Life University ’ s 1997 Men ’ s Division I >
NAIA National Basketball Championship team with Life University founder and then president Dr . Sid Williams ( center ).
with USA Rugby as he earned 18 caps with the US Men ’ s National Team and made appearances on the sevens squad . He represented the US in the 1987 Rugby World Cup and was named to the All-World Team in 1998 . USA Rugby inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2018 for his contributions to the rugby community globally .
2020 – 2021 Life University Hall of Fame Class
Life University Athletics announced the five members of its second Hall of Fame class on September 8 , 2020 . The second class features Billy Lewis ( Student-Athlete , Men ’ s Basketball ), Sammy Nyamongo ( Student-Athlete , Men ’ s Cross Country and Track & Field ), Pablo Nassar ( Student-Athlete , Men ’ s Soccer ), Rose Gaubier ( Student-Athlete , Women ’ s Track & Field ), and the 1997 Men ’ s Basketball team .
Lewis was a four-year member of the Life U Men ’ s Basketball program . He was a three-time NAIA All-American and was the first NAIA First Team All-American in program history . He also received the Hustle Award from the NAIA in 1994 . On campus , Lewis led his team to four 20-win seasons , four consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances and a 50-game home winning streak during his career . Currently , Lewis is still the program record holder in career scoring ( 2,235 ), rebounds ( 488 ), assists ( 632 ), single-season scoring ( 784 ), most points in a game ( 42 ), career games ( 141 ), career field goals made ( 774 ), 3-point field goals made in a season ( 129 ) and in his career ( 312 ), and 3-point field goal percentage (. 450 , 312-693 ).
Nyamongo was a member of the Men ’ s Cross Country and Track & Field teams from 1996-1999 . He led his team to back-to-back NAIA Cross
Country National Championships in 1998 and 1999 and was a member of the 1997 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship team . He also aided the Outdoor Track & Field program to consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998 . Individually , he was a 15-time NAIA All-American in all three sports . He also captured back-to-back NAIA titles in the 5000 meter run for Indoor in 1997 and 1998 as well as five titles in Outdoor ( 1,500 meter run — 1998 ; 5,000 meter run — 1999 ; 10,000 meter run — 1998 ; and the 3,000 meter steeplechase — 1997 , 1999 ).
Nassar competed with the Men ’ s Soccer program and was the program ’ s first NAIA All-American in 1998 . Graduating in 2000 , he was later drafted by the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2001 . While on campus , he led the Running Eagles to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament berths in 1997 , 1998 and 1999 . He garnered three NAIA All-American honors during his career and was the first Life University student-athlete to be named NAIA Player of the Year in 2000 .
Gaubier competed with the Women ’ s Track & Field teams from 2000-2002 . She was a six-time NAIA All-America selection at Life U with all six coming in the triple jump . She captured three Indoor nods as well as three Outdoor finishes . She added a clean sweep in 2001 with a pair of NAIA Individual National Championships in the triple jump and won
the title again in 2002 during the Outdoor season .
The 1997 Men ’ s Basketball team was the first NAIA National Championship team on campus . They finished with an astounding 37-1 record and set 11 program records during the historic run . In the final , Life U defeated Oklahoma Baptist 73-64 . The team consisted of ( in number order ) # 3 Tony Sanders , # 4 Demetrius Palmer , # 10 Don Smiley , # 11 Patrick Lewis , # 12 Jeff Wright , # 13 Tyrone Gainer , # 21 Don Johnson , # 24 Viren Harris , # 25 Anthony Maxwell , # 32 James Harris , # 33 Wayne Mann , # 34 Curtis Carrington , # 42 Derrick Folston and # 50 Michael Maxwell . The Running Eagles were led by head coach Roger Kaiser who was assisted by John Barrett , Bill Firnbach and Chip Kaiser . Deloise Brubaker was the athletic trainer , and Dr . John Downes was the team chiropractor .
“ This second Hall of Fame class plays off of the tremendous accomplishments of our first class ,” stated Director of Athletics Jayme Pendergast . “ We have such a rich athletic history , and I ’ m excited to get this group together and back on our campus . Not many schools can induct this kind of success into their Hall of Fame — from all-Americans to a national player of the year and national champions . These student-athletes all have achieved an incredible amount of athletic success at Life U . It will be an honor to provide them this Hall of Fame experience .”
74 Alumni . LIFE . edu | 2020