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Vanaskie enters
Academic
All-America Hall
of Fame
In a hotel with more
rooms than Lycoming
College has students and
with TV lights shining
brightly on Rece Davis,
the ESPN broadcaster
best known as the host of
“College Gameday” and
“College Football Live,”
called the Hon. Thomas I.
Vanaskie ’75 to the stage.
Inducted into the
Capital One Academic
All-America Hall of Fame at Orlando’s
World Center Marriott on June 12 during
the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics conference,
Vanaskie, who rarely gives interviews
as a judge on the U.S. Third District
Court of Appeals, sat in front of a
crowd of 400 people and talked about
the highlights of his football career.
His many accomplishments included
earning Honorable Mention AP Little
All-American honors as a defensive back
and First Team Academic All-American
honors in 1974.
Davis started the interview smoothly,
“I want to talk about football. What was
your favorite interception?”
Vanaskie, who left Lycoming for Penn
State’s Dickinson School of Law before
going on to an 18-year career as a lawyer
before being selected to serve as a judge,
didn’t even hesitate.
“I had one against Juniata College,
where I made a diving catch near the
end zone,” he said. “The first thing
our quarterback said to me when I got
back to the bench was ‘Oh, that was
underthrown.’”
New athletics marks set for release
After more than a year in development,
the Lycoming College athletic department
will proudly present the third set of
athletic marks in the history of the
program during an unveiling in Lamade
Gymnasium on Tuesday, Aug. 13. After
the event, the logos will be posted on
athletics.lycoming.edu.
“Throughout the design process, the
college strove to identify an image that
promotes the core concepts of strength,
honor, excellence and tradition,” director
of athletics and head football coach Mike
Clark said. “The new logo is a significant
piece of the new visual identity of
Lycoming athletics. We are very excited
to wear it into competition and to see it
displayed prominently in our facilities.”
As Davis continued to interview
Vanaskie, a quick look around the crowd
showed a who’s who in collegiate athletics.
Mike Kryzewski, Duke’s three-time
national champion men’s basketball coach,
sat in the front row with Dick Enberg, the
NBC broadcaster and a member of the Hall
of Fame, close by. Oliver Luck, a member
of the Hall of Fame and the director of
athletics at West Virginia, was amidst the
crowd and the others being inducted into
the Hall of Fame sat all around Vanaskie in
the front of the auditorium. They included
the voice of Olympic Gymnastics in
America, Elfi Schlegel; an astronaut, Bruce
Melnick; the U.S. Water Polo coach, Dr.
Terry Schroeder; and the widow of Pat
Tillman, a star linebacker at Arizona State
who was killed in Afghanistan during
Operation Enduring Freedom.
Vanaskie spoke passionately when
Davis asked about his efforts in the
community. The judge talked about the
Court-Assisted Re-Entry (CARE) program
he started, which serves individuals
who have already been convicted or
incarcerated and tries to help them make
a smooth transition from prison to the
community.
“What I aspire to do each day is to
be the best judge and person I can be,”
Vanaskie said.
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2013 SUMMER MAGAZINE
Top photo: CoSIDA President Joe Hornstein, Dick
Enberg, Mike Krzyzewski, Marie Tillman - wife of
the late Pat Tillman, Bruce Melnick, Terry Schro-
eder, Judge Thomas Vanaskie ’75, Elfi Schlegel,
Capital One Senior Vice President Byron Daub
pose after the Capital One Academic All-America
Hall of Fame ceremony.
Bottom photo: Vanaskie is interviewed by ESPN’s
Rece Davis during the ceremony.