PRESS RELEASE – The University of Guam Triton Athletics and Field House Department named their Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023 this week with the announcement being made on Friday, September 22, 2023. This is the 7th class of UOG Athletic Hall of Famers and includes 5 individuals and one team.
The Athletic Hall of Fame Reception and Basketball Game is scheduled for October 28th, with the reception starting at Noon and the Hall of Fame Basketball Game at 2:30pm that day with the induction of the Hall of Fame Class to take place at half-time of the game. The basketball game will feature the UOG Tritons against the MIBBC squad.
The Class of 2023 is as follows:
Randy Wiegand (Administrator), UOG Vice-President of Administration and Finance, was responsible under guidance of Dr. Robert Underwood, the 10th President of UOG, to restart varsity athletics through the “Good to Great” program and hired UOG Athletics Director, Doug Palmer, to start the program back with four sports to include men’s and women’s soccer, men’s basketball, and women’s volleyball. Vice President Wiegand was Palmer’s direct supervisor for the first three years while the program was restarting.
Dr. Kurt Barnes, Ed.D (Administrator and Micronesian Sport Historian), a former adjunct professor at UOG, serving as an extension instructor to Saipan, Rota and Tinian over his time working for the University of Guam. Barnes is best known for writing the book, Sport Legends of Micronesia (1966-2012) and has a long history of administrating sport programs on Saipan to include being the Vice President of the Northern Mariana Islands Sports Council, Coach of the Gold Medal winning volleyball team for the Northern Mariana Islands in the 1969 Micronesian Games, started the first Marathon race on Saipan, inducted into the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame and many other accomplishments in the world of sports.
Coach Gerald Barnes, (Basketball Coach/Best Rival) – Head Coach of the Andersen Bombers basketball teams for almost 20 years and a former high school coach on Guam. Coach Barnes made the Andersen Bombers the biggest rival to the UOG Tritons since their reinstatement of their men’s basketball team in 2016. The Bombers has won the Triton Men’s Basketball League 3 of the last 4 seasons and currently the Bombers are on a 24 game winning streak in the league. Coach Barnes has won several military tournament championships with his Bomber teams over the years on Guam, and in Korea and Japan.
Roland San Nicolas (Football), Associate Professor of Library Science at the UOG RFK Library and former football player for the UOG Tritons in the 1990s and played on the undefeated 1994 UOG Football Team that won the championship in the Miller League with a 10-0 record. A UOG graduate, he was also a member of the 8-2 championship team in 1993. San Nicolas was a six time member of the 1st Team All-Island Team as an offensive tackle. He was named Best Offensive Linemen in the league in 2010.
Glory Fritz-Beaty, (Women’s Tennis), who graduated from UOG in 1980 in Business Administration, and was a strong tennis player on Guam and represented the University of Guam in the sport of tennis. Glory played for UOG in a team tennis league on the island when UOG sponsored two tennis league teams and her team usually qualified for the playoffs in the league. The team was coached by former UOG Athletic Director, Joe Paulino, The team tennis league had 12 teams in the league for several years. She also played in the many local tournaments in the 1970s and 1980s as an individual player, and she won championships both in doubles and mixed doubles in her division.
Team Award:
1994 Undefeated Football Team (10-0) who won the Guam Football League Championship.