Trinity College Athletics Hall of Fame Induction, Hall of Fame Welcomes eight New Inductees

Ashley McDermott ’26

Sports Editor

On Saturday, October 26, the Trinity College Athletics Hall of Fame inducted 8 notable alumni and coaches. The ceremony took place in the Memorial Field House. From 6 to 7 pm, old and new members of Trinity’s athletic program came together to celebrate and share stories of their own experiences. At 7 pm, the ceremony officially began. This event highlighted the best of Trinity College Athletics, and its rich history featuring a variety of players and their respective accomplishments. Director of Athletics Drew Galbraith opened the evening by announcing how this event “gives us a great opportunity to honor Trinity’s Athletic history with student athletes that stretches all the way back to 1856, we are thrilled to add eight more recipients to the list.” The accolades from these players and coaches include All-American recognized athletes, All-Conference selections, and hundreds of wins combined. President Berger-Sweeney spoke next, referring to her support for athletics coming from “the Trinity spirit.” She continued on to state “I think our scholar athletes represent (the Trinity spirit) as best as anyone on Trinity’s Campus.”The recognized coaches were the esteemed Ray Oosting, representing basketball, and Dan Jessee for football and baseball, whom the football field and gymnasium are named after. The sports recognized included squash, basketball, volleyball, cross country, swimming & diving, track & field, softball, lacrosse and football. The recipients are as follows.

Ray Oosting, Basketball, Track & Field and Cross Country Coach and Director of Athletics. He maintained his position as head basketball coach for about 30  years accumulating the second most wins in the program’s history. He became the first ever coach from a small college to be named the President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. 

Dan Jessee, Football and Baseball Coach. He served as a Football coach from 1932 to 1966, and began coaching Baseball from 1935 to 1961 as well as 1963 to 1967. He led the Football team to reign undefeated for four seasons, amassing the team 239 wins to 170 losses. He went onto become the President of the National Collegiate Coaches Association and the American College Football Coaches Association. 

Lanier Drew ‘80, Women’s Cross Country, Basketball, Swimming & Diving, Softball and Track & Field. Drew served as part of five athletic teams during her time at Trinity from 1976 to 1980. Besides being a five sport athlete, she helped in the creation of some of these teams. She helped found the Women’s Swimming and Diving program, as well as Softball and Cross Country teams. While being co-captain of the first Swimming and Diving team, she was also the only woman running along the men’s Cross Country team. Thus, she created the Cross Country and Track & Field team for women on campus. “Sports meant everything to me at Trinity,” she stated in her speech, “and I owe a great debt to my father for being my biggest fan and sharing his love of sports with me.” She also remarked on how “the sports I played here have taught me so many lessons in life and it continues to bring me such joy, it gives me friendship and community wherever I go.”     

Pat McNamara ‘80, Football. Pat set multiple records as a member of the team, including 11 touchdowns, 67 receptions and 1,024 receiving yards. Each record has stood for 45 years after his time on the team. His athleticism guided the team to the NESCAC championship in 1978. McNamara is 4th in Career Receptions per Game, 5th in Career Receiving Yards, 5th in Career touchdowns and 6th in Career Receptions.   

Leanne LeBrun Dineen ‘89, Women’s Basketball and Softball. LeBrun Dineen is recognized as the holder of the most points earned in the women’s Basketball program, with a career total of 1,258 points. For Softball, she earned 182 strikeouts as a pitcher and earned the team NIAC Championship titles in 1987 and 1989. In her speech, LeBrun Dineen reminisced on memories from her time and Trinity, and how “those memories we made on and off the court and filed inevitably lead to laughter until our stomachs hurt and we never fail to tell these stories over and over again as we grow old together.” 

Ryan Martin ‘92, Men’s Lacrosse. Marti holds the record for most career points, with 217 points, 137 career goals and 80 career assists. While serving as the team captain in 1992, Martin also earned himself All-American status, as well as NESCAC team selection.  

Marcus Cowie ‘00, Men’s Squash. While being a member of the College Squash Hall of Fame, Cowie also pioneered the Trinity Squash program to the College Squash Association National Team crowns in 1999 and 2000. He also won the College Squash Association National singles title two years in a row, in 1997 and 1998. While playing at Trinity in the late nineties, Cowie “will never forget the time you could pinpoint the transformation within the squash program, it became clear that squash games were the event to attend.” He closed his thank you speech with “I am thrilled and truly honored to be here. Thank you Trinity College and Thank you Trinity Squash”

Hannah Brickley’14, Women’s Basketball and Volleyball. Brickley is one of four players in the history of th program that has accumulated 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, placing her at 2nd in the program for kills, 5th for digs and 6th for attack percentage. She averaged 10.5 points per game while playing on the basketball team, earned All NESCAC selection three times for volleyball, the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-New England selection twice and New England Women’s Volleyball Association All-New England Selection three times.

This ceremony highlights Trinity’s engagement and support of previous athletes and coaches, while inspiring future generations of players and teams. The legacy left behind by this array of notable figures reminds current and future members of Trinity College what success looks like, and how each accomplishment contributes to our community’s pride. In connecting the past to the future, Trinity College celebrates where the sports program has come from and all of the potential that lay ahead.