May 4, 2005
ORLANDO - A total of 14 former Golden Knights are still in the running to be included in the 2005 UCF Athletics Hall of Fame class now that the list of finalists has been announced by the selection committee. Baseball players Craig Cozart, Chad Mottola and Brandon Turner; women's basketball's Chariya Davis; football players Franco Grilla and Marquette Smith; men's golfer Andrew Rice; men's soccer's Rony Francois; women's soccer players Laura Dryden and Amy Jones; former men's tennis coach Lex Wood; women's track/cross country runner Sarah Kureshi; wrestler Johnny Rouse; and former athletics director Frank Rohter were chosen as finalists by the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee.
The eight-member committee, comprised of representatives of the UCF faculty, Golden Knights Club, Alumni Association, local media and the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame, trimmed the list of 43 nominees to 14 finalists.
Ballots will now be sent to all current UCF Athletics Hall of Fame members and their votes will be combined with the votes of the committee to determine the 2005 class of the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame. The newest class of inductees will be announced in June and will be honored in person in the fall.
The UCF Athletics Hall of Fame was formed in 1998 to honor those individuals who, through their demonstrated athletics achievement or service, have distinguished themselves and the University. Since then, a total of 31 people have been inducted. Eligible categories for inclusion are former UCF athletes, coaches and administrators. Athletes must wait four full academic years from the completion of their eligibility, while coaches and administrators are immediately eligible upon the completion of their tenure at UCF.