Six to Share the Spotlight for Syracuse's 'Night of Distinction'
8/30/2010 6:00:29 AM | Men's Basketball, Football, Men's Rowing, Men's Lacrosse
Six of Syracuse University's former athletic standouts will relish their well deserved time in the spotlight during the 'Night of Distinction'. Syracuse University will honor the former student-athletes who have left their mark on the athletics program and in their lives after graduation, as LetterWinners of Distinction. The celebration will be Friday, September 24 at the Turning Stone Event Center in Verona, N.Y. The 2010 honorees include Greg Allen '73 (Football), Edward Kakas '64 (Crew), Don McPherson '88 (Football), John Pappas '68 (Lacrosse), Danny Schayes '81 (Basketball), and Joseph Smith '68 (Baseball). Syracuse University alumnus and voice of the Buffalo Bills John Murphy '78 will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.
"These recipients help lay a foundation for all the student-athletes after them and especially now as the department is having its best success in the history of the program," said director of athletics Dr. Daryl Gross. "We thank all of these honorees for the inspiration to be the best, raise the bar and do better. We thank the LetterWinners of distinction for blazing trails for successes to come."
Tickets are $125 per person or $1,250 for a table of 10. A reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. To purchase tickets, please contact Henry Wildhack, Executive Director of the Varsity Club (hwildhac@syr.edu or 315-443-4370).
Greg Allen 1973 (Football)
Allen was a two sport letterwinner, in football (1969 & 1972) and track and field (1968). His 172 punt return yards against Penn State on Oct. 18, 1969, is still the SU record for most in a game. Off the field, he was a member of the Athletic Governing Board and an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Mu.
Allen graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1973 and went on to earn a graduate certificate from the School of Sales and Marketing Management.
Following his success at Syracuse, he excelled professionally in various positions with Liberty Mutual for 32 years. He advanced through the managerial ranks and retired from the company as regional manager of the Midwest division in Chicago in 2009. Throughout his career he served as a chapter member and on the executive committee of the Liberty Mutual Diversity Network. He was the first African-American division sales manager and, along with a team of colleagues, created the Western Division of Liberty Mutual.
Beyond his professional career, Allen has coached many youth football, basketball and baseball teams to league and division championships. He is extremely active in his church and serves as a deacon at the Second Baptist Church of Elgin. Many charitable organizations have benefited from his countless hours of service and he has fulfilled numerous public speaking engagements around the country.
Allen has served on boards and chaired numerous committees. He actively participates with the Syracuse Football Club and the School of Educator's Visitors Board.
Edward Kakas 1964 (Crew)
During the summer of 1963, Kakas and three of his teammates won the National 4+ Rowing championship. That same crew finished second at the Olympic trials in 1964. Following his career with the Orange, he was a member of the 1966 U.S. National Team that competed at the World Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia.
Upon graduation, Kakas went into the family fur business for 33 years. During his time with the northeast's largest fur company he was elected Vice President of the Fur Information Council of America and one of three official national spokespersons for the industry.
In 1991, he returned to the rowing scene and has competed in all but one of the FISA World Masters Regattas, winning 54 gold medals. From 2000 to 2009 he served as Chairman of the U.S. Rowing Masters Commission.
Kakas is currently the Chairman of the Board of both the Foundation for Rowing Education and its subsidiary Row4All. The organization works with the National YMCA to bring rowing to underprivileged inner city youth on a national basis and coordinates adaptive rowing, primarily for injured military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has been a member of the SU Alumni crew at the IRA every year since the race's inception in the mid 1990's, in which SU alumni have won more races than any other institution. Until recently was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association.
Don McPherson 1988 (Football)
Following his career at Syracuse, McPherson played four seasons in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Oilers and three more with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
McPherson is currently the creator and host of Training for Life, a life skills television program on MSG Varsity which addresses various social issues and their relation to sports. He is also the principle of G9 Turf, a new synthetic turf company that promotes innovation and safety within the industry. In addition, he serves on an advisory committee for the National Football Foundation and sit on the board of directors.
During his seven year professional career, McPherson remained active in the communities where he played. He served as program coordinator for Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) on Long Island, N.Y. He also coordinated presentations for the Student-Athlete Leadership Program and Nassau County's Athletes Against Drunk Driving program. In 1993, he founded Athletes Helping Athletes, Canada, Inc.
For more than 20 years, since McPherson retired from professional football, he has impacted numerous groups and individuals through his work as an activist, educator, feminist and entrepreneur. In 1994, he joined Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society where he was named co-director of Athletes in Service to America. The program trained former college athletes to conduct community service programs in their community.
Since 1995 he has been a strong advocate for gender violence prevention in which he has director numerous groups and organizations and earned several honors for his leadership and public service. His educational and inspiring lectures on violence prevention, on more than 150 college campuses, have gained national attention. He was featured on MTV, in an article in the October 2002 issue of O magazine and was also a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show in September 2002.
McPherson worked as a game analyst for ESPN, BET and NBC coving college football from 1999 through the 2006 season. Beginning in 2006 he joined XM-Sirius Satellite Radio as an analyst and is a studio analyst on SportsNet New York's BIG EAST Game of the Week.
John Pappas 1968 (Lacrosse)
Following his career at Syracuse, Pappas returned to Long Island where he was a teacher and coach at the Syosset Central School District. During his 23 year tenure, he served as district department chairperson and coached varsity lacrosse, football and wrestling. As a coach he led his teams to several county and state championships.
Pappas earned his Master's degree in education from New York University and his SAS certification from Brooklyn College. He went on to serve in the dual role of athletic director and district coordinator of health and physical education for Syosset Central School District from 1993-2003. During that time he also taught on the graduate level at Hofstra and Adelphi Universities.
During the past 40 years, Pappas' passion and dedication to the game of lacrosse has driven him to launch numerous developmental and recreational programs across Long Island. He served as president of the Nassau County Lacrosse Coaches Association for four straight years and was the founder and director of the Bethpage PAL Youth Lacrosse League.
He has chaired many local and national fundraising events, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Tournament.
Danny Schayes 1981 (Basketball)
Schayes was active off the court at Syracuse as a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, the Phi Kappa Alpha honorary society and also played trombone in the SU Jazz Big Band.
Upon his retirement from the NBA, he excelled as a broadcaster serving as a radio DJ and hosted his own show for four years. He was the Seattle Supersonics color analyst for two years and also was an analyst for ESPN and TNT.
Schayes is the founder of All-Star Hoops Academy, which teaches life skills through sport. He is often referred to as the "hoops professor" and incorporates his "Eight Keys of Excellence" into his program. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NBA Retired Players Association and MaccabiUSA. He has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Anti-Defamation League and has participated in numerous charities.
Schayes is married to 1998 Olympic diver Wendy Lucero-Schayes. They has an eight year old son, Logan.
Joseph Smith 1968 (Baseball)
Throughout medical school and residency he continued to play semi-professional baseball. Although Smith became a general orthopedist, he also focused on sports medicine and held the position of team doctor for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Syracuse Express and Westhill High School.
In addition to his successful career, Smith has been an active member of the community in multiple aspects. He coached youth sports for many years and was instrumental in the creating of the Heart of New York Softball League. Recently he co-chaired a campaign to improve athletic and academic facilities at Christen Brothers Academy, where he attended high school.
Professionally, Smith was one of the founders of Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists growing the practice from five to 22 physicians. He served as chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at Community General Hospital for more than 14 years.
Smith has been an avid supporter of Syracuse athletics his entire life. As a child he enjoyed walking to Archbold Stadium to watch SU football and listen to his father, Allen, the "Voice of the Orange" announce the games.
