Process
Election to the Union College Athletics Hall of Fame should take place every other academic year, with the induction taking place on a date deemed appropriate by the Advisory Committee. Nominations submitted after March 1 will be considered for the next induction. Announcement of the honorees shall be made by July 1 of each year.
Nominations
Nominations shall be sought by alumni solicitation from Union Athletics coaches and administrators, alumni, friends, and College employees, and by personal contact from all College constituencies. Nomination forms (individuals or teams)and supporting information must be submitted for qualified nominees to be considered; self-nominations will not be accepted. Individuals nominating candidates are asked to include as much information as possible in regards to the candidate, including newspaper clippings, statistics (if applicable), letters of recommendation, and other highlights and honors regarding the candidate to assist the Advisory Committee in their selection. Department coaches are instructed to contact alumni from their specific sport for candidates, as well as solicit letters of support and career highlight information.
Selection Committee
The Selection Committee shall consist of the following members:
- Director of Athletics
- One member of the Athletic Department Senior Staff
- Athletic Communications Director
- Director of Alumni Relations or assistant from that department
- Vice President for College Relations or assistant from that department
ROTATING MEMBERS
- Four alumni, serving three-year terms.
- Two members of the coaching staff (one from a men's sport and one from a women's sport) as appointed by the Director of Athletics, serving four-year terms.
- Two members at large.
No appointment shall be made to the Committee without approval of the Committee sitting at the time of the appointment. The Athletic Communications Director serves as the chairperson of the group and the Athletics Administrative Coordinator serves as the secretary.
Selection Process
Selection meetings of the Union College Athletic Hall of Fame Advisory Committee are held during the following timeline:
- March (discussion of all new individuals and teams submitted, and review of previous candidates)
- April (distribution of voting results, discussion, and selection of finalists)
- May (distribution of finalists voting results, discussion, and selection of that year's Class)
The Athletic Communications Director will provide information and ballots on all candidates for each meeting, and results of voting for the second and final meetings. Each committee member is required to attend the March and April meetings, and if they cannot attend the March meeting, they will be provided with information to review. At least five candidates and no more than six individual candidates shall be elected by a majority vote of the committee members attending. Special attention shall be given to balancing the eras represented, as well as to the variety of divisions and sports represented. A deceased alumnus, coach, or administrator may be elected to the Hall of Fame, and his or her survivor or representative shall be eligible to accept the award. If a candidate is selected and cannot attend that year's induction event, they will be deferred for official induction until the next induction event.
Candidates who do not receive a vote for three consecutive indiction years will be removed from future consideration and placed in a "Hold" file, until (if) more supportive information is provided to update that individual's nomination.
Beginning in 2007, a "Team of Distinction" was inducted for the "Team of Distinction Wing," for teams that achieved special recognition to the College. Consideration for "Teams of Distinction" shall include outstanding season records, regular season league championships and post-season participation, with extra consideration for NCAA playoff participation. One Team of Distinction shall be elected, with consideration for an additional team should it be from the Heritage Era (50 years or more prior to the induction date). A team becomes eligible for consideration for this honor 10 years after the completion of that team's season.
The Director of Athletics shall notify the inductees of their selection by letter within 10 days of the selection meeting.
Once the candidate is notified of his/her selection, the individual is asked to provide as much information as possible on their Union College athletic career, to assist the Sports Information Director in publicity and biographical stories on the individual. The individual who nominated the "Team of Distinction" will be asked to provide additional materials for the team that is inducted.
