RENO, Nev. ? Former Wolf Pack stars Tiffany Neumeier Breeden, James Cannida and Andy Dominique, former baseball and football coach Bill Ireland and the 1956 national championship rifle team will be inducted into the University of Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in October, Director of Athletics Cary Groth announced Monday.
The group will be inducted into the Nevada’s Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 17 at a dinner in the Silver Baron Room at the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino in Reno. They will also be recognized at halftime of the Homecoming/Hall of Fame football game against Utah State at 1:05 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Mackay Stadium.
“This year’s class is one of the most diverse and decorated groups we have inducted into our Athletics Hall of Fame. They are all very deserving of the honor and represent over 50 years of Wolf Pack athletics success,” Groth said. “Tiffany Neumeier Breeden was one of the most dominating players in the history of Wolf Pack volleyball and still appears throughout the school recordbook, James Cannida was a tough defensive lineman who missed just one game in his career and helped the Wolf Pack to a pair of bowl appearances, and Andy Dominique is the most prolific homerun hitter in school history and went on to win a World Series in his professional career. Bill Ireland started his distinguished career in college athletics at Nevada and helped establish the Fremont Cannon, one of the greatest traveling trophies in college football, while the 1956 rifle team set a national scoring record while becoming the first Wolf Pack squad to bring home a national championship.”
Tiffany Neumeier Breeden (Volleyball/1994-97)
One of the most dominating players in Nevada volleyball history, Tiffany Neumeier Breeden is the Wolf Pack’s career leader with 1,779 kills. She turned in 472 kills in both 1996 and 1997 to set the school single-season record, and only two players since have surpassed her single-season mark. She ranks third with 1,243 career digs and is sixth with 107 career service aces. Breeden still holds three of the top 10 single-season marks for kills and attacks. She also ranks in the top 15 for single-game kills, attacks and digs, including a 30-kill performance against New Mexico State in 1995 which is still the third-best match in school history.
James Cannida (Football/1994-1997)
A two-time Big West Conference honoree as a defensive lineman, James Cannida started all but four games and missed only one contest in his four-year career. Cannida helped the Wolf Pack to appearances in the Las Vegas Bowl in 1995 and 1996. In 1996, Cannida led the team with 10 sacks, and in 1997, he tied for the team lead with five. He turned in a career-high 81 tackles in 1997, which placed him second in the school recordbook at the time. He finished his career with 208 tackles and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went on to play five seasons in the NFL for Tampa Bay and the Indianapolis Colts and also spent time in the Arena Football League.
Andy Dominique (Baseball/1994-1997)
One of the most decorated players in Nevada baseball history, Andy Dominique still appears in nearly every single-season and career list in the Nevada recordbooks. Dominique holds school records for career (62) and single-season homeruns (30). In 1997, he earned All-America honors and was named the MVP of the Big West Conference. A two-time All-Big West selection, Dominique helped Nevada to two NCAA Regional appearances in 1994 and 1997. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Dominique in the 26th round of 1997 MLB Draft. His Major League debut came in 2004 as a first baseman and catcher for the World Champion Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and was part of the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners organizations. In 2008, he served as the volunteer hitting coach for the Wolf Pack softball team, helping the team to its historic NCAA Regional appearance.
Bill Ireland (Head Baseball Coach & Assistant Football Coach/1960-67)
A 1952 graduate of the University of Nevada and McGill, Nev., native, Bill Ireland mentored Nevada’s freshman team in 1960 and went on to spend seven years as the Wolf Pack’s head baseball coach from 1961-67. After his time at Nevada, he went to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he became the school’s first football coach. He served as UNLV’s football coach from 1968-72 and then became the Rebels’ athletics director from 1973-80. Ireland is credited with helping to come up with the idea for the Fremont Cannon, one of the largest and most expensive traveling trophies in college football and the prize that is sought when Nevada and UNLV meet on the gridiron each fall. Ireland was able to sell boosters from both schools on the idea, and the trophy, which is a replica of the gun that accompanied Captain John C. Fremont on his expedition through Oregon, Nevada and California in 1843-44, was presented as a gift to the students of both schools in 1970. Ireland was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987 and passed away in September of 2007 at the age of 80.
1956 National Championship Rifle Team
The 1956 Nevada rifle team won the Wolf Pack’s first national championship and becomes just the second team to be inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in its 35-year history. Nevada captured the National Intercollegiate Rifle Championship in Berkeley, Calif., in March of 1956, setting a national record with 1,443 points out of a possible 1,500. The 1956 team included Max Botz, Gene Espin, Terry Katzer, John Middlebrook, Dick Mills, Bill Rusk and Chuck Taylor and was coached by Sgt. Joel Cantrell. During that 1956 season, the team also won the 31-team Southwest Invitational in El Paso and the Eastern Washington College of Education Invitational. At the prestigious Hearst Intercollegiate Shoot that year, Nevada finished second and won the Sixth Army title. For his efforts, Cantrell was awarded the Army’s Commendation Ribbon with Medal Pendant, one of the top peacetime awards available for meritorious service, while Katzer and Rusk were named All-Americans.
For more information or to purchase tickets for this year’s Hall of Fame Dinner, call (775) 682-6902. Tickets for the event cost $50 each and the evening begins with a no-host cocktail hour at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the Homecoming/Hall of Fame game are available by calling (775) 348-PACK (7225) or going online at www.nevadawolfpack.com.