WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The Monmouth University department of athletics officially celebrated Ryan Kinne '11 (men's soccer), Bobby Smith '06 (track & field/football) and members of the Touchdown Club, the group who championed bringing the sport of collegiate football to Monmouth University, as 2022 Monmouth Athletics Hall of Fame inductees on Friday evening inside The Great Hall.
Kinne was a two-time All-American, earning the distinctions in both 2009 and 2010. The Naugatuck, CT native also earned All-Region honors three times, and was named NEC Player of the Year after his junior and senior seasons. Over Kinne's four-year stretch, the program developed into a national powerhouse, ranking as high as #4 in the NCAA and compiling a record of 56-12-12.
Smith is one of the most accomplished track & field athletes to ever put on the Blue & White. In 2005 he placed fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earning him All-America honors. Smith was an All-East Region performer twice in the javelin and and earned three-consecutive All-East honors at the IC4As, winning the event as a junior. Smith and Head Coach Joe Compagni led a impressive team effort in the NEC, winning four consecutive Outdoor Track & Field titles while Smith won the javelin in back to back years as a junior and senior. The Hopatcong, NJ native still owns the top two javelin marks in school history including his record 240' 8" throw set at the 2005 NCAA Regionals.
After graduating from Monmouth he won the US National Championship in 2008 with a throw of 249' 6". Smith played running back for the Hawks during the most dominant two-year stretches in school history, winning Northeast Conference Titles in 2003 and 2004 while helping lead the Hawks to a combined 20-3 record over that span. The two-time offensive co-captain finished his career with 1,545 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He graduated with the fifth most rushing yards in school history.
The Touchdown Club is credited with being one of the driving forces financially in bringing collegiate football to Monmouth's campus. Led by alums Don Burnaford '72 and John Kessler '69 , the group tirelessly solicited funding from a number of sources to get the seed money together to start the program in the Spring of 1992. The program boasts seven conference championships, three NCAA Division I FCS Playoff Appearances, twenty-nine All-Americans and numerous professional players all while sending close to 600 former student-athletes into the workforce with Monmouth degrees in hand.
The following people will be honored as a Team of Distinction in the Hall of Fame as part of the Touchdown Club: Donald L. Beaty, Norma J. Beaty, Mr. Leonard H. Berkeley '68, Teri D. Berkeley '68, Margaret C. Bey, Stanley S. Bey '59, Ernestine Braswell, Stephen R. Braswell '94HN, James A. Bulvanoski '68, Joan K. Bulvanoski '69, Deborah Burnaford, Donald R. Burnaford '72, Clifford C. Carr Jr. '66, Joan M. Carr '94, Robert J. Casper, Susan Casper, Jane Clayton, William Clayton Sr., Diane Doherty, Paul S. Doherty Jr. '67 '04HN, Judith Ann Eisenberg, Ambassador Lewis M. Eisenberg '01HN, Edward Fitton, Rose Friedland, Wayne Friedland, Fred Golden, John Golden, Kay Golden, Margaret Golden, Bernard M. Goldsmith, Nadine D. Goldsmith, Gale K. Grossman, Dr. Robert B. Grossman, Dr. Frank P. Gudicello '67, Joan Gudicello, Kim L. Hart '03 '09M, Michael K. Hart, Karyn M. Jeffery '84, William J. Jeffery Jr. '82, Henni K. Kessler '68, John H. Kessler '69, Joseph W. Ketusky '86, Gail Lowy '82, Keith R. Lowy '82, Stephan Lowy, John MacAllister, Shearwood McClelland, Margaret B. Matthews '90M, Robert C. Matthews, Robin Matthews, Thomas A. Matthews, Frank J. Mazza Jr. '68, Virginia Mazza, Donna L. Muscarella, Stephen J. Muscarella '74, Charles T. Parton '01HN, Gertrude B. Parton, Carol Patok, Frank J. Patock Jr., Jane Plangere, Jules L. Plangere Jr. '86HN, Janice Sambol, Richard S. Sambol '04HN, Patricia A. Shaheen '91, Phil Shaheen, Timothy J. Shaheen, Mitchell E. Shivers '70, Nancy J. Shivers, Lynn A. Spector '73, William D. Spector '74, Maria Steinberg, Wallace H. Steinberg, Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton '69 '95HN, Benedict Torcivia Sr., Elvira Torcivia, Richard H. Turrell '92HN, Sally W. Turrell, Betty Weissman, Charles Weissman, Betty G. Young, and H.R. Young.
