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FAIRBANKS — An Olympic gold medalist, a basketball star, the architect of the school’s national champion rifle program and a former player, coach and longtime supporter comprise the inaugural class of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanook Hall of Fame.

Matt Emmons, Milo Griffin, Randy Pitney and Joe Tremarello will formally be inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies that will be part of UAF Alumni Reunion Weekend, Sept. 26-28.

Induction Ceremonies will be held during the Hall of Fame Brunch slated for 10:30 a.m. Sept. 27 in the Carol Ann Ball Room on the UAF Campus.

“The inaugural class sets a high standard,” athletic director Forrest Karr said in a statement announcing the inaugural class. “The four inductees have all made extraordinary contributions to the success of athletics in Fairbanks and each has led an exemplary life of community involvement that reflects positively on the university.”

Matt Emmons

Emmons was a standout shooter on the rifle team, earning first team All-America honors in both smallbore and air rifle disciplines during each of his four seasons with the Nanooks (1999-2003).

He helped lead the team to four consecutive national championships during those seasons. He also earned four NCAA individual titles along the way. He won the smallbore and air rifle crowns in 2001 and captured the smallbore titles in 2002 and 2003. He was the first and only shooter in NCAA history to claim three career NCAA smallbore championships.

“When Forrest told me, I was kind of overwhelmed,” Emmons said in a telephone interview Friday evening. “It’s one of the biggest honors I could hope for. It’s just a really cool thing and it brings up a lot of emotions.

“To be part of a class with Randy Pitney is another thing that really means a lot to me,” he added.

Although he shot perfect scores and helped the Nanooks rifle program become a dominant national power, Emmons said the biggest thing he’ll remember about his time with the Nanooks was the camaraderie among the athletes at UAF.

“The biggest thing that stands out the most for me was being part of a team,” he said. “We all got along so well, it was like a second family.

“And it wasn’t just rifle. It was the athletes as an entire program and the community,” he added. “People really cared about what you had been doing.”

After graduating from the university, Emmons would go on to capture a gold medal in the men’s 50 meter prone event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Along with former teammate Jamie Beyerle, Emmons will again represent the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in August.

Milo Griffin

It wouldn’t be a far stretch to say Milo Griffin put Nanooks basketball on the map.

His career spanned from 1966-69 and he graduated as the school’s all-time leading scoring with 1,682 points — a mark that stood for 36 years until broken by Brad Oleson in 2005.

“It’s really an honor to be in the first group,” Griffin said. “I’m glad to see the university to get something like this started to recognize the achievements of different sports figures at UAF.”

Griffin still holds the school record for points in a single game (43 against Saint Martin’s on Feb. 3, 1968); single season average (26.0 in 1967-68); free throws made (438) and free throws attempted (575) in a career.

Griffin’s No. 44 jersey, one of many different numbers he wore as a Nanook, is the only Nanooks player jersey number (44) retired by the school. The No. 1 also is retired in honor of Dr. William Wood, a former university president for being the Nanooks’ No. 1 fan.

Griffin said the one game he’ll never forget was the night the Nanooks played at Portland State. Even though the Nanooks lost that game, Griffin scored “in the upper 30s” and got rave reviews in the Portland Oregonian.

Oregon and Oregon State had also played big games that night, but the headlines in the basketball section of the paper the next morning screamed “Milo! Milo! Milo!”

“To play well and have a small school get that kind of recognition was a big deal for me,” Griffin said. “(Portland State) made it a big deal to try and stop me, but with a team effort from all the other guys helping me, I was still able to score points.”

Griffin has been active in the Fairbanks area since graduating from UAF. He has worked as a teacher and coach at Lathrop High School for more than 30 years, where he has helped develop young Alaska students and athletes.

He also served as an assistant men’s basketball coach under George Roderick from 1993-1996.

“It’s really nice to be going in with Joe T because he really deserves it,” Griffin said.

Joe Tremarello

W hile Emmons is the youngest of the inductees, Tremarello has been around Nanooks athletics almost since its inception.

He played basketball for the Nanooks from 1954-58 and has served the university in several capacities since then, including stints as both the assistant coach and head coach of the women’s team from 1990-94.

“It’s an honor and quite a surprise,” Tremarello said Saturday afternoon. “It’s something I didn’t expect; I didn’t think I would be one of the first. It’s a nice honor, especially to be in there with Milo.”

As a senior captain, Tremarello made UAF history in leading the Nanooks to their first-ever win over another collegiate team, a 71-70 victory at Eastern Washington University in December of 1957.

“We didn’t play any home games against other colleges back then, and we only had six or eight games against college teams each year,” Tremarello said. “We didn’t have a budget for a full college schedule, so we played a lot of military and city teams. Those teams had a lot of good ballplayers, so it was comparable to college quality.”

As the Nanooks women’s head coach, Tremarello posted an 18-6 record during the 1991-92 season and he earned Continental Divide Conference Coach of the Year honors.

“We had a great group of young ladies who worked really well together that year,” he said.

Tremarello and his wife, Ann, who worked at the university for many years, also contribute to the university through a scholarship fund for the basketball program that was established by Joe T’s parents — Joseph Sr. and Rose.

The Tremarellos recently sold a piece of property that had been owned by Joe’s parents and contributed $100,000 to the fund that provides one men’s and one women’s scholarship each season.

“Joe and his wife Ann have given so much time and money over the years,” Griffin said. “They go to every game, and he and his wife are always contributing to make UAF a better program. They epitomize what UAF is all about.”

Randy Pitney

Like Tremarello, Pitney has a long tradition of accomplishments with the university.

A four-year shooter for the Nanooks from 1968-1972, Pitney was named team captain in his junior and senior seasons and garnered All-America honors in 1970.

Pitney, who recruited and coached Emmons at UAF, guided the Nanooks for 15 years before serving a stint as athletic director.

During his 15-year tenure, he guided the Nanooks to three national titles — 1994, 1999 and 2000 — the last two were part of six consecutive crowns for the school. UAF has won nine of the last 10 NCAA rifle championships, including three in a row under current coach Dan Jordan, another Pitney recruit.

“With so many great people having been involved with UAF athletics over the years, it is an awesome honor to be selected in the first group of inductees,” Pitney said in an e-mail to the News-Miner just prior to leaving on a canoe trip.

“It is a very special feeling to have been chosen,” Pitney added. “I have seen the tradition involved at other major universities’ Halls of Fame and I am truly humbled, especially considering the talent level of the other UAF inductees.”

Pitney said he was fortunate enough to have come along at the right time to get the rifle program up to top-notch NCAA standards.

“There were so many people involved in making the rifle team successful, I was just fortunate enough to be orchestrating it,” he said. “Many people and groups were the ones that really made it happen.

“The student-athletes were of course the major driving force; the assistant coaches, the athletic department, the booster club, many local individuals and loyal fans were right in there supporting us also,” he added. “It most definitely was a combined effort from many individuals.”

Selection details

The four inductees were selected by the Nanook Hall of Fame’s initial committee, which was composed of six alumni athletes and three athletic director appointees. The committee members included Linda (Dahl) Gordon, rifle; Greg Milles, men’s ice hockey; Jenny (Lin) Benson, women’s basketball; Darryl Lewis, men’s basketball; Mallory (Bergstrom) Larranaga, women’s volleyball; Andre Layral, men’s swimming; Mike Kelliher; Bob Eley; and John Estle.

“The Nanook Hall of Fame has been a long time coming,” Karr said. “I want to thank both the guideline drafting committee and the initial selection committee for their time and effort, and for making the whole process so enjoyable.”

Details on the Hall of Fame Induction Brunch will be made available in September.

Contact sports editor Bob Eley at 459-7581.