Caltech Hall of Honor - Mission Statement & Information

The Hall of Honor goals are:

• Celebrate special athletic achievements of community members in their pursuit of competitive excellence. 
• Commemorate intercollegiate athletic achievement for future generations as a public salute to the many people who built the Caltech Athletics tradition.
• Recognize the invaluable contribution that athletics participation played in Caltech student-athletes' development and growth as members of the STEM community and society at large.

Categories and Criteria for Nomination and Induction

An individual who is nominated in a category for the Hall of Honor must be an athletics alum, coach, administrator, faculty or community member who either currently holds or was holding at their departure from the Institute the status of “good standing.”  The Director of Athletics is responsible for the confirmation of this status. 

Nominees may meet criteria in multiple categories.   Nominees who are inducted will be inducted in only one category.
 

Athlete Category

• Eligible for consideration 10 years after graduation   
• Graduated with a bachelor’s degree
• Completed at least two seasons on an intercollegiate roster
• Made a significant contribution to an intercollegiate program.  Nominees should have proven excellence in their sport and stand out as one of the best in their chosen sport in their participation period.
• Individual honors such as All American, All SCIAC, All Region and/or era-appropriate recognition are important criteria for consideration.
• Other contributions to a program which assist in the nomination include department awards (Outstanding athlete, male/female athlete of the year, etc.), holds a program record or earned a team award (Most valuable player, defensive player of the year, outstanding doubles, etc.).

Coach/Administrator/Faculty Category

• Coach
  • Eligible for consideration 10 years after departure from the Institute
  • Made a significant, positive impact on students and the community.  Dedication as an educator and role model are essential.                
  • Made outstanding contributions to Caltech athletics by means of (including but not limited to):
    • Overall coaching record
    • Founding programs
    • Leading a significant transition or change in program and/or department
    • Creating a new tradition in a program
    • Tremendous positive impact on student-athletes.
• Administrator/Faculty
  • Eligible for consideration 10 years after departure from the Institute
  • Directly involved in support of or service to Caltech athletics for at least five years.
  • Demonstrated a clear and compelling support of the goals and mission statement of intercollegiate athletics.
  • Considered a leader and invaluable in the evolution of intercollegiate athletics

Alumni of Significance Category

• Eligible for consideration 10 years after graduation  
• Graduated with a bachelor’s degree
• Must have played on a varsity roster for two years while attending
• May be considered because of significant athletic accomplishments post-graduation (Olympic participation, professional career, international competitor)
• May be considered because of significant contribution to the greater community and world beyond Caltech (TIME Person of the Year, Nobel Laureate, significant scientific contribution, etc.)
• Significant contribution to the building of Caltech Athletics and contribution to the enhancement of the student athlete experience in conjunction with the Caltech academic mission can be considered in this category.  Bringing the Caltech Athletic story and experience to a national and/or global audience can also be factored into this category. 
• This category does not require a significant athletic achievement while a student-athlete, beyond participation.
• Supporter of the mission of athletics through either significant time or significant financial support

Pioneer Category

• Eligible for consideration 10 years after graduation  
• Graduated with a bachelor’s degree
• Must have played on a roster for at least one year while at Caltech
• A student-athlete who took initiative and was a pioneer in his/her sport
• Can include contributions to the sport post-graduation (e.g. creator of a new bat used in MLB, a new sport metric, serving as an administrator/director for sporting agency or governing body such as Special Olympics, etc.)
• Student-athletes who were involved as a catalyst for change within Caltech Athletics (starting a team, being a woman on a men’s team, etc.)

Team Category

• Eligible 10 years after the performance year
• Teams nominated must have an outstanding record/accomplishment (SCIAC Championship, National record/statistical champion, significant record within the department, etc.)
• Team should have proven excellence in their sport and stand out as one of the best teams in their participation period
• Teams which were significant yet not defined by traditional success, yet demonstrated and embraced the Caltech Athletic mission and experience by:
  • Overcoming tremendous adversity
  • Personifying the Institute mission statement
  • Achieved significant success for their specific era

Important Notes about Nomination and Induction

• It is important to recognize athletics and sports have changed over time and eras need not be compared.  Honors can be a useful tool as they are based on peers of the appropriate time period. 
• Once nominated, a candidate remains in the pool of potential honorees for 10 years or induction occurs.
• When a team is inducted, individual members are eligible for additional induction as individuals with exceptional personal achievement; however, they may not be inducted in the same year.
• Not all categories must be represented in any given year; however, no more than the listed totals can be inducted from a single category in any one year except in the case of a tie, where the committee will determine whether to re-vote or induct both nominees.
• Individuals may be inducted posthumously, in which case the inductee's family will be asked to attend and receive the award on the inductee's behalf
• Inductees are inducted in one category only.  In the event of an individual being nominated in multiple categories, the committee has the authority to select the category which best suits the induction class.

Committee

The Director of Sports Information and Marketing accepts, compiles and presents nominations to the 12-person (eleven voting, one non-voting members) committee, which will deliberate and vote to select the induction class.

The committee consists of both permanent and rotating members, as described below:

It is the responsibility of the Director of Sports Information to investigate and confirm - to the best of the department’s ability - any honors, records, or relevant statistics to ensure the accuracy of the nominations submitted.

Permanent Members – serving by virtue of their positions in the department

• Athletic Director (Committee Chair – Voting member only in the event of a tie ) 
• Assistant Athletic Director for Intercollegiate Teams
• Sports Information Director (Committee Secretary)

Rotating Members - appointed by the Director of Athletics

• 3 Intercollegiate coaches (3yrs)
• 3 Alumni representatives (2yrs)
• 1 Faculty Athletic Committee members (2yrs)
• 2 SAAC leadership representatives (1yr – 1 senior, 1 junior.  1 male, 1 female)

Nomination and Voting Process

• A year-round nomination period runs opens and closes annually on or around Nov. 15 (as publicized, allowing flexibility for that date falling on a weekend) to allow the committee time to investigate, deliberate and notify inductees well in advance of the ceremony.
• Nominations must be submitted through the nomination process (Via US Mail or using online form) using Caltech Athletics Hall of Honor Nomination Forms, found HERE.
• To submit a nomination, please:
  • Fill out the form completely and accurately
  • Submit by the deadline to the Director of Sports Information
• The committee will meet in person to review the nominations and engage in initial discussion of the nominees.
• Once the slate of nominees is confirmed, the Director of Athletics will confirm "good standing."  The purpose of this step in the process is to determine that the inductee has maintained the highest level of integrity both during and after attendance and is a quality representative of this honor.
• The confirmed slate of nominees will be returned to the Director of Sports Information to prepare the official ballot. 
• The committee uses the Borda Method to narrow and select each class.
• In the event of a tie, the Athletic Director will cast the deciding vote.

Announcement of Inductees

• Inductees (or their families in the case of posthumous induction) will be contacted and invited to the induction celebration prior to the public announcement of the induction class.  Once all nominees/families are contacted, the Director of Sports Information will proceed with the press releases and public announcements.
• The formal presentation and induction ceremony will be held in October; each nominee with be introduced, given an induction plaque and have an opportunity to share a short reflection on the honor.
• Inductees may and are encouraged to provide any memorabilia for presentation in a future physical Hall of Honor display.  Acceptable memorabilia include photographs, smaller sports equipment, trophies, medals and certificates; the Director of Sports Information will consider any other types of memorabilia at his/her discretion.