Ohio State, IPFW, Ball State greats highlight new MIVA Hall Fame inductees

Photo courtesy of Ohio State athletics

The coach who led Ohio State to three NCAA championships will headline the newest class enshrined to the MIVA Hall of Fame.

The MIVA recently announced five Ohio State individuals including Hanson, two IPFW players and a Ball State player were selected for the conference’s top individual honor.

Hanson in 35 years as the Buckeyes’ head coach accumulated 707 career wins and guided the program to the national championship in 2011, 2016 and 2017. The 11-time winner of the MIVA of the Year and the 2010s MIVA Coach of the Decade also led Ohio State to 18 MIVA regular season championships.

Along with coaching career, Hanson was a three-time First-Team All-MIVA selection as a player with Ball State and Kellogg

Hanson was one of two former Ohio State coaches to be a part of this Hall of Fame class.

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Suguru Furuichi in two seasons led the Buckeyes to a 60-7 record ,and Ohio State in 1977 became the first non-West Coast team to reach the NCAA Tournament finals. In addition, Ohio State the following season repeated as MIVA champions to return to the NCAA Tournament and Furuichi repeated as the MIVA Coach of the Year.

Angel Aja enters the Hall of Fame as Ohio State’s all-time career leader with 6.797 career assists. The two-time All-American was named the 2000 MIVA Player of the Year en route to helping the Buckeyes reach the NCAA Tournament finals.

Dave Jandasek earns Hall of Fame honors after helping lead the Buckeyes to three MIVA Tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1980s. Jandasek also was a First-Team All-MIVA selection in all four seasons with the Buckeyes.

John Loftus makes the Hall of Fame after being one of the top offensive players in Ohio State program history. The four time First-Team All-MIVA pin-hitter had a 5.55 kills per game average in 1989 – the second highest average during a single season for the Buckeyes.

Two former IPFW All-Americans – Hector Soto and Fred Malcolm – join this Hall of Fame class.

Soto holds the school’s career record with 2,193 kills and the single-season record with 705 kills. The three-time All-American and four-time All-MIVA selection also helped lead the Mastodons to the MIVA championship and a NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999.

Malcolm held the single-season school record for kills before Hector broke the record. The two-time All-American also was named the 1991 MIVA Player of the Year as IPFW won the MIVA championship in 1991 and reached the NCAA Tournament

Along with these Ohio State and IPFW players, former Ball State player Greg Romano was selected to the Hall of Fame.

Romano was a three-time First-Team All-MIVA selection and was named three times to the MIVA All-Tournament Team. In addition, Romano helped Ball State won back-to-back MIVA championships in 1994 and 1995 and reach the NCAA Tournament semifinals in both of those seasons.

This Hall of Fame class will be formally inducted into the MIVA Hall of Fame on Nov. 2 in Columbus, Ohio.