Lehigh University Athletics
Three former greats inducted into LU Hall of Fame
5/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Three former Lehigh standout student-athletes have been inducted into the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame. Formal induction took place on Lehigh’s Packer Campus on Saturday, May 8, 2010. Four-time wrestling All-American Mike Brown ’80, record setting quarterback Phil Stambaugh ’00 and Anne Tierney ’03, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Lehigh women’s basketball history, comprise the class of 2010.
One of just two four-time All-Americans in Lehigh wrestling history, Mike Brown was the first to accomplish the feat, doing so in four straight seasons from 1977-1980. In addition, Brown is one of only eight four-time champions in the 106-year history of the EIWA. An accomplished pinner, Brown ranks third in school annals with 36 career falls and at the time of his graduation, the Bethlehem native held the school record for career wins (95) and bonus wins (67).
“It’s certainly an honor and a privilege to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said Brown. “To join a group with all the other elite athletes, who competed at Lehigh, which is an elite university for sports and academics is certainly a tremendous honor.”
“Mike was a great pinner and could roll anybody with his side roll,” recalled his former coach Thad Turner. “Gerry Leeman used to say, ‘If Grace Hall had an arm, Mike Brown could roll it.’ Mike is one of just two four-time placers for Lehigh and its due time that he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Brown burst onto the scene as a true freshman, going 26-3 and winning an EIWA Championship at 177 before placing fifth at the NCAA tournament. The next season, Brown moved up to 190, where he again went 26-3, this time with 13 falls and 20 bonus victories. He captured his second EIWA title and earned his second straight All-America honor with a third place finish. In that tournament Brown defeated Fred Bohna of UCLA 8-0 to earn All-America status, the first of four career impressive victories for Brown over NCAA Champions.
In 1979, Brown captured his third EIWA Championship and enjoyed his best NCAA finish of his career as he placed second at 190, losing to Eric Wais of Oklahoma State in the finals. Brown finished the year with a mark of 21-3. In his senior season Brown went 22-3 and captured his fourth EIWA Championship and won the Fletcher Memorial Trophy for the most team points scored in his EIWA career in the first Eastern tournament held at Stabler Arena. In his final NCAA Championship, Brown battled through injuries to place seventh, earning his fourth All-American medal to finish his career with an impressive 95-12 mark. Throughout his career Brown defeated four wrestlers who wound up NCAA champions, which is second best in Lehigh history, and he ranks third in school annals in most falls and fifth in most bonus wins.
Since graduating from Lehigh in 1980 with a degree in Biology, Brown spent over 25 years as a pharmacist at Newhard Pharmacy in Northampton, Pa., and for the last two years has worked at Rite Aid Pharmacy in Hellertown, Pa.
“In the end it comes down to what a guy does with that degree,” explained Turner. “Mike worked just as hard in the classroom as he did on the mats and has done very well for himself.”
Brown and his wife Diane have three children: Michael, Shayne and Isabel. A two-year team captain, Brown was one of 13 children and the second of four Brown brothers to wrestle for the Brown and White, joining Charlie ’78, Pat ’82 and Bernie ’86. Bernie won two EIWA titles in his career to pull the Browns even with the Liebermans for most EIWA titles won by a family at Lehigh (six).
One of the best quarterbacks in school history, Phil Stambaugh has his name all over the Lehigh record book following a terrific career that saw him throw for 10,575 yards and 78 touchdowns. During his time in the Brown and White, which spanned from 1996-1999, Stambaugh led Lehigh to 31 victories, including an undefeated regular season in 1998 as well as two playoff appearances and a playoff road victory over Richmond. The record setting star entered the starting lineup with four games remaining in his freshman season and wound up completing nearly 55% of his passes for 967 yards and eight touchdowns. In the final game of that season, Stambaugh led the Mountain Hawks back from a 19-6 halftime deficit to defeat archrival Lafayette 23-19 and in the process became the first freshman to earn the MVP trophy in the storied rivalry.
“I am extremely excited to receive this recognition,” Stambaugh said of his election to the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame. “I worked very hard during my time at Lehigh and to have been nominated and selected for the Hall of Fame at a school with such a great athletics tradition is truly an honor.” He continued, “My years at Lehigh were definitely highlights in my life and my athletics career and I want to thank all my teammates and coaches as well as the Lehigh staff for making those years filled with great memories.”
Stambaugh threw for 2,586 yards and 23 touchdowns, while completing over 60% of his passes as a sophomore to earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors. He led the league in passing and total offense that season and once again led the Brown and White past Lafayette, this time by a score of 43-31. During his junior season Stambaugh unleashed an aerial assault on opponents, as he completed 66% of his passes and totaled 3,121 yards and 22 touchdowns. He went onto be named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year as well as an All-League pick and an ECAC All-Star. With Stambaugh leading the way, the Mountain Hawks captured their third Patriot League championship that season and defeated a tough Richmond squad in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA I-AA playoffs. Lehigh, which handed Lafayette a 31-7 defeat to complete its undefeated regular season, finished the year with a national ranking of seventh.
As a senior, Stambaugh led the Mountain Hawks to ten more victories, including another win over rival Lafayette, as well as their second consecutive Patriot League crown and I-AA playoff appearance. Stambaugh completed a career-best 68% of his passes for 2,995 yards and 26 touchdowns and earned All-America accolades from Don Hansen Weekly Football Gazette as well as his second straight selection to the ECAC All-Star Team. Stambaugh was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award that season and was selected to the Kelly Tire Blue-Gray All-Star Game.
Current Lehigh head coach Andy Coen, who served as an Assistant Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Lehigh for the majority of Stambaugh’s career shares his thoughts on the former Mountain Hawks quarterback. “I am very happy for Phil to be receiving induction to the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame. It is a great honor and one that is well deserved. Phil was certainly an outstanding player during his time at Lehigh but he was also a fierce competitor. Phil made it enjoyable to be the Offensive Coordinator; he and his teammates had the knack for making big plays at any time as well as the clutch plays.”
Coen continued, “Phil provided many outstanding moments for Lehigh fans during his career, but always did so in a very humble way. He worked hard at becoming a great quarterback and it was fun to watch him develop during his four years. Phil played the game with a tremendous amount of confidence, which his teammates really fed off. I have many great memories of those teams Phil quarterbacked and it was a pleasure to be able to coach him.”
“Phil was unique in a variety of ways and that’s the best way to put it,” Stambaugh’s former teammate Kody Fedorcha ’00 explained. “He could do things with a football that allowed him to rewrite the record books. He was also extremely soft spoken but always displayed character and the ability to lead through his actions and this allowed us to win championships. Knowing Phil, he will make this a team award, which gives more insight into how special of a player and friend he remains.”
Fedorcha continued, “When I met Phil in February of 1996 at Goodman Stadium for a photo shoot of the local players attending Lehigh, it was obvious by the way he carried himself that he would have a big impact on Lehigh football. It is a great honor to know that this impact will live on in the Hall of Fame.”
Stambaugh holds the Lehigh career record for pass completions, completion percentage, passing yardage and touchdown passes and the single season record for completion percentage. He is also in the top-five in Patriot League history in career passing yards, passing yards per game, pass attempts, pass completions and passing touchdowns. During his career Stambaugh passed for 400 or more yards on two occasions, 300 or more nine times and 200 or more in 13 games. In addition he threw four or more touchdowns five times, three or more touchdowns nine times and two or more TDs on nine occasions. Stambaugh earned seven varsity letters while at Lehigh including four in football and another three in baseball where he was a first baseman and relief pitcher.
Following his time at Lehigh Stambaugh spent time with a number of professional teams including the Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), the Rhein Fire and Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe and the New Haven Ninjas of the Arena League. Stambaugh graduated from Lehigh in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in History and following his playing days he entered the business world where he currently serves as President of Screen PAC/Pennsylvania Avenue Sports and Vice President of PMC316, Inc and he also owns a Rita’s Water Ice franchise. Stambaugh has also continued to work in the game of football where he serves as the Head Coach at his alma mater, Pius X High School in Roseto, Pennsylvania.
Anne Tierney had arguably the greatest career of any women’s basketball player in Lehigh history, setting the school record for points with 1,807 and the school and Patriot League record with 1,129 rebounds. She was the first female in league annals to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors all four seasons of her career and was a two time recipient of the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the sport of women’s basketball.
“I feel blessed to receive this amazing honor,” Tierney said. “I couldn’t have achieved anything without Coach (Sue) Troyan and the whole coaching staff who worked tirelessly to help us become the best we could be, and all of my incredible teammates through the years who provided endless support, as well as my family for all the sacrifices they made through the years. I feel like I was blessed to be a part of Lehigh Women’s Basketball and tried to work as hard as I could to hold up my end of the bargain just as my coaches, teammates, family and Lehigh all did. I couldn’t be more proud to represent a better institution that wholeheartedly supported the true meaning of being a student-athlete, so thank you to Lehigh for all the energy and faith put into us all.”
In 2000 Tierney earned the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year award following a year in which she put together one of the most dominant seasons in Lehigh basketball history. Tierney averaged 18.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, while shooting a then-school record 55.6% from the floor and 78% at the foul line. She scored a career-high 35 points vs. Holy Cross and posted ten double-doubles throughout the season on her way to becoming the first freshman in Patriot League history to receive First Team All-League recognition. Tierney also received the John S. Steckbeck Award, given annually to the top freshman female student-athlete in the Lehigh Athletics Department.
As a sophomore Tierney became the fastest player in Lehigh history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark as she totaled 522 points on the season, good for an average of 17.4 per contest. She also ripped down a school record 335 rebounds, and her 11.2 rebounds per game average ranked eighth in the nation and remains a school record. In addition, Tierney recorded 19 double-doubles en route to a second straight First Team All-League selection. Her 21 rebounds at Navy in February of 2001 established a new Lehigh record and remains tied for the all-time Patriot League mark. Tierney then averaged 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a junior, totaling 14 double-doubles throughout the course of the season. She sank a career-best 24 three-pointers throughout the season and became Lehigh’s all-time leading rebounder in a win over American in January of 2002.
During her final season in the Brown and White Tierney posted averages of 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 81% at the foul line and recording 11 double-doubles. Tierney was honored with her fourth consecutive First Team All-League honor, becoming the first women’s basketball player to accomplish that feat, and she was the first player in school history to eclipse 1,500 career points and 1,000 rebounds. Tierney was a two-time captain for Lehigh and tied or established seven school records during her career, including total points, total rebounds (Patriot League record), free throw attempts, made free throws, single season field goal percentage, single season rebounds (Patriot League record) and single season points per game average. She is one of only two Lehigh women’s basketball players to have her jersey number honored with a banner hanging in the rafters at Stabler Arena.
“As a program, we’re very excited for Anne’s induction into our Hall of Fame,” Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan explained. “It is a well-deserved honor for someone who continually set the standard in our program with everything she was able to accomplish during her career at Lehigh. As a member of our basketball program, Anne truly embodied what it meant to be a student-athlete in our University, excelling at everything she did in the classroom, on the basketball court, and as a leader in the Lehigh community. Anne helped pave the way for our program’s current success, as she set the standards for academic and athletic achievement that our current student-athletes continue to uphold today. She is truly deserving of this distinctive honor.”
“I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to know Anne,” explained Jess DePalo ’05, the fourth leading scorer in school history. “She was a leader on and off the floor. She was and still is the true example of what you want your athletics program to be about.” DePalo continued, “As a person Anne was always genuine, caring and wanted nothing more than to make everyone around her better. She continues to be a wonderful ambassador for Lehigh University and I want to take this opportunity to thank her for being an example for me and for setting the bar high not just on the court, but in life. I wish her nothing but the best and congratulate her on this honor. She truly deserves it.”
Tierney excelled off the floor as well, graduating with a 3.90 grade point average as an Economics and Finance major. She was a Presidential Scholar, member of the Dean’s List every semester at Lehigh, a four time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, a three time Academic All-District selection and the recipient of the Lehigh Athletics Department’s Scholar Athlete award, as well as Lehigh University’s Service Award and Undergraduate Merit Award. Following graduation Tierney remained at Lehigh and earned her master’s degree in Economics before embarking on a career in finance in New York City, working at Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting Practice. Following her time in New York Tierney moved to Connecticut where she began working for Meridian Flexibility and currently she serves as President of Innovative Body Solutions where she and her business partner created The Ki-Hara Method of Resistance Stretching.
“Anne is one of the hardest working and dedicated people I have ever known,” Tierney’s former teammate Cat Nicholson ’03 says. “She not only had an outstanding athletic career, but was also an inspiration in the classroom.” She continued, “Anne is the true definition of a student-athlete. I feel honored to have had the experience of playing with her for my four years at Lehigh, but feel most honored to call her my best friend.”
The annual Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame induction is sponsored by the Lehigh Athletics Partnership.
Highlights from the 2010 induction ceremony
