Four inducted into Nanook Hall of Fame
September 30, 2015
Cathy Cox, Bart LeBon, Ric Schafer and Al Svenningson were inducted into the Nanook Hall of Fame at the Gold Room of the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center on Sept. 26.
Cox is UAF's all-time women's basketball leading scorer. Svenningson remains the school's longest-tenured men's basketball coach. LeBon, as a men's basketball player, helped the Nanooks win their first postseason championship. Hockey coach Ric Schafer led the program through its transition to the NCAA Division I.
"It was a pleasure and an honor to participate in this year's induction ceremony with four outstanding Alaska Nanooks," said Alaska Nanooks Director of Athletics Gary Gray. "It's definitely exciting to honor these wonderful people, who continue to enrich people's lives today, many years after their athletic careers concluded."
Each inductee was introduced by either a family member or a former teammate. Mike Sfraga, UAF vice chancellor for university and student advancement, then conducted on-stage interviews with the inductees.
Cox played basketball for the women's team from 1986 to 1990. She is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,075 points and ranks fourth on the school's all-time rebounding list with 787. In her four-year career, Cox averaged 19.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The 19.6 points per game is also the highest career points-per-game average by a Nanook women's basketball player.
"It's awesome to be back in Fairbanks, the campus is just as I remember it," said Cox in her interview. "I got to see some people I haven't seen in years, and I'm so lucky to be inducted into the Nanook Hall of Fame. The night before, I was able to spend some time with my teammates and it was like we've never been apart. We talked about our time here and our lives after UAF. We laughed and cried, and honestly, the past couple of days are the best I've had in a while."
LeBon was a two-year member of the men's basketball team, playing under Coach Svenningson. In 1973, his first year on campus, LeBon helped the UAF men's basketball team to its first postseason tournament, where it won the NAIA District I Championship. LeBon, executive vice president of Mt. McKinley Bank, founded the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational, a women's basketball tournament played annually since 2001. He also served as chairman of the now-defunct Top of the World Men's Basketball Tournament. The Bart LeBon Humanitarian Award, which annually goes to a UAF student-athlete who volunteers, was named after him.
LeBon said the key to the 1972-'73 team's success was having all five starters begin every game, which helped the team win 20 of 29 that year.
Schafer was hired prior to the 1980-81 season and took charge of a program that was playing in its first year as a NCAA-sponsored Division II team. Schafer guided the Nanooks to Division I status in 1984. He still retains the best win record among coaches, a .505.
"I knew coming up here was going to be tough," Schafer said of coming to Fairbanks. "I was 29 years old and I needed a job, so I came. We had a rough first couple of years, but we made the transition and became a pretty solid team. I look back at my time in Fairbanks with fond memories. I had a chance to speak with this year's team, and I reminded them of the spirit of this program and how far it's come since my time here."
Svenningson was the head men's basketball coach for Nanooks from 1967 to 1985. Under his tutelage, Alaska won a school record 245 games during his 18 years. He coached several players who still rank inside the top five in both the all-time scoring and rebounding list.
"I stayed in Alaska for so long because I didn't want to go anywhere else," said Svenningson. "I had a chance to go coach other schools, but this place felt like home and I was happy here, so I never had that urgency to leave."
Each inductee will be honored with a plaque in the Nanook Hall of Fame in the Patty Center's lobby. The Class of 2015 was also honored at the Blue vs. Gold hockey game Sept. 26, where Schafer conducted the ceremonial puck drop.