The Aquinas Athletics Hall of Fame will now be known as the Coach Terry Bocian Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of the longtime AQ athletic director and baseball coach.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on April 24, 2020, on "Coach Bo Court" in the Sturrus Sports and Recreation Center.
The "Coach Bo" Hall of Fame will honor student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and other distinguished members for their performances at and contributions to Aquinas. The event will be held every other year.
"We're very excited to announce the Coach Terry Bocian Athletic Hall of Fame and celebrate Coach Bo and the inductees this spring," said Nick Davidson, associate vice president for student affairs and athletics. "Coach Bo created a tremendous legacy at Aquinas that continues to live on. With the 11 All-Sports trophies won by Aquinas during his time, he set a great standard for moving forward. A big part of his legacy has been how many of our student-athletes have gone on to be teachers and coaches, giving back to communities across the country. Whether it be through the athletes, coaches, students or Aquinas supporters, it's apparent that Coach Bo truly left his mark on AQ athletics."
For student-athletes, a nominee becomes eligible for the Athletic Hall of Fame five years after leaving Aquinas. Nominees must have earned at least two varsity letters and must have represented Aquinas in a positive manner, both as an undergraduate and as alumni. The selection shall be based primarily on athletic achievement, but other considerations will include character, leadership, integrity, academics, degree earned, as well as contributions to the teams and to Aquinas.
Entire teams are also eligible for nomination in the Athletic Hall of Fame, but must have competed in the national tournament of their respective governing body and must be 10 years removed from that national competition participation.
For a non-athlete, the nominee must have demonstrated a special or sustained interest in Aquinas for a minimum of five years, while having notable contributions to the athletic department as a whole or to specific programs.
Any non-member of the Board of Directors is eligible to submit a nomination to the Athletic Hall of Fame using either the online nomination form or a printable form that can be mailed to Aquinas College Athletics. Both forms can be found at the top of this page. Once a nomination is made, it will remain in effect indefinitely. A 10-member Board of Directors committee will vote on and select the Hall of Fame inductees from the submitted nominations.
Nominations for the 2020 induction class will be accepted until January 24, 2020.
One of the longest serving athletic administrators in the country at the time of his retirement in 2016, Bocian put together a tremendous run of 43 years at Aquinas, including 38 years as the athletic director. He grew the department from nine sports in 1978 and Aquinas now fields 25 varsity sports as well as five junior varsity/reserve teams.
Bocian was instrumental in the fundraising and planning of the Sturrus Center, where the teams compete on "Coach Bo Court," the Alksnis Athletics and Recreation Building and the AQ Athletic Field.
"I am humbled that the college would attach my name to the AQ Athletic Hall of Fame," Bocian said. "But this is truly about continuing to recognize many of the great Saints that have come through the program."
Bocian has been inducted into the Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School Hall of Fame (1995), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame (2000), the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame (2004) and the Aquinas College Athletic Hall of Fame (2014) as part of the 1974 baseball team. He coached the Saints baseball team for 30 years, finishing with 30 winning seasons and 30 playoff appearances. Bocian is the first Michigan college coach to record 1,000 victories in a single sport in a career, finishing his time in the dugout with 1,079 career victories.
The Athletic Hall of Fame was initiated and began inducting former Aquinas student-athletes, teams and coaches in 2002. Since then, there have been 58 individual inductees and six teams inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. This re-start of the Athletic Hall of Fame will allow for even more former athletes, coaches, and supporters to be recognized for their accomplishments.
