Athletic Hall of Fame
Class of 2003
Anthony "Tony" DiCecco Anthony "Tony" DiCecco, class of 1971, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the coaching category. A baseball player at UIU from 1967-70, he earned a B.S. degree in Physical Education.
Embarking on a teaching/coaching career that started at West Central in Maynard in 1971, DiCecco led his 1973 softball team to a third-place finish in the state tournament. His career took him to Montezuma (Iowa) High School, where he compiled a 306-69 record as girls' basketball coach. His teams made two state tournament appearances and won eight conference titles.
As the University of Northern Iowa's winningest women's coach, DiCecco will be starting his ninth season as leader of the Panthers, with a career record of 119-108. He has compiled four straight winning seasons, including an 18-12 record last season. The Panthers finished 12-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play last year and earned a berth in the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
A respected collegiate coach by his peers, DiCecco travels the state as an entertaining speaker promoting women's collegiate basketball. A native of Niagara Falls, New York, Tony resides in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with his wife Kristi, a 1970 Upper Iowa University graduate.
Robert "Chip" Faehling Robert "Chip" Faehling, class of 1989, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame as an athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in tennis - 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. He captured the 1988 Iowa Conference Tennis Singles Championship. He was thus honored by the IIAC in 1988 as the conference Most Valuable Player in tennis. Faehling has been recognized by those on the outside as the best tennis player at Upper Iowa these past five decades, if not all-time. He was coached by Dr. Walter Griffin, who stated, "I coached and observed many tennis teams at Upper Iowa for nearly 25 years and Chip was the most outstanding during that entire period." Faehling is Upper Iowa University's only collegiate singles champion. In 1987, he reigned as UIU Homecoming King. He earned a B.A. degree in Business Management.
Presently, Faehling is a Sales Representative with the Hewlett-Packard Company, where he has been honored from 2000 to 2002 in the High Achiever Club. A graduate of West Bend West High School, Chip and his wife Rhonda reside in Kewaskum, Wisconsin. They have two daughters, Sydney and Kaya.
Greg Hutchinson Greg Hutchinson, class of 1974, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame as an athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in wrestling - 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 - for the Peacocks. Hutchinson was a "three-peat" Iowa Conference Champion at 118 pounds, and was named the IIAC Most Valuable Wrestler in 1974. He earned All-American honors in 1974 with his sixth-place finish at nationals, so honored by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Hutchinson was a vital cog in the Upper Iowa Peacocks winning three conference titles - 1971, 1972 and 1973.
Hutchinson earned a B.S. degree in Physical Education from Upper Iowa University in 1974. Upon graduation, he taught and coached at North Linn High School in Coggon, Iowa, and at West Delaware High School in Manchester, Iowa. For the past 20 years, he has been in industrial sales. Presently, Hutchinson is the Account Manager for the lighting division of General Electric, covering northeast Iowa and western Illinois.
Greg and his wife Susan live in Anamosa, Iowa. They are the parents of Adam, Samantha, Kasey and Korey.
Joe Kovacevich Joe Kovacevich, class of 1963, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame as an athlete. He is a graduate of Centerville High School. Kovacevich was a three-year football letter winner at UIU - 1960, 1961 and 1962.
Kovacevich played football under the late coach Everett "Eb" Eischeid as both a guard on offense and a linebacker and defensive back on defense, serving as a two-way player during the early 1960s. He was named to the Iowa Conference All-Defensive Team in 1961, and repeated the honor again in 1962.
fter graduation, Kovacevich served in the United States Marine Corps from 1963 to 1967, attaining the rank of Captain. During 1964, he played football for the Quantico Marines; the talent level was equivalent to today's NCAA Division I-AA teams.
A Vietnam veteran, Kovacevich made use of his B.S. degree in Biology after his military career as a science teacher and coach in the San Diego Unified School District for 32 years. He coached football, soccer and golf. Now retired, Joe and his wife Linda reside in San Diego, California and are the parents of daughter, Lisa.
Bill Roths Bill Roths, class of 1973, is being inducted into the Upper Iowa University Hall of Fame in the officiating category. He was a two-year wrestling letter winner - 1972-73. A graduate of New Hampton High School, he earned a B.A. in Elementary Education and Physical Education. Roths started his professional career as a third-grade teacher and coach at Fayette and New Hampton Community Schools, before entering the banking field.
Since 1974, Roths has had an exemplary career as a wrestling official on the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels, officiating at the state and national levels. Roths was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999. He has served as a wrestling official for the IHSAA State Tournament since 1985.
Roths has officiated at all three NCAA levels and worked the NCAA Division I Nationals in 1998. He has also worked four Big Ten Conference Tournaments, the National Duals six times and the NAIA wrestling finals.
He has built a career in the banking profession since 1977. He presently is the Vice President of First National Bank in New Hampton, Iowa. Bill and his wife Mary are the parents of daughters Nicole and Emily. They reside in New Hampton.
|
