BU unveils 2017 Hall of Fame class

BOSTON — The Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame will hold its 52nd induction banquet in November, honoring a Class of 2017 that covers four sports and includes two longtime members of the department's staff, as announced today by assistant vice president and director of athletics Drew Marrochello.

Terrier All-Americans Bob Danville '82 (men's track & field), Matt Gilroy '09 (men's hockey), Robyn Kenney '01 (field hockey) and April Setterlund '11 (softball) will be joined by longtime distance running coach Bruce Lehane and former administrator Dick Fecteau '51 in this year's class, which will officially be inducted on Nov. 4, 2017, in the Francis Burke Club Room at Agganis Arena.

The banquet is open to the public at a cost of $70 per person and will take place at 12 p.m. To purchase tickets, please contact Brittany Kane (bmkane@bu.edu, 617-353-4631) for more information.

"This is another special incoming class that exemplifies the best of Boston University Athletics," said Marrochello. "I'm excited that we were able to work with the Hall of Fame committee in changing the date for the ceremony from late May to the fall because this will allow us the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of these six esteemed men and women with all the members of the athletic department and the BU community on campus. We have a group that features four elite athletes who competed at the highest of levels and two men who left an indelible mark on this department.”

A 1982 graduate of Boston University, Bob Danville was a four-year standout for the men's track & field team and will now join his wife and fellow Briton, Sharon Colyear-Danville ('83), in the Hall of Fame. He still holds the New England record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 50.66 seconds, a mark that has stood for 35 years. During the 1982 outdoor season, Danville was an All-American in the 400m hurdles thanks to a time of 50.53 seconds, which eclipsed the New England record he had set earlier that season.

In 1980, Danville was the driving force in the Terriers' victory at the New England Outdoor Championships. He claimed first in the 110m and 400m hurdle events in addition to running a leg of the 1,600m relay. Thanks to Danville's success in the hurdles, BU won four straight New England indoor titles from 1979-1982 in addition to three New England outdoor titles (1979, 1981, 1982). He also competed on the international stage, winning the 110m hurdles at the 1976 Scottish Championships and placing third in the 400m hurdles at the 1980 UK Championships.

Dick Fecteau ('51) was not only a former teammate of BU Hall of Famer Harry Agganis ('54) but also a fellow native of Lynn, Massachusetts. He contributed to the varsity football team for three years as an offensive lineman until his graduation in 1951. His accomplishments and contributions though go beyond the gridiron, as he positively impacted hundreds of Terrier student-athletes as an assistant director of athletics from 1976-1989. He has also been an inspiration to many Americans after he was a prisoner of war in China for 19 years from Nov. 29, 1952 – Dec. 13, 1971 while working for the CIA.

Trying to rescue an informant during the Korean War, Fecteau's plane was shot down in China. He was later given the Distinguished Intelligence Cross, the CIA's highest honor for value, in 2013 for confessing his Chinese captors plenty of names and physical descriptions that belonged not to fellow colleagues but to his onetime football teammates at BU. Following 25 years of government service, he joined the athletic department and served as a mentor for BU students while helping raise funds. He was later honored in 1990 with the Roger Moose Washburn Award, which goes to an alumnus for continuous unselfish support of the athletic program and the Hall of Fame. During the 1980s before his retirement, he volunteered his time and administrative ability to help keep the Hall of Fame program afloat.

One of only three players in the history of Boston University ice hockey to be named an All-American three times, Matt Gilroy ('09) received college hockey's top honor as a senior after leading the Terriers to their fifth national championship. He became BU's second Hobey Baker Award winner and earned AHCA All-America First Team honors in each of his final two seasons after receiving second-team accolades as a sophomore. Currently a KHL All-Star with Moscow Spartak, Gilroy played in 225 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

A walk-on and converted defenseman, Gilroy was the first blueliner in Hockey East history to be named to the league's first team three times and also was tabbed the recipient of the 2009 Walter Brown Award, given to the best American-born college hockey player in New England. The Long Island native recorded 92 points (25 g, 67a) and a rating of plus-78 in 160 career games and finished his career playing 146 consecutive games. His final game was one of the most thrilling in NCAA history as the Terriers rallied from two goals down in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and go on to defeat Miami, 4-3, and win the national championship. Gilroy's incredible pass set up Nick Bonino's game-tying goal with 17.4 seconds remaining in the third period.

A two-time All-American who went on to play for the U.S. National Team, Robyn Kenney ('01) helped BU's field hockey team earn back-to-back conference titles and NCAA appearances. Kenney, a four-year starter, currently ranks in the top-six all-time in starts (84) and games played (85). As a Terrier midfielder and back, Kenney earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-America honors as a senior and third-team honors as a junior. She is one of seven Terriers to receive NFHCA Regional First Team accolades in three seasons. After winning the America East championship as a junior, Kenney and the Terriers successfully defended the title the following year and she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

In 1999, Kenney was named to the U.S. Under-20 National Team, becoming the third-ever Terrier alongside current BU Hall of Famers Sally Maxwell ('90) and Michele Barnard ('97) to compete with a U.S. National squad in international competition. She moved up the ranks and eventually retired from the USA Field Hockey National Team in 2006, having played in 37 matches since 2002. She helped the U.S. reach the 2006 World Cup with a fourth-place finish at the World Cup qualifier and also played in the Pan American Games and Champion's Challenge.

Longtime BU track & field and cross country coach Bruce Lehane began his collegiate coaching career at Boston University back in 1982 after spending five years teaching in the public schools in Maine. In his 35-plus years of service at Boston University, Lehane coached 50 All-Americans, two NCAA Division I National Champions and two Olympians. In addition, the 1970 Boston State College graduate coached over 20 IC4A/ECAC individual champions. He also guided Rich Peters to a runner-up finish in the mile at the 2012 NCAA Championships. Nine of his athletes have qualified for the World Cross Country Championships, which includes two-time U.S. National Champion Lesley Lehane, who placed fifth overall at the 1987 Cross-Country World Championships to help the United States squad to the team title.

Under Lehane's guidance, the Boston University men's cross country team has successfully qualified for the NCAA Championship field 10 times and posted three top-10 finishes. Most recently, individuals qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2012 and again in 2014 while at least one harrier has earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in each of the last six years. BU has also excelled on the conference level under Lehane's tutelage. The women's cross country team has won 17 conference championships, including the 2013 and 2014 Patriot League titles. The men's cross country team has won 11 conference titles and took home its seventh New England championship in 2015. Lehane is a 17-time America East Coach of the Year and two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year.

A three-time BU softball All-American, April Setterlund ('11) helped the Terriers reach two NCAA tournaments, highlighted by the program's first regional final appearance in 13 years in 2009, and become the first America East team since 2000-01 to earn a NCAA win in back-to-back seasons. Recognized as the conference's top player in both 2010 and 2011, she graduated from BU holding six single-season records and as the all-time leader in batting average (.417), hits (264), doubles (60), RBIs (140) runs (170) and slugging percentage (.681) while ranking tied-for-second in home runs (31). Excelling off the field as well, Setterlund was a model student who was named the 2011 BU Athletics Woman of the Year after receiving the prestigious Scarlet Key Award and being named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll two times.

Her freshman year, the Torrance, California, native finished fourth in the conference hitting .354 to claim AE Rookie of the Year honors, and her career skyrocketed from that moment forward. In 2009, she batted .396 en route to All-America Third Team accolades to join BU Hall of Fame pitcher Audrey West ('96) as the only All-Americans in program history. The following year, though, Setterlund made history by ranking fifth nationally in batting average (.482) and eighth in slugging percentage (.861) to become BU's first-ever First Team All-American. She batted .434 her final season to add Second Team All-America honors, as the Terriers were one win away from an America East championship three-peat.

Other awards, whose winners will be announced at a later date, to be presented at the Hall of Fame Banquet are the William French Award for a current or former Boston University coach or graduate of Boston University who has distinguished himself or herself in the coaching profession in the past year; the Murray Kramer Memorial Award for an individual or organization in recognition of outstanding media coverage or publicity of intercollegiate sports; and the Roger "Moose" Washburn Award for a graduate of Boston University who has given continuous unselfish support to the Terriers' athletic program. Jake De Vries of the men's tennis team and Charlotte Castronovo of the women's lacrosse team were announced as the recipients of the Aldo "Buff" Donelli Memorial Leadership Award at the Student-Athlete Awards Reception earlier this month and will be formally recognized in November. The honors are given to current senior student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding leadership both on and off of the field.

The Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame, which held its first induction ceremony in 1959, currently has 249 members, including Terrier greats such as Harry Agganis, Tunji Awojobi, Bill Brooks, Jim Craig, Chris Drury, Mike Eruzione, Terry Geldart, Jim Hayes, Drederick Irving, John Kelley, Jack O'Callahan, Debra Miller Palmore, Jack Parker, Lesley Sheehan, Dave Silk, John Simpson and Steve Wright.

Brian Kelley is the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Boston University.

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