player of the Year (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), a member of one of just two USA beach volleyball pairs in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio and a 10-time worldwide winner with more than 30 podium finishes (top three) across multiple professional tours.
Brooke Younquist Sweat
"I'm not sure I can put into words what being one of the inaugural inductees in the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame means to me. Thank you to those who voted for me and making this a special time for me and my family! It is such an honor not just to be inducted into the first hall of fame class but to share it with some really incredible people! Thank you to all my teammates and coaches - you made my four years at FGCU some of the best and this wouldn't have happened without you! My time at FGCU led me to where I am today and to some amazing moments all around the world, but I'll never forget where my roots are. Go Eagles!"
Duane Swanson, Sr. – Philanthropist
Duane Swanson Sr. was one of the pioneers of FGCU's quick ascent into the Division I ranks ... He led the charge in building both the baseball and softball complexes, not only donating generously, but also getting many others to follow in his footsteps ... He was also a consistent donor to the scholarship fund and in 2007 he once again led the charge in building the Outdoor Sports Complex which is home to 11 of 15 FGCU programs ... Mr. Swanson passed away in March 2011 ... His impact on FGCU cannot be overstated as his support and love for the program began during the very first years of the department's existence and before the move to NCAA Division I status was even a dream ... For baseball in particular, his support led to the very existence of Swanson Stadium which became the fourth stadium to bear his name thanks to his philanthropic support and desire to support student-athletes ... That led to his involvement in the creation of the Outdoor Sports Complex and the FGCU softball complex ... In all, those three infrastructure projects have enabled scores of FGCU student-athletes to compete at the highest levels ...His involvement extended past financial support – he cared for the student-athletes, coaches, and administrators on a personal level that ingrained him into the very fabric of FGCU Athletics ... Growing up on a dairy farm, Mr. Swanson graduated high school as valedictorian before earning a degree in accounting at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois ...He earned a master's degree from Indiana University in business administration, began working as an accountant and then purchased Raymond Building Supply in Fort Myers ...Besides his philanthropic work with FGCU and local athletics, he also generously supported many charities in Southwest Florida while serving on several as a board member ... His example of helping others and giving back to the community were perfect embodiments of the mission of FGCU ...Upon his passing, he became the only person in FGCU history to be honored by having his funeral services held in Alico Arena. He was previously honored as one of the first three FGCU Athletics Honorary Letterwinners in 2011.
Duane Swanson, Jr. (son of Duane Swanson, Sr.)
"My father dedicated most of his adult life to helping young student-athletes. The FGCU athletic community instills values in every student athlete that will contribute to their future success. My father would have been honored to be recognized as someone that has helped contribute to the success of every student-athlete at FGCU. On behalf of the entire Swanson family, we thank you."
2012-13 FGCU Men's Basketball
This group of Eagles is regarded as one of the most nationally iconic programs in the history of March Madness, as FGCU captured the country's attention becoming the first, and still only, No. 15 seed to reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen ... Those three March games in 2013 launched FGCU into celebrity status with the program even earning an ESPY for Best Upset of the Year, which highlighted the NCAA win over second-seed Georgetown ...FGCU finished the year ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll and the moniker Dunk City had been established as a household name in the basketball world ... Overall, the 26 wins that year were a program record (tied later by the 2016-17 squad) …FGCU became the first team since Florida in 1987 to win its first two NCAA Tournament contests, won the ASUN Tournament in just its second year of Division I postseason eligibility, won 14 of its last 17 games, and had 148 high-flying dunks on the year ... The Eagles won the ASUN Championship title 88-75 at top-seeded Mercer after going 13-5 in league play during the regular season and earning a 63-51 home victory over eventual ACC regular season champion Miami ... Sherwood Brown was named an Honorable Mention AP All-American to go alongside ASUN Player of the Year, ASUN First Team, and NABC All-District honors ... Brett Comer earned the ASUN Tournament MVP, Bernard Thompson was tabbed the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, while Chase Fieler was selected to the ASUN Second Team ... That year was so special, in fact, that as part of the official announcement on the creation of an FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame earlier in April 2020, it was also released that the committee had unanimously voted for inclusion of the 2013 Dunk City team as part of the first inducted class.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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