The University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by three on Saturday, March 2, when the 2013 class is introduced at halftime of the Dayton-Richmond men's basketball game. The 2013 Hall of Fame class will bring the total membership in UD's Hall of Fame to 165.
The new members are baseball player Brian Harlamert (1991-1994), men’s basketball player Chris Harris (1951-55) and Ted Kissell, who was the University Director of Athletics from 1992 to 2008.
BRIAN HARLAMERT ‘94–Baseball–1991-1994
The very first University of Dayton baseball player to receive a full scholarship, Brian Harlamert is one of the top offensive and defensive outfielders in UD history. When he graduated in 1994, he held the Dayton career marks in eight offensive categories including home runs, RBI and stolen bases. He is still in the top five in all eight, even though his career ended before college baseball’s recent “big bat” era.
The Coldwater, Ohio product is the Flyer record holder in career games played (230) and RBI (177), and is second in home runs (38) and walks (128). He is also third in career runs scored (174), career hits (246) and stolen bases (61), and fifth in career doubles (53).
Defensively, Harlamert was an aggressive centerfielder who made only five errors in over 300 chances in the field. He was a First Team All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference performer and when the University joined the Great Midwest Conference in 1993, All-Great Midwest as a senior.
During that senior year, he batted .360 with 15 home runs and 62 RBI.
An all-state player at Coldwater High School, Harlamert returned to his prep alma mater after his playing days were over and was named Coldwater’s head coach in 1998. His teams have won seven conference championships and reached the state final four in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2009.
CHRIS HARRIS ’55—Men’s Basketball—1951-55
An unselfish offensive leader and defensive stopper who would be called a “point guard” in today’s game, Chris Harris played on Flyer basketball teams that were a combined 94-29. He played in three NIT’s and was part of teams that reached the finals twice.
Harris was part of coach Tom Blackburn’s fourth recruiting class, one of the best in school history. With Harris’ selection to the Hall of Fame, he joins classmates John Horan and Jack Sallee in the Hall. Due to the Korean War, that class was eligible as freshmen. Harris was in the rotation right away, playing in 23 games in his first season. He then moved into the starting lineup for his final three seasons.
As a starter, he averaged 3.4 points per game as a sophomore, 6.7 as a junior and 9.4 as a senior. But in a class that would already have two 1,000 points scorers, his role was not to score. Assists and steals were not kept as official statistics until the 1970’s, but he would rank among UD’s leaders if they were. His 13 assists in a 1954 NIT quarterfinal game vs. Saint Louis would be the third-highest single-game mark in UD history. It is telling that every double-digit scorer he played with is already in the UD Hall of Fame.
Defensively, he had flawless footwork and incredible anticipation. He always drew the opponents’ toughest assignment, even if it meant matching him up against a forward. He played all 40 minutes in UD’s very first win against a #1-ranked team (Seton Hall in the 1952-53 season).
After playing one season in the NBA, Harris returned to Dayton and went into private business. He was also part of the WHIO Radio broadcast team for UD basketball for seven years. He is retired and lives in Belleair, Fla. with his wife Barbara.
TED KISSELL—Administrator—1992-2008
When Ted Kissell came to the University of Dayton in 1992, he took over the leadership of an athletics division at a crossroads. While renowned for graduation rates and the academic success of its student-athletes, competitive success was a sometime thing. Aside from the football program, championship-level play was hard to come by, and the two flagship programs – men’s and women’s basketball – were coming off losing seasons.
Fast forward to 2008, when Kissell retired as UD’s Vice-President and Director of Athletics. In the 10-year span from when Kissell established a new path for Flyer sports programs until his retirement, the University enjoyed an unprecedented decade of success.
Flyer athletics won more championships and made more post-season appearances than any other 10-year period in school history, continued high graduation rates and academic honors for its student-athletes, underwent the beginning of impressive facility improvement and expansion projects and had its coaches win more honors at the conference regional and national levels than ever before.
From 1998-2008, UD won 26 conference championships and had 20 teams reach post-season play. In the nine years prior to that, the Flyers had seven conference championships and one tournament appearance. Before Kissell came to UD, only four Flyer coaches had been named conference coaches of the year. During his tenure on campus, Dayton had 22.
While Kissell’s main duties for the University of Dayton were as Director of Athletics, he was named a University Vice-President in 1997. In that capacity he served on the President’s Cabinet and the President’s Council until his retirement.
Kissell and his wife Deanna continue to live in Dayton.
