Valpo Athletics Announces Plans for 2025 All-Sports Reunion Weekend; Reveals Hall of Fame Class of 2025 – Valparaiso University

The Valparaiso University Department of Athletics has announced the return of All-Sports Reunion Weekend, which will be back for its second year on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8.
 

The Sports Reunion Weekend presents a unique opportunity for Valpo student-athletes of yesteryear to both rekindle old bonds and forge new connections. This event allows Valpo Athletics to celebrate its proud past while supporting student-athletes of the present. Alumni will use this as an opportunity to show current student-athletes how the memories and friendships that they create while competing for the Brown & Gold will truly last a lifetime. The All-Sports Reunion Weekend gives Valpo a chance to unite the past and present through a shared Valpo experience that transcends generations. 
 
A full lineup of activities for All-Sports Reunion Weekend has been announced. The fun begins on Friday, Feb. 7 as former Valpo student-athletes are encouraged to sign up for the women’s basketball pregame reception at 5 p.m. prior to the women’s basketball game vs. Belmont, which begins at 6 p.m.
 
The All-Sports Reunion Weekend continues on Saturday, Feb. 8, beginning with the Hall of Fame Banquet at 11 a.m. in the Mueller Hall Refectory. The Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 will be officially enshrined into the elite club, which features the best of the best in the department’s proud history.
 

Five individuals and one team will be inducted into the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame as the Class of 2025. The 1975 men’s track & field team, Chris Ensminger ’96, Emily Fieselmann ’95 Griffin, Dan Oppland ’06, Eugene Parker ’82 J.D. and Kelly Schoenhoft ’99 Smith comprise the 27th class in Hall of Fame history.
 

The 1975 men’s track & field team was one of the most dominant championship teams in Indiana Collegiate Conference history. Valpo won 11 out of 18 events at the ICC Championship meet and racked up 172 points — over 60 points more than any other team in ICC history up to that point. The team boasted the ICC Coach of the Year in Terry Shy, while Dennis Murray was named ICC Athlete of the Year. Four Valpo athletes went to the NCAA Championships, where Jeff Middeldorf earned All-America honors in the shot put. Ten members of the 1975 squad earned positions in the program’s record book that season and three program records still stand today from that season.
 
Ensminger was one of the anchors of the early years of the men’s basketball dynasty. A two-time All-Conference honoree, Ensminger was part of two Mid-Continent Conference regular season championship teams, two Mid-Con tournament title teams and the 1995-96 team, which became the first in program history to go to the D-I NCAA Tournament. In the year before his arrival, Valpo won just five games – in his last three years, Valpo won 20 or more games each season. Ensminger held program records for career rebounds and field goal percentage when he graduated and still ranks second and eighth, respectively, in those categories today. He also owns two of the top-five single-season rebounding totals in program history.
 
Griffin led the women’s swimming program in the mid-1990s and closed her career with a standout performance as a senior at the 1995 Mid-Continent Conference Championships. She earned First Team All-Conference honors as she won the 50 free and the 100 free, finished second in the 200 free and helped a trio of Valpo relays to winning swims as well. Griffin finished the meet tied for second in individual points earned after ranking eighth in the same category as a junior. Upon her graduation, Griffin held two individual school records and was a member of four relay record quartets — she still holds the program record nearly 30 years later in the 50 free, ranks third in the 100 free and 10th in the 200 free.
 
Oppland was a force inside for the men’s basketball program during the mid-2000s. He closed his time at Valpo third in program history in both career scoring and rebounds — he currently ranks fourth in scoring and sixth in rebounds. Oppland also ranks fourth all-time at Valpo in field goals made and seventh in free throws made, and holds the 10th-highest single-season point total in program history, as he scored 577 points as a junior in 2004-05. He earned All-Mid-Con honors in each of his final three seasons, including First Team accolades as a junior and as a senior. Also a standout in the classroom, Oppland was a Third Team Academic All-American in 2004-05 and was twice recognized with Academic All-District recognition.
 

Parker was regarded as a premier sports agent and a pioneer for Black lawyers in sports representation. At his company’s peak (Parker & Associates, later re-branded as Maximum Sports Management), he represented more than 40 NFL players. Parker’s clients included NFL Hall of Fame inductees Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Rod Woodson, Devin Hester and Hines Ward, and he presented Sanders for his 2011 induction into the Hall of Fame. In 2005, Sports Illustrated ranked Parker 45th on its list of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports, while he was also selected by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the top 50 influential Black people in sports. Parker played basketball at Purdue, where he was an All-Big Ten honoree — he was selected in the fifth round of the 1978 NBA Draft, but turned down the NBA to pursue his J.D. at Valpo, during which time he served as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball program.
 
Smith was a key piece of the volleyball program’s successful run atop the Mid-Con in the 1990s. She earned All-Conference honors in each of her four seasons, including First Team recognition three times, and was the Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year in 1995. Smith helped Valpo claim three Mid-Con regular season titles and a pair of Mid-Con Tournament championships in 1995 and 1996 — the program advanced to the NCAA Tournament play-in match both years. Smith closed her career second in program history in total blocks, third in hitting percentage and solo blocks and fourth in kills — she still ranks sixth all-time in solo blocks, eighth in total blocks, ninth in hitting percentage and 11th in kills. She also set the then-single season record for hitting percentage as a senior in 1998 and ranks fifth in that category today.
 
Student-athletes who are in their second year competing at Valpo will receive their letter jackets as part of the Letter Jacket Ceremony at 1 p.m. in Hilltop Gym.
 
A pregame reception will begin an hour before the men’s basketball contest vs. Murray State, which is tentatively scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. The men’s basketball start time is subject to change as late as two weeks prior to the contest when national television designations are determined. To access the men’s basketball pregame reception, a game ticket is required. Former Valpo student-athletes are encouraged to gather as part of the All-Sports Social event, which is slated for 6 p.m. at the Sidebar at Peddlers Pizza Pub. This is a great opportunity to see old friends, reminisce about your Valpo experience and meet our current leaders and coaches.
 
Click here for additional information and to register for the All-Sports Reunion Weekend. We hope to see you there as we continue this newfound tradition.