Jan. 31, 2009

 

LOWELL – In a ceremony at halftime of the men’s basketball game Saturday, UMass Lowell’s Alumni Championship Hall was renamed to Ciszek-Yarnall Alumni Championship Hall in honor of the former directors of athletics of Lowell Technological Institute and Lowell State College.

Dr. James Ciszek, who served as the Director of Athletics at LTI, was on hand while the late Waldo “Rusty” Yarnall, who served as the director of athletics at LTI, was honored posthumously and represented by his son, Ray Yarnall.

The ceremony was fittingly held on the women’s and men’s basketball Alumni Day, which drew nearly 100 alumni for UMass Lowell’s women and men’s games against Southern New Hampshire University.

“The final phase of the Costello Athletic Center Renovation Project, once completed, will feature displays which highlight the University’s rich athletic tradition and there can be no more fitting tribute to our athletic past than to name the new Alumni Hall after Dr. James Ciszek and Rusty Yarnall,” said UML Director of Athletics Dana Skinner.

Named the Director of Athletics following the merger of Lowell Technological Institute and Lowell State College, Dr. Ciszek served as an educator, coach and administrator for 32 years – 21 years at Lowell State and 11 at ULowell – and oversaw the University’s 27 sports before retiring in 1986.

Dr. Ciszek served as the baseball coach several years between 1954-74 (winning three conference titles in 1957, ’58 and ’59) and basketball between 1954-66. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

Among his many accomplishments was elevating the University from an NCAA Division III institution to a scholarship-granting Division II university. In 1983, the hockey program became the University’s first NCAA Division I program. Dr. Ciszek also oversaw the creation/enhancement of many entities during his tenure, including the Athletic Hall of Fame, the Chiefs Club, the addition of the Tully Forum as well as the Bellegarde Boathouse.

A member of four halls of fame, Yarnall joined the athletic staff at Lowell Textile Institute in 1927 following a stint as a pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies as well as the minor leagues. He served at Lowell Textile Institute/Lowell Technological Institute from 1927 to 1973, as the head coach for football (21 years), basketball (20 years) and baseball (39 years) and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978.

A U.S. Navy veteran, perhaps the most impressive trait about Yarnall is the fact that he left the Institute from 1943-45 to serve our country in World War II. A graduate of the University of Vermont, he was a three-sport standout (1922-26) and was inducted into the Catamounts’ Hall of Fame in 1971.

Yarnall also belongs to the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame for Baseball Coaches as well as the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame.

Unveiling of the Ciszek-Yarnall Alumni Hall Banner

(Left to right) Gary Hunt '69, Dr. Jim Ciszek, Ray Yarnall (son of honoree Rusty Yarnall) and Bob Boehm '70

Ciszek-Yarnall Dedication Committee (Left to right) Jim McGuirk '69, Joe Dixon '59, Hank Brown '67 Jim Hunt '63, "Rowdy" the River Hawk, Gary Hunt '69 Bob Boehm '70, Al "Skip" Roper '68