ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its inaugural Hall of Fame class, and Gettysburg College was represented with a pair of inductees.
Arif Husain '93, a national champion and Olympic sprinter for the men's track & field team, and Bob Kenworthy '59, long-time Sports Information Director at Gettysburg, were among the 36 student-athletes, coaches, administration, faculty, or staff from current and past MAC institutions who were selected to the hall of fame's charter group, which can be accessed at gomacsports.com.
The MAC Hall of Fame is part of the conference's “MAC 100,” a celebration of its 100th anniversary. The calendar of upcoming MAC 100 events as well as the MAC Hall of Fame was announced on Monday at the conference's annual awards lunch on the campus of FDU-Florham.
Gettysburg competed in the MAC starting in 1914 before joining the Centennial Conference when it became an all-sports conference in 1993.
“The MAC 100 is about more than just the past 100 years – it's about the incredible people who have shaped the conference to what it is today,” said Ken Andrews, MAC Executive Director. “That was displayed with the impressive scholar-athletes and individuals inducted into our MAC Hall of Fame.”
Husain won nearly 100 races during his career at Gettysburg, but none was bigger than his outdoor 200-meter dash victory that gave him the NCAA Division III title at Baldwin-Wallace College in 1993. An eight-time All-American, he was also a four-time MAC Most Outstanding Athlete and a 12-time MAC individual champion. He helped the Bullets to a runner-up finish at the 1993 MAC Outdoor Championships, and he continues to hold school records in the outdoor 100-meter dash (10.51) and the indoor 55-meter dash (6.54).
Between Husain's junior and senior years at Gettysburg, he competed for his native country of Pakistan in both the 100 and 200-meter dash at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He also competed for the Pakistan National Team from 1992-95 and was the country's national champion in the 100 and 200 in 1994. He earned a bronze medal in the 200 at the South Asian Federation Games in 1993 and was seventh in 1995, and at one point held the Pakistan record in the 100 at 10.4.
As a student at Gettysburg, Husain graduated as the class salutatorian with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as an economics major. He earned his MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1999 and has spent time in fields of aviation consulting and market research and investment banking. Husain has also stayed involved with track & field as a volunteer coach and on two occasions has traveled from his home in Connecticut to hold a coaching session with the Gettysburg College track & field team.
“He was, and continues to be, an inspiration for all who believe in working hard for their goals,” said Husain's college coach, Ed Riggs '77. “There may have been other athletes with Arif's athletic accomplishments and work ethic, but there cannot have been many other athletes with his humility and grace, who had so many friends from other teams, and who is so willing to share what he has learned, even with opponents. The current athletes hold him in awe, not only because of his accomplishments, but also because of his genuine sincerity and respect for others.”
Kenworthy became Gettysburg's first-ever Sports Information Director shortly following his graduation from the College in 1959 and served in that role for the next 40 years, including 34 in the MAC. As one of the early pioneers and innovators in the field, he was a ground-breaking early member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He worked behind the scenes for the growing needs of an ever-expanding athletic department that grew from 13 to 23 varsity sports during his tenure.
He was honored with CoSIDA's Warren Berg Award in 1989 for years of outstanding service and was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame one year later, becoming only the second Division III SID to earn the honor in the previous 20 years. Kenworthy also received the Irving Marsh Service Award from the Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Director's Association (ECAC-SIDA) in 1991, and he was inducted into the South Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Both CoSIDA and ECAC-SIDA annually present Bob Kenworthy Good Person Awards, which recognize individuals who exhibit an exemplary combination of professional excellence and community service.
Kenworthy continued to actively stay involved in the community since his retirement in 2000. He was a member of Gettysburg's Hall of Athletic Honor Committee through 2011, having served in that capacity since its inception in 1978. He also continued to write the “Out of the Past” column for the Gettysburg Times and serve as a correspondent for seven years. In addition, Kenworthy served on the board of education at the Delone Catholic High School and was the chairman for the school's capital campaign for the newly-renovated science and math building, surpassing the $1.7 million goal by $600,000.
He was also heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity, serving as its publicity director for six years, and the Adams County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame committee, which he directed as its first president. He was also the activities coordinator for the Homewood Nursing Home in Hanover, Pa. and was the publicity director for the capital campaign for a new elementary school for St. Francis Xavier Catholic School.
