SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame welcomed it’s 38th class of inductees on Monday night at the Oncenter.
The Class of 2025 featured seven former athletes or coaches with ties to the 315, most notably former NFL head coach Tom Coughlin.
The former SU football halfback and Waterloo, NY native led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl championships – Super Bowl XLII in 2007 and Super Bowl XLVI in 2011. Both victories came against the Bill Belichick-led New England Patriots.
At Monday night’s ceremony, Coughlin said that being recognized by the central New York community is one of his greatest honors.
“It’s home, it’s where it all started,” said Coughlin, 79. “With no idea of what was in front of me, life and where it takes you…it’s very significant, because it’s Syracuse. There’s only one place I wanted to go to school – Syracuse University. And there was only one place I wanted to play college football- right here in Syracuse.”
Coughlin had three tables full of former teammates, coaches, family, and friends in attendance for the ceremony.
“It’s very, very meaningful. Very emotional, to be honest with you,” he said.
Coughlin was a three-year varsity letterman at SU, playing under Hall of Fame head coach Ben Schwartzwalder. His teammates at SU included future Hall of Famers Floyd Little and Larry Csonka.
Former SU men’s basketball Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim served as Coughlin’s resident advisor (RA) during his time at SU, and he considers Boeheim a close friend to this day.
Coughlin began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Syracuse in 1969, during which time he earned his masters degree from SU.
After earning his first head coaching opportunity at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1970-1973, Coughlin returned to SU as an assistant coach from 1974-1980, eventually becoming the offensive coordinator for the Orange.
Other inductees included Bill Sanford, former professional baseball pitcher Frank Ricelli, and former NFL runningback Buddy Hardeman.
Women’s lacrosse standouts Brittany Brigandi and Christine Lindsey were among the honorees. Brigandi was an All-American lacrosse player at Christian Brothers Academy and Le Moyne University, while Lindsey was a three-sport athlete at Baldwinsville’s Charles W. Baker High School who went on to represent the United States on the U.S. women’s national team.
After working as a teacher in the Syracuse City School District for nearly a decade, Brigandi left her position as Assistant Principal at Christian Brothers Academy in February and now serves as a student athlete advisor for lacrosse at Florida’s IMG Academy.
You can find a full list of this year’s inductees here.
