DELHI, N.Y. (August 4, 2021) - With the Olympics upon us, SUNY Delhi Athletics wishes to highlight some recent moments and memories that we believe merits gold-medal recognition.
#3: Four Broncos Virtually Inducted in Athletics Hall of Fame (CLICK HERE FOR VIRTUAL PROGRAM!)
The SUNY Delhi Athletics Hall of Fame grew by four members earlier this summer in a virtual ceremony over Zoom. Alaric Best '08 (Cross Country/Track & Field), Kelsey Pratt '12 (Volleyball), Mike Deane '76-80 (Men's Basketball Coach), and Phil Mattera '81 (Wrestling) were selected from a distinguished group by the Hall of Fame committee for this year's honors, all of whom were joined by their peers and friends of SUNY Delhi for an evening of celebration back on May 26. It marked the first virtual ceremony in the program's history in response to the current health situation; an in-person ceremony will be announced once determined.
Remarks from Director of Athletics and Committee Chair Bob Backus and President Dr. Michael R. Laliberte kicked off the presentation, followed by a short video highlighting the induction class. The program then moved its spotlight over to the inductees to share remarks and messages of thanks.
*Please pardon any misspellings of names from our transcribing efforts
Alaric Best:
"I would like to thank God first, Jesus Christ my lord and savior, without him nothing would be possible. I would like to thank the SUNY Delhi Hall of Fame committee for considering me for this great honor. Also I would like to congratulate the Class of 2021 inductees, its great to go into the Hall of Fame with a great group of former coaches and athletes. SUNY Delhi has always been an important place for me because where my journey started and where many people took a chance on a kid from Pleasantville, New Jersey. I had a lot of people speaking positive words over my life and continue to do that today. I am forever grateful to all those people who believed in me. Honestly, my biggest motivation over the years has been not to let anyone down who believed in me and gave me an opportunity to pursue my dreams. I would like to thank my mom. Without her, it's no way I would have been involved in cross country and track and field. She pushed me with her work ethic, her kind heart, and love for track and field. Thank you for your sacrifices so I could have an opportunity to pursue my college dreams. I'm forever grateful. Thank you to my family. All of you were a huge part of my success over the years. Being able to overcome so much wouldn't have been possible without having you in my corner. Thank you to all my student-athletes, my mentors, my administrators, my counselors, my coworkers over the years who believed in me. All of you are a huge part of my success. Thank you to my wife Danielle and my daughter Marie. Without you all, it would be impossible to accomplish all the things I've accomplished and stay on track where God's purpose was for me in my life so I thank you for all your sacrifices. And lastly I'd like to thank all of SUNY Delhi for supporting me over the years. Thank you so much SUNY Delhi teammates. I always was blessed to have great teammates through all my whole college career, but definitely the ones at Delhi stood by me, supported me through my whole time at Delhi and it made the opportunity so great. And most importantly, Coach Backus taking a chance on me, took me under your wing when I walked into Delhi. Through the good times and the bad times you stuck by my side and always believed in me. Two things that you said to me that always stuck to me and helped me work on my student-athletes today and in my life: the first thing was you have the build the athletes-coach relationship and that helped me so much with working on my athletes today and the thing that i kind of stand by and kind of live by just live your life in order. You stood up to me when I was a freshman, kind of didn't understand it, but it helped me so much. And I thank you for that. And I think it's so important that we continue to speak positive words over people because I'm a success story because all those positive words were spoken over me. So thank you, God bless, and go Broncos!"
Mike Deane:
"I just want to say thank you to so many people. When I first came to Delhi, the Chamber of Commerce was the Mokay brothers and there was one traffic light and it turned into a blinking yellow at ten. The basketball program was struggling so poorly that the building construction majors would seek out the gym during a men's game because it was the best place to study on campus. There were no positions in the Phys. Ed. department at the time as the basketball program had struggled a bit, so I was paid $12,000 to run O'Connor Hall, an all-male residence hall, where the drinking age was 18 and my job was to keep the roof on and the walls up. In addition to that, they had hoped I would be able to re-engergize the basketball program. Frank Millard, the AD at that time and obviously the ultra-successful wrestling coach, gave me an opportunity that I was honored to have and excited to begin it. Delhi was a difficult job back then. There was no tiers in junior college, it was just one division and the goal was just to make the regional tournament. We got there in my fourth year. Had one of my career's toughest losses was that first game against Broome Tech, which we lost. We were in control of the game and we didn't get the ball in bounds and they scored on the subsequent inbounds play and beat us by one. How did we get to that tournament? Well, I a was young and inexperienced coach, I was determined to change the perception of the basketball program on campus, in the community, and in the region. We had no scholarships, no trainer, no SID, no academic support, the kind of things that are taken for granted I think now and are pretty commonplace everywhere. We got the community involved by bringing in some local players: Gary Shultis, Scott LaRose, Sean Mulligan from Cooperstown, and of course the late Keith Oliver from Delaware Academy. We also got some tough and dedicated guys from some smaller schools like Dan Theiss and Mark McGuire and Dave Chalifoux. Last, we went into the city and got guys like Sam Haluums, Greg Sturdevant, Will Washington, the late Reggie Robinson, Kevin Gutten, Phil Randall, Dana Mitchell, and Howard Burns. There were even a few guys who walked on that weren't recruited that really helped the program, some that come to mind Joe Lores and Jay Ellison Moore. These names mean little to what maybe just a few of you out there tonight, but know that Dan Theiss was my assistant at Marquette, my assistant at Siena, my assistant at Lamar University. He was my first captain here at Delhi. And David Chalifoux, he's a very successful financial advisor and my broker. He saw at least one game in each of the 24 years I was a head coach in person. He was my second captain at Delhi. I am proud that during my tenure that Dan Theiss went on to play at Plattsburgh State, Reggie Robinson went on to play at St. Lawrence, Dana Mitchell went on to play at Potsdam, and that Joe Lores, Dave Chalifoux and Keith Oliver followed me to Oswego State. Joe Lores, who walked on at Delhi - he was recruited by Coach Reither to play soccer - walked on and played two years for me, then followed me to Oswego State. He became a high school basketball coach at Lynbrook High School, his home town. He is now a member of the Long Island Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the New York State Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. I would be remiss if I didn't thank the friendships I developed while competing athletically while I was here at Delhi. Coach Mokay, Coach Kelly, Coach Garrepi, Glenn Reynolds and many more. We never lost a town league game in basketball. We won a few baseball championships, despite the fact that Jack Garrepi only had two pitches: a curveball and a changeup. Lastly, a special thanks to Frank Millard for the opportunity at Delhi. I worked for Frank at Potsdam State when he was in charge of the intramural program and he knew he could always rely on me to either get somebody or be there to help him out whenever he needed it. I got to, during my career, see Frank a few times at Northfield Mount Hermon, where he became the athletic director while I was recruiting some of the prospects there. And just six months ago, he called me out of the blue and we got a chance to visit and I've had an opportunity to write him a long letter thanking him for this opportunity which was the beginning of my career. And there was a lot of learning, a lot of mistakes, but it was a great opportunity. I can't thank him enough in this venue and whenever I see him for the opportunity that he gave me. I'm humbled by this recognition and glad because I had to relive those years as I prepared for this induction. I've been back to Delhi a few times to play in the golf tournament and stayed at Scott Clark's house. I've seen the new facility. It's great to see the progress that Delhi has enjoyed. And I just want to say the best to everyone as this Division III experience and journey unfolds. It was a great time to coach basketball and it was a great place to be and I'm very thankful and humbled by tonight."
Kelsey Pratt:
"I just want to say congratulations to everybody being inducted in this class. Like everyone else, I'm extremely humbled and honored and there are so many incredible student-athletes that I just again thank you for this recognition. I'd first like to thank all of my teammates. They say as a team you are only as strong as your weakest link and believe me when I say that we had no weak links. We had two years of incredible, incredible team. I would like to thank all my professors at Delhi who were extremely kind and generous with their time with all of the traveling back and forth. And for all their guidance and patience and everything that we get to do being a student-athlete in a college, so thank you to every single one of them. I'd like to thank my parents, Fred and Linda, without them I definitely would not have ever ended up in Delhi, especially my mother. Just thank you for your love and support and all the countless, countless years and hours you guys spent traveling to and from games, including up to Delhi, so thank you guys for everything, and I'm including my sister on that too. Lord knows, you guys have been through it all. I would like to thank the Hall of Fame Committee and the SUNY Delhi Alumni Association. And lastly I'd love to thank my coach Beau Bracchy. I cannot say enough amazing things about him, both as a human and a coach. I've never had a coach that has cared more about their student-athletes off the court than on the court. He cared more about our academic future versus our athletic future and he pushed us and he just made us better people and better athletes. Thank you to him for taking a chance on a girl from Amarillo, Texas and just again thank you. Delhi holds an amazing place in my heart, all the memories, all the people I've met along the way. And as a team I just to this day we are family. We are a family first and foremost. We talk and we're there for each other no matter what, through the good times, the bad times, weddings, funerals, it's just really a family and I would not trade my time there for anything in the world. Again, just thank you, I'm very humbled by this recognition and go Broncos!"
Phil Mattera:
"I want to begin by thanking the induction committee, my fellow alumni that are Keith Garrett and Bobby Hilfiger, my teammates who supported and nominated me. I'm humbled to be included with this group of talented inductees. I had the great pleasure of wrestling at Delhi for two years under national hall of fame wrestling coach Frank Millard. Delhi's wrestling practices were the toughest I ever experienced in my entire wrestling career. When I was a freshman, Randy Demo, who was a co-captain at the time, told me and another freshman as we were walking into practice, 'Be very careful. Coach Millard's workouts have caused many wrestlers to go to the hospital during practice.' Fortunately, it was only a rumor, just to pick on the young freshmen. But Coach Millard has groomed many champions, All-American, Pan-American game medalists in that very room. From May 1980 to 1981 when I competed with my teammates, we helped contribute to shatter the national record for consecutive dual meet wins, which happened in 1983. My one and only regret was not being in attendance on that night to watch history take place and join them in their celebration. But I was there in spirit and luckily a lot of people took pictures, I was happy for Delhi. I have a lot of great memories while at Delhi. I lived on campus in Gerry Hall both my years when I was there. I actually was asked to be Superman in the parade on the float when the town celebrated its 100th year birthday. I played on the championship intramural football league. I was able to go up in the mountains and see the beautiful landscape which I didn't have where I lived down in Long Island, not like up in Delhi. I've made dozens of lifelong connections, freidnships with teammates that I still keep in touch with to this day. You'll recognize many of the names like LabDell, Hilfiger, Keith, Gloria, Cialino, Clark, Lethcer, the Iacavelli Brothers, Mark Cody, and that's just to name a few because it's been almost forty years and I'm sure I left out quite a few names. I can't say enough about my education that I received while I was at Delhi and the technical degree that I earned. It absolutely opened the door for my 18-plus year career and my retirement from municipal civil service while at the New York City Department of Buildings. I was hired right on the spot when they saw my resume and they saw that I went to technical college. Normally, I was told they wouldn't even tell you for at least a few days that you are being considered for hire. Before I left the room, they wanted an answer if I would accept the job. So I really do appreciate my education while I was there. Probably not as much as it was years later, but I can't say enough about it. In closing, I'd like to give a big thanks to God, my family, my friends, my coaches in high school - Coach Milosi, Coach Lutsig - and my family who have always supported me throughout my long career. And to my number-one fan, my brother Nick, who actually believed in me more than I believed in myself. Thank you brother. It was well worth the wait. I'm grateful for being inducted into the Hall of Fame to stand with all these other great athletes and individuals. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I'm very appreciative and I thank you all very much."
