Brooks joins inductees to Trine’s Athletics Hall of Fame

Though Trine University’s Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony honored, as usual, distinguished former athletes, one member of this year’s class was recognized for many accomplishments off the field.

Trine President Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., was a surprise Hall of Fame inductee during the annual Touchstone and Homecoming Celebration Dinner on Friday, Sept 30.

Though he never scored a point for the Thunder, Dr. Brooks radically transformed athletics at Trine University as its 16^th president. One of the early cornerstones of his presidency was the move from NAIA to NCAA Division III, resulting in Thunder sports becoming the powerhouse it is today. The move also brought Trine to the MIAA, the nation’s oldest athletic conference and one of the most competitive in Division III.

Dr. Brooks also personally championed efforts to provide state-of-the-art facilities for Trine University student-athletes. The successful fundraising campaigns conducted during his presidency have provided facilities including the Keith E. Busse/Steel Dynamics Inc. Athletic and Recreation Center, Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium, SportOne/Parkview Softball Field, the Ryan Tennis Center, Thunder Ice Arena and the MTI Center.

In addition to Dr. Brooks, the university added three former athletes to the Hall of Fame: Tyler Bourdo, Brianna Fuller and Jared Holmquist.

Tyler Bourdo

A 2015 Trine University graduate, Bourdo was a four-time NCAA All-American as a track and field athlete; two in the indoor season and two in outdoor. He competed six times at the NCAA National Championships in his time at Trine, including a career-best fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the 2014 event.

At the conference level, Bourdo won eight MIAA event championships, including three in the 400-meter dash, three in the 4x400-meter relay and one title each in the 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay. He was named MIAA Most Valuable Track Athlete twice for the outdoor season and made the All-MIAA team three times.

He holds six school records: the 400-meter dash, 600-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay in indoor as well as the 400-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay in the outdoor season.

Today, Bourdo works for Mitten State Engineering as a project engineer and coaches high school varsity track and field. He resides in Denton, Michigan.

Brianna Fuller

Fuller graduated from Trine University in 2015 and was a two-time Capital One Academic All-American, in 2013 and 2014, in softball.

Fuller was a member during the program’s first trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in 2014. In the Super Regional victory, she was honored as the NCAA Super Regional Most Outstanding Pitcher and was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team earlier in the tournament.

The Thunder won three MIAA Championships during her tenure. She was named MIAA Most Valuable Pitcher in 2014 and appeared on the All-MIAA First Team three times.

On April 23, 2014, Fuller pitched the program’s first perfect game. She holds school records for career strikeouts per seven innings at 8.46, single season strikeouts at 241, single season wins at 24, and most strikeouts in a game with 16. She also ranks second in Trine softball history with 64 wins, five shutouts and 549 strikeouts.

She resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a senior consultant for a global advisory firm, specializing in healthcare strategy.

Jared Holmquist

A Trine University 2016 graduate, Holmquist currently sits 10th in men’s basketball program history with 1,538 career points. After his senior season, he received the 2016 Robert L. Greim Award for Top Male Student-Athlete.

At the national level, Holmquist was a SmallCollegeHoops.com NCAA DIII Player of the Month and on the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week in November 2015. The team reached the MIAA tournament during all four of his seasons and advanced to the championship game in 2016. He was named First Team All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and Conference Player of the Week five times in his career.

Holmquist is among the top five in school history in rebounding with 749 career boards, blocked shots with 108, free throws made with 403 as well as games started with 101 and minutes played with 3,202.

He was named Capital One Academic All-American Player of the Year in 2016 and was an honoree on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court.

He now works for Crowe, LLP as an audit manager. He lives in Cedar Springs, Michigan.

The Trine University Athletics Hall of Fame honors student-athletes and team representatives who have set a high standard for Trine intercollegiate men’s and women’s sports in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).