MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University Alumni-Athletic Hall of Fame will induct former men's basketball head coach Tom Ackerman, men's basketball standout Ken Bianchi '67, track and cross country star Terry Stanley '74, and longtime voice of the Mountaineers Chris Vaughn during Homecoming Weekend 2018.
The induction ceremony will be held at the Alumni-Athletic Hall of Fame dinner on Friday, Oct. 19 at North Manser Hall. Online registration for the dinner will be available in the coming weeks.
Ackerman was head coach of the men's basketball program from 1989 to 1999 where he led Mansfield to 127 wins in his tenure. In 1997, Ackerman guided the Mountaineers to a PSAC East title, PSAC Championship, and NCAA Tournament berth coaching PSAC East Player of the Year Louis Judson and PSAC East Rookie of the Year Tommy Harvey. He also guided the Mounties to an ECAC playoff berth in 1995 and was twice named PSAC East Coach of the Year (1995, 1997).
Ackerman left Mansfield with the second most wins in program history. Five of his former players would go on to be inducted into the Mansfield Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame and two of his assistant coaches (Vince Alexander, Rich Miller) would lead the Mansfield men's basketball program as head coaches.
Bianchi was a four-year member of the Mountaineer men's basketball program, playing three seasons of varsity basketball under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Clark from 1964-67. He was a member of the 1964-65 team that won the NAIA District 19 title and advanced to the national championship tournament. Bianchi also played in the 1966 and 1967 NAIA District 19 playoffs and was named team captain as a senior.
A 43-year high school boy's basketball coaching veteran, including the last 22 years at Abington Heights in Clarks Summit, Pa., Bianchi has amassed a 774-354 career record. In January, Bianchi won his 758
th game to become the all-time wins leader in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area before leading Abington Heights to the PIAA Class AAAAA State Championship. He is a four-time Times-Tribune Coach of the Year selection (2008, 2011, 2017, 2018) and was named the 2018 Pennsylvania Sports Writers Coach of the Year.
Stanley was a four-year letter winner in cross country and three-year letter winner in track & field under Hall of Fame head coach Robert T. Maxson before graduating in 1974. A distance specialist, Stanley held school records in the 3-mile and 6-mile runs.
After Mansfield, Stanley qualified for the 1980 Olympic Marathon Trials and became one of just 20 runners in the world to run a sub 3-hour marathon during five different decades. Stanley held the world record for longest time span between marathon wins (1978-2012). He has competed in over 100 marathons and is a five-time winner and course record holder of the God's Country Marathon (2:25.14), five-time winner and course record holder of the Presque Isle Marathon (2:19.30), three-time winner of the Wineglass Marathon, and two-time winner of the Skylon Marathon. Stanley was the Pennsylvania state marathon record holder from 1981-87 with a time of 2:17.34 set at the Penn Relays. He also spent 14 years as an assistant coach at Division I St. Bonaventure University.
Vaughn began announcing men's basketball games as the public address announcer for Hall of Fame head coach Ed Wilson in 1981, shortly after his arrival on campus as the assistant director of financial aid. The following year, Vaughn started announcing Mountaineer football games and later added women's basketball in the mid-1990s. He would announce other sports as his work scheduled allowed. Following his retirement in 2012, Vaughn announced field hockey and soccer games in the fall and baseball and softball games in the spring.
Vaughn has called the names of thousands of Mountaineer student-athletes in his time behind the microphone, greatly enhancing the game day experience for fans and competitors. He has also served as play-by-play and color commentator on television broadcasts of local high school basketball games.