News and Events

press releases

Standout Pepperdine Athletes Join Waves 2011 Hall of Fame

Three All-Americans, a coaching legend, and one national championship team make up the newest group inducted into the Pepperdine University Athletics Hall of Fame. The inductees, Mike Fetters (baseball), Maureen Formico (women's basketball), Jim Harrick (men's basketball), Troy Tanner (men's volleyball), and the 2006 NCAA champion men's tennis team, were announced Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Department of Athletics' 2011 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, Calif.  

The Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1980. This year's group will join 94 individuals and 13 teams that have already been enshrined. To be eligible for induction, nominees must have competed, coached for, or rendered an extraordinary service to Pepperdine University Athletics. After a list of nominations was gathered, Pepperdine's Hall of Fame Committee made the decision on this year's inductees.

Mike Fetters, Baseball
Mike Fetters became the first Pepperdine player to join the USA National Team in 1985. He was selected in the first round of the 1986 MLB Draft (22nd overall) by the Angels and had a 16-year career in the majors. Fetters played three seasons (1984 to 1986) and earned All-American honors in his last year as a pitcher. He was the 1986 WCC Pitcher of the Year and selected as an All-WCC and All-District 8 selection in 1986. Fetters was named to the WCC/Rawlings' 40th Anniversary Team (1968-2007) and held several school career records, including wins (33), innings pitched (361.2), games started (49), and strikeouts (292), all of which have since been broken. Fetters still holds school single-season records for strikeouts (158), innings pitched (147.2), and complete games (12), all set in 1986. Fetters went 13-7 with a 3.66 ERA in 1986, 10-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 1985, and 10-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 1984. The Waves won or shared the WCC title all three years and advanced to NCAA Regional play in 1985 and 1986.

Maureen Formico, Women's Basketball
Forward Maureen Formico played four seasons (1982-83 through 1985-86) and became a two-time All-American (1985 and 1986). She made the 1986 All-WCC first team the first year the conference sponsored women's basketball. She is Pepperdine's all-time leader in scoring (2,190), field goals made (873), and free throws made (444), and is third in rebounds (1,188) and ninth in steals (170). She also holds Pepperdine's single-season records for points (713), scoring (24.6), field goals made (301), and free throws made (154). Formico holds the school's single-game records for field goals made (19), free throws made (17), and rebounds (33). She led the team in scoring and rebounding her final three years and led the WCC in scoring (22.9) and rebounding (11.6) as a senior.

Jim Harrick, Men's Basketball
Jim Harrick was the men's basketball coach for nine seasons (1979-80 through 1987-88), during which his teams went 167-97 (.633) and made six postseason appearances. The Waves went to the 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986 NCAA Tournaments and 1980 and 1988 NITs. Pepperdine won or shared five WCC regular-season titles and the 1981-82 squad went 14-0 in conference, the first perfect WCC season in school history. The 1985-86 team went 25-5 and posted a school-record winning percentage of .833. The 1986-87 team reached the final of the inaugural WCC Tournament. Harrick earned four WCC Coach of the Year awards and went on to win an NCAA championship as the head coach at UCLA in 1995.

Troy Tanner, Men's Volleyball
Troy Tanner played as a setter/outside hitter for four seasons (1983 and 1985-87) and was a three-time All-American, earning first team honors as a senior and junior, and second team as a freshman. He was a member of the 1985 and 1986 NCAA champions and earned all-conference honors from 1985-87. Tanner led the team in digs and service aces in 1983 and 1987 and made the NCAA All-Tournament team in 1983. He missed the 1984 season while on a Mormon mission. During his time at Pepperdine, he trained with the U.S. National Team, competed in the Goodwill Games in the Soviet Union, and played in the 1985 World University Games. Tanner won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics and coached the gold-medal-winning beach team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

2006 Men's Tennis Team
The 2006 Men's Tennis team, led by current head coach Adam Steinberg, won the 2006 NCAA championship, the first in Pepperdine tennis history and the ninth overall for the school. The team went 36-2 on the season, setting a record for wins by a national championship team. At the NCAA Tournament held at Stanford University, the team avenged its only two losses of the season in the semifinals (a 4-1 win over Texas) and the final (a 4-2 win over previously unbeaten Georgia). Ivor Lovrak ('06) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer and he, Pedro Rico ('06), Andre Begemann ('08), and Omar Altmann ('09) were named to the All-Tournament team for singles, as were all three of Pepperdine's doubles teams.