Bolivar, Mo. — This past weekend was a special time for many Bearcat alumni as well as four Bearcats who etched their name into history by being inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame. The inductees were joined by family, friends, former teammates, coaches, and athletes as they earned this distinct honor. Those inducted into the Hall of Fame include Natalie (O'Keefe) Goatley, Fanni Varga, Corey McElhaney, and Garry Brandt.

Natalie, a current SBU employee, was a first ballot recipient due to being a 2x high jump NCAA National Champion in her collegiate career. She was a 5x NCAA All-American and 2x MIAA Student Athlete of the Year Award winner. In 2016-17, she was named one of the nine finalists as NCAA Women of the Year. Natalie excelled outside the track as she was a 2x USTFCCCA Indoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA 1^st Team Academic All-American. She joins nine other former Bearcat track and field athletes/coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Coach Garry Brandt was the first ever head football coach in the new era, coaching from 1983-87 helping lead the team from NAIA to NCAA. He led them to back-to-back winning seasons and the first ever NAIA Division II National rankings, as high as #3. In 1986, coach Brandt was named the NAIA coach of the year just three years after starting the program from scratch. In his time, he coached two SBU Hall of Famers (Lester Baker & Kevin Patterson), five NAIA All-American honorable mentions, and 12 1^st-Team All-District Awards. On Friday, he was joined by numerous of his former athletes creating a surreal moment for Coach Brandt and his family present. He joins five other SBU football Bearcats to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Current SBU cross country and track and field coach Corey McElhaney joins five of his former athletes in being inducted to the SBU Hall of Fame. During his time leading this program he has coached two NCAA individual National Champions and more than 50 All-Americans. His teams have won five conference championships (4 MIAA, 1 GLVC), earning him five Conference Coach of the Year awards. In 2015, he was named the women's cross country Regional Coach of the Year after the women's team won the Regional Championship. Six of his teams have qualified for the NCAA National Championships in his 18-year tenure. Coach McElhaney's teams excelled in the classroom as five earned an Elite-90 award, given to the athlete with the highest GPA competing at NCAA Nationals.

The final inductee was Fanni Varga, who joins the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame as a first ballot nominee. She was a 4x MIAA Player of the Year sweeping it through her collegiate career. This earned her MIAA Freshman of the Year and ITA Regional Freshman of the Year in 2012. Making two Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four appearance with her team, she earned two individual All-American Awards and two doubles ITA All-American Awards. In those same years, Varga was named as the CoSIDA 2^nd Team Academic All-American. As a coach at SBU, she earned six coaching awards including the ITA Regional Coach of the Year and 3x Conference Coach of the Year. She joins 18 other Bearcat tennis athletes, coaches, and teams to be inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame. Varga was unable to make it to the event but still sent a heartwarming video for everyone present to watch.