Rutgers University Athletics

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the members of the 2024 Hall of Fame class including John “Pomp” Chandler (lightweight football), Hallie Cohen (softball), Maria Grant (women’s lacrosse), Devin McCourty (football), Jason McCourty (football) and Ralph Tedeschi (men’s fencing). 

“This class celebrates the rich history of athletic success at Rutgers,” said Athletic Director Pat Hobbs. “This illustrious group features a decorated lightweight football letterwinner, a fencing National Champion, a pair of outstanding multi-sport athletes and two football stars who were part of Rutgers’ first Bowl Championship. We look forward to them taking their rightful places as the newest inductees of the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.”

The 2024 Rutgers Hall of Fame induction will take place on Thursday, September 26 at the East Brunswick Hilton with the inductees recognized on Friday, September 27 when Rutgers football hosts Washington at SHI Stadium.

JOHN “POMP” CHANDLER

Lightweight Football

Arguably one of the most accomplished football letterwinners in school history, and heralded nationally by TIME Magazine as an “Immortal” of the sport of lightweight football, John “Pomp” Chandler led the Rutgers lightweight team to three undefeated seasons from 1933-1935. With Chandler in the lineup, RU posted a record of 15-0-1 across three seasons under Hall of Fame head coach Harry J. Rockafeller, with the team recognized as the mythical national champions in two of those campaigns. 

Chandler was an unprecedented quadruple threat who routinely scored by rushing, catching, passing, and even kicking. In a 21-0 victory over Yale during the 1935 season, Chandler threw two touchdowns, rushed for one and kicked three extra points. Chandler followed with a rushing, passing, and receiving touchdown along with two extra points in a shutout victory over Lafayette. In the league title game, he tallied Rutgers’ only touchdown on an 85-yard run, then kicked the extra point to help the team to a 7-0 win over Princeton. Putting Pomp’s accomplishments into perspective on modern terms, observing on Chandler’s death in 1978, one ardent Rutgers sports booster and contemporary of Chandler declared that: “If the Heisman Trophy was awarded in 150-pound football, I’m sure Pomp would have been its first winner.” 

Arriving at Rutgers in 1933 as a freshman, he immediately distinguished himself as a star athlete, especially on the recently established 150-pound football team (also called “lightweight football” at the time and now known as “sprint football”). He was known to friends and teammates as “Pomp” (a nickname he inherited from his father Arthur Chandler). Standing at 5 foot 7 and weighing in at about 130 pounds, Chandler could outrun anyone on the field. He was also a member of the track, basketball, and baseball teams during his time “On the Banks.”

While he dominated the lightweight football field, his best sport—and his true passion—was tennis. Yet due to racial discrimination in the sport, Chandler was unable to represent Rutgers on the tennis court as the country clubs where matches were played were restricted by race. While opportunities for African American tennis players were extremely limited, Chandler helped white students hone their skills by playing friendly matches at varsity tennis practice. College friends recalled years later that Chandler never dropped a set against the varsity players, let alone, lose a match.

Chandler’s athletic excellence continued after Rutgers, becoming one of the nation’s top-ranked tennis players by winning numerous tournaments in his prime. Chandler toured around the country and the world to compete against some of the best players of his time. Denied the ability to play for national honors due to the color of his skin, he helped pave the way for others to break the color barrier, including Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. His legacy in the tennis world was cemented when the New Jersey Tennis Association established the John Chandler Tennis Classic in his honor.

HALLIE COHEN

Softball

Hallie Cohen was a three-sport athlete competing for Rutgers in field hockey, softball and women’s basketball. She was the first recipient of a field hockey scholarship, led softball to the AIAW World Series and was a walk-on to the women’s basketball team.

A field hockey letterwinner from 1975-78, Cohen started in the backfield as a freshman, earned MVP honors in 1977 and 1978 and received a 1980 Olympic field hockey tryout. 

In softball, Cohen was one of the most dominant pitchers in the country and to this date holds the Rutgers record for most shutouts in a season (11) and guided Rutgers to the 1979 AIAW World Series.

As a sophomore in 1977, Cohen fanned 60 batters while compiling a 2.58 ERA going 17-2 in regular season play. Rutgers, in only its third season of softball, went 23-7 and reached the EAIAW Regionals.

The following season, Cohen sported a 10-0 record with a 1.10 ERA and helped RU to a 17-1 regular season record and its second EAIAW Regional appearance.

As a senior in 1979, Cohen earned NJAIWA All-Conference honors as Rutgers reached the AIAW World Series with an unblemished 24-0 record. En route to the World Series, Cohen won 24 straight games and reached the AIAW national championship tournament with two-thirds of RU’s wins. 

Cohen won two games during the Eastern Regional Tournament to lead Rutgers to the title and improve her record to 16-0 with a 6-0 victory over Glassboro State marking her 11th shutout of the season behind six strikeouts and no walks. Entering the championship tournament, Cohen completed 13 of her 14 starts with two wins in relief. She struck out 132 batters in 103 innings and only allowed 40 hits and six runs, five earned, holding down a 0.33 ERA with two no-hitters.

She was named the Home News Athlete of the Year after wrapping up her career “On The Banks” with a record of 39-3.

Following her Rutgers career, Cohen played 10 years of semi-pro softball and began a 40-year coaching career. She retired in 2019 ranking 10th all-time in Division III softball coaching victories (885-503-5) and entered the FDU-Florham Hall of Fame as a three-sport coach in 2019.

A graduate of Wayne Valley High School and a member of its Hall of Fame, Cohen earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1980.

MARIA GRANT

Women's Lacrosse

A two-sport record-setter, Maria Grant was a four-year varsity letter winner for both field hockey (1981-84) and women’s lacrosse (1982-86) and was the first women’s lacrosse player at Rutgers to be named to an All-American squad.

Earning Brine/IWLCA First Team All-American honors as a senior in 1986, Grant led the nation with a .689 save percentage with a then-school record 255 saves across 16 games. Altogether, she amassed 750 career saves, breaking the Rutgers career record multiple times with 215 saves in 1984, 254 saves in 1985 and 255 in 1986, with a consistent career save percentage of 68.9% with each of her stops made with a field player crosse as goalies at the time were not permitted to play with today’s larger regulation goalie stick.

Along with being recognized with three IWLCA All-Region selections, the team captain’s defensive skills in between the pipes were displayed at the prestigious Lacrosse National North-South All-Star Game in 1986 at Johns Hopkins University.

Grant’s defensive prowess was equally as impressive on the field hockey pitch as she was an integral part of the 1984 team that was ranked 10th nationally and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final 8 for the first time in program history. Recognized as a Penn Monto/NFCHA Regional All-American and the team’s “Best Defensive Player”, Grant was also a member of the United States Women’s Field Hockey squad and was selected to participate in the 1982 U.S.A. National Sports Festival.

Her dedication to sports traveled beyond collegiate competition playing with the United States Women’s Club Lacrosse Association, where she earned six consecutive selections to the New England First Team as a goalie and served as team captain for two years. Additionally, her involvement with the Empire State Team resulted in multiple medals including gold in 1987. More recently, she was selected as a member of the US Women’s Field Hockey Over 60 World Cup Team and will compete for a world championship in New Zealand in November of 2024. 

Off the field, Grant joined the coaching ranks where she served as a volunteer assistant coach for both the Rutgers women’s lacrosse and field hockey programs imparting knowledge and leadership to the next generation of student-athletes. She also served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach at Syracuse, helping the field hockey team to a No. 10 national ranking and securing a spot in the ECAC Tournament. She has continued to coach field hockey and lacrosse at independent and public schools and at the club level currently serving as the Director of Girl’s Lacrosse at nationally ranked Building Blocks Lacrosse North Division and Head Girl’s Lacrosse Coach at Ramapo High School.

DEVIN McCOURTY

Football

Devin McCourty shined in the Scarlet Knights’ secondary from 2006-09. The New York native was part of five Rutgers bowl teams overall with four bowl championships on the field, totaling 238 tackles, defending 33 passes (27 breakups, six interceptions) and blocking seven kicks in 52 games. 

McCourty capped his collegiate career by being named honorable mention All-America by Pro Football Weekly and First Team All-Big East as a captain in 2009. He became the first Scarlet Knight in history to earn the Homer Hazel Award (Team MVP) in addition to being named the team’s MVP on two units (defense and special teams) in the same season, adding the Scholar-Athlete Award and earning the status as a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman.” 

McCourty was a first-round selection (pick 27) of the New England Patriots in 2010, where he spent his entire 13-year career, becoming a three-time Super Bowl champion. Successful off the field in addition to being a three-time All-Pro, he was a four-time Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee, which annually recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field. 

Along with his brother, Jason, McCourty was previously inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2016 by the Rutgers University Alumni Association and launched the “Tackle Sickle Cell” campaign back in 2013 in partnership with Embrace Kids Foundation with the aim of educating the public, increasing blood donations and raising money and awareness for the fight against sickle cell disease.

JASON McCOURTY

Football

A four-year letterwinner (2005-08) for the Scarlet Knights, Jason McCourty saw action in four bowl games and claimed three bowl championships during his collegiate career. The defensive back totaled 150 tackles, 20 pass breakups, two interceptions and three fumble recoveries in 47 games for RU. 

A team captain as a senior, he racked up two interceptions with a pick-six, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup, five tackles and a season-best 59-yard kickoff return in the win at USF, which was part of a seven-game winning streak to end the year. That stretch also included a victory at No. 17 Pittsburgh and defeating NC State in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. 

McCourty was taken in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans and would play in 173 pro games over 13 seasons, winning Super Bowl LIII with the Patriots.

 Off the field, the New York native earned nominations for the 2014 and 2015 Byron “Whizzer” White Award, the highest honor the NFL Players Association can give a player, recognizing individuals who go above and beyond to perform community service in their team’s cities and hometowns. 

Along with his brother, Devin, McCourty was previously inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2016 by the Rutgers University Alumni Association and launched the “Tackle Sickle Cell” campaign back in 2013 in partnership with Embrace Kids Foundation with the aim of educating the public, increasing blood donations and raising money and awareness for the fight against sickle cell disease.

RALPH TEDESCHI

Men's Fencing

Ralph Tedeschi was part of a three-man team that helped Rutgers men’s fencing to the 1949 co-national championship title by winning the NCAA title in foil.

Tedeschi was joined by Rutgers Athletics Hall of Famer and NCAA saber champion Al Treves and Jay Funston, who placed 11th in epee, at the 1949 NCAA championships.

Tedeschi won the foil title as the championships were expanded to a two-day event and, for the first time, the format was a complete round-robin in each weapon.  Tedeschi opened up competition winning 10-of-13 decisions en route to capturing 24 of his 27 overall bouts on his way to the national foil title. 

The 1950 season saw Tedeschi help Rutgers win 10 of 12 meets, however, a bout of pneumonia sidelined him from the 1950 Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championship and a chance to defend his title.

In 1992, he was retroactively named a first-team All-American by the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association for his first-place foil finish in 1949. 

A native of Somerville, New Jersey, Tedeschi arrived at Rutgers as a high school foil champion from Barringer High School (Newark, N.J.).

He passed away in 2015.

The 2024 Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame dinner will be held at the East Brunswick Hilton on Thursday, September 26 with a 7 p.m. grand cocktail reception and 8:30 p.m. dessert and formal program. Registration for the dinner is now open. Click here to secure your reservation.

Questions on the dinner should be directed to Brett Miller at b.miller@scarletknights.com or Sue Beurskens at sbeurskens@scarletknights.com.

Nominations are now open for the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025. All Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame nominations will now be submitted electronically at https://scarletknights.com/RUHOFNominations. Criteria for consideration for the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame can be viewed here.   For full list of Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, visit the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame page.

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