The Bowling Green State University Athletics Department has announced that four individuals and one team will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in the fall of 2024.

Burke Badenhop, Bob Clasen, Ali Mann, Don Woods and the 1970 lacrosse team make up the newest Hall of Fame class. Badenhop is a Perrysburg High School graduate.

The four individual inductees bring membership in the Athletics Hall of Fame to 252 individuals. Three teams (the 1983-84 national championship hockey team, the 1959 national championship football team, the 1972 men’s indoor track and field team and now the ‘70 lacrosse team) are also in the Hall of Fame.

“Congratulations to this very accomplished group of former student-athletes,” said BGSU Director of Athletics Derek van der Merwe.

“It is so important we effectively recognize the achievements of this class, because who they are and what they have accomplished is an important part of our history and legacy. Our Hall of Fame represents the best of what have achieved in athletics during our 114-year University story. We are honored to recognize these individuals and this team for their contribution to this amazing story.”

The induction ceremony and related events will take place on the weekend of Oct. 18, 2024. Details on the induction ceremony will be announced at a later date.

Badenhop (2002-05) was a standout pitcher for the baseball Falcons. His total of 17 career wins ties him for fifth in school history, and he also ranks among the BGSU career leaders in appearances (70, tie-eighth), innings (235, eighth) and strikeouts (177, ninth).

In his senior season of 2005, Badenhop went 9-2 with a 3.73 earned-run average and was named the Falcon Club’s Senior Athlete of the Year. He also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors that season.

Badenhop was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the 19th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, and played eight seasons in the majors with the Florida Marlins (2008-11), Tampa Bay Rays (2012), Milwaukee Brewers (2013), Boston Red Sox (2014) and Cincinnati Reds (2015), appearing in 418 career games.

Clasen (1963-66) was an All-American for the BG track and field team, and was part of numerous record-setting performances. Clasen was a member of the Mile Relay team that placed sixth at the 1965 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and the quartet finished fifth in that event at the 1966 national meet.

The Falcons won that event at the MAC Championships in both 1965 and ‘66. Clasen was a part of groups that set the school records in both the indoor and outdoor mile relay, as well as the indoor records in both the 800 relay and the 880 yard relay events.

Individually, Clasen set the school record in the 800, with a time of 1:50.6. That record was broken by Dave Wottle, who Clasen now joins in the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Mann (2003-07) was a key member of some of the finest women’s basketball teams in BGSU and MAC history. A four-year starter, she helped the Falcons post a record of 103-25 in her four years.

BGSU advanced to the championship game of the MAC Tournament in all four seasons, winning titles in each of the last three years.

Mann finished her career second in school history in scoring and third in rebounding, with totals of 1,825 points and 911 rebounds. She became just the sixth player in league history to be named MAC Player of the Year, MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Tournament MVP during her career.

Mann ended that career as the BGSU record-holder in free throws made (482) and attempted (677), and now ranks second in both categories. A two-time All-MAC First-Team selection, Mann was named to the MAC’s All-Tournament Team three times, earning tourney MVP honors in 2006.

The following season (2006-07) saw Mann share the MAC Player-of-the-Year award as the Falcons went 31-4 and became the first MAC women’s basketball team to advance all the way to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ of the NCAA Championships.

That season, she hit two of the biggest shots in school history, with a last-minute jumper in the lane vs. Oklahoma State and a late three-pointer against Vanderbilt. Those shots helped the Falcons nail down NCAA Tournament wins in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Woods was a fixture in the athletic department for over three decades, serving as an equipment manager from 1962-96.

He primarily worked with the hockey and baseball teams, but helped out with numerous Falcon squads over the years. ‘Woody’ learned his trade under fellow Hall of Fame member Glenn Sharp, who hired him to work with the football team in 1962.

When BGSU added ice hockey in 1969, Woods became that team’s first equipment manager, and was a part of numerous championship teams, including the 1984 NCAA Champions.

He founded the HOGO (Hockey Old-Timers Golf Outing) that welcomes back a large number of former Falcon greats every summer, and the baseball team’s annual Outstanding Freshman Award is presented in his honor.

The 1970 lacrosse team finished with a 9-0 record, featuring four players who earned All-America recognition – John Brizendine (first team), Joe Zimmerman (second team), John Dohms (honorable mention) and Bill Burch (honorable mention). Art Curtis, Kurt Kimball, Jim Newcity and Steve Sachse joined the aforementioned quartet on the All-Midwest team.

The Falcons were ranked as high as sixth in the country in the polls, which was virtually unheard of at the time for a school west of Philadelphia. The team captured the Midwest Lacrosse Association Championship for the first time in program history.

BGSU opened the season with a 9-5 win over Michigan, then captured victories against Ohio and Wittenberg by identical 12-3 scores. After a narrow 11-8 win over Oberlin, BGSU downed Denison – at the time the dominant team in the league – by an 8-6 final.

Following that win, the Falcons outscored opponents by a 35-6 count in the last four games. That run included back-to-back shutouts of Michigan State (12-0) and Notre Dame (9-0), and after a 5-4 victory over Kenyon, BG ended the season with a 9-2 win over Ohio Wesleyan.