Rupp To Be Inducted Into Sunshine State Hall of Fame
5/1/2006 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2006
Orlando, Fla. - Maryland head baseball coach Terry Rupp has been selected to the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2005-06, SSC commissioner Michael J. Marcil announced over the weekend. A former star baseball player and coach at University of Tampa, Rupp will join eight others being honored as part of the Hall of Fame's 15th induction class.
As a student-athlete, Rupp was a two-time All-Sunshine State Conference selection in both baseball and basketball. He would later return to his alma mater, taking over as head coach from 1996-2000. Under his guidance, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 215-80 (.729), which included four 40-win seasons. Rupp earned national coach of the year honors in 1998 when the Spartans captured the NCAA Division II national championship. In addition to the national title, Rupp collected three South Region championships and coached nine All-Americans, including six first-team selections. Prior to his career as a skipper, Rupp was chosen in the 16th round of the 1989 Draft by the San Diego Padres and spent two years playing in their organization.
Rupp became head coach at Maryland in 2001 and has since overseen dramatic improvements in many aspects of the program. During his tenure in College Park, he has earned a reputation as one of the top developers of talent in the region, sending 10 players on to professional baseball careers while molding countless others into productive Atlantic Coast Conference athletes. Rupp guided the Terps to a school-record 34 victories in 2002 while watching numerous team single season records fall, including runs, hits, doubles, RBI, strikeouts and saves.
This year, Maryland has gone 20-28 while playing a schedule that is ranked as one of the five toughest in all of college baseball. The Terps have posted seven wins against ranked opponents, including a series victory over third-ranked Georgia Tech and a road upset of the current No. 1 team in the country, North Carolina.
Others being inducted along with Rupp include Danielle Faggion-Marante (Tampa, volleyball), Ozzie Timmons (Tampa, baseball), Jon Akin (Saint Leo, men' soccer), Lisa Cave (Florida Southern, women's golf), Jeff Klauk (Florida Southern, men's golf), Kerwin Thompson (Eckerd, men's basketball), James Vida (Florida Southern, baseball) and Dr. Nancy Bottge (Florida Tech, softball coach).
The induction ceremony will be held at the 2006 SSC Hall of Fame Honors Banquet, which will take place on Saturday, June 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort. Ticket information may be obtained by contacting the Sunshine State Conference at (407) 248-8460.
