NEW HAVEN, Conn. (September 1, 2015) -- The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) is proud to announce its six-member 2015 Hall of Fame Class, which is the inaugural class in conference history. CACC Commissioner Dan Mara announced on Tuesday the inaugural class included a pair of pioneers who helped form the conference in Norm Wilhelmi (The King’s College) and Alfred R. Restaino, Sr. (Bloomfield College), while also featuring former University of the Sciences coaching great Robert C. “Bobby” Morgan, Dominican College two-sport standout Mary Ellen Massey Montera (women’s basketball & softball), Goldey-Beacom College golfing great Michael Tobiason and Georgian Court University women’s basketball star Carol Walters. 

The six honorees came from a pool of several impressive nominees, who were submitted by their respective school’s sports information directors with the approval of the athletic director and president. A hall of fame committee comprised of administrators from various member schools considered each nominee when determining the inaugural class. 

The CACC has been in existence for more than 50 years and features a wonderful past, exciting current achievements and a bright future. The newly-formed hall of fame celebrates the tradition of the league, its historic moments and the individuals who shaped those memories.

Mary Ellen Massey Montera (Dominican Women’s Basketball & Softball): Montera had a highly decorated career during her time at Dominican from 1984-88. She was a two-sport star in basketball and softball. On the hardwood, she is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,066 points, including dropping in a single-season school-record, 611, during the 1985-86 season. The season after, she posted a 19.7 points per game average which is the third highest mark in program history. Montera averaged 18.7 points a night during her senior year (1987-88), which stands as the fourth best average for a single season. Montera was just as big a hit on the softball diamond as she was on the basketball court, and her success in the sport was spread out among the pitching circle and at the dish. She posted a 1.23 earned run average during her career, which is tops in program history. Montera ranks third in program history with 47 career wins, fourth in innings pitched (438.1) and sixth with 270 strikeouts. She pitched a pair of no-hitters, including a perfect game against John Jay College on April 22, 1988. At the plate, Montera was just as impressive by ranking fourth in school history with a .414 batting average and ranking seventh with seven career triples. She was a member of Dominican’s inaugural Hall of Fame Class in 1995, and then became the first and only student-athlete in school history to have her jersey retired in 2009.

Bobby Morgan (USciences Basketball Coach & Athletic Director): Morgan joined the athletic staff at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science as its men’s basketball coach in 1968, guiding the team through the 1998-99 season. In 1977 he was named athletic director, a position he held for 34 years before he stepped down in 2011. During that time, Morgan oversaw the growth of the athletic department with the addition of women’s programs at the institution in the late 1970s and 80s, to its transition from NAIA to active NCAA Division II membership by the year 2003. USciences’ active NCAA membership coincided with the opening of its new Athletic Recreation Center and its 1,000 seat basketball arena. The arena was christened the Robert C. “Bobby” Morgan Arena in honor of his longtime success as men’s basketball coach. As the men’s basketball coach, Morgan’s record during his 31 seasons at the school was 598-250 for a winning percentage of 70.5 percent. His total wins and winning percentage rank him amongst the top-10 winningest coaches in NAIA history. Morgan was named NAIA District Coach of the Year eight times (1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1997). He guided his teams to four NAIA National Tournament berths in the 1990’s.  

Al Restaino (Bloomfield Athletic Director): Restaino served the CACC for over 34 years as an athletic administrator and coach at Bloomfield College. Prior to that, he distinguished himself as a student-athlete at Bloomfield. Mr. Restaino’s dedication and vision helped to forge the CACC as it is today. He served numerous terms as President of the CACC and was instrumental in the conference’s move to NCAA Division II from the NAIA. His leadership carried the conference through difficult times and his forward thinking laid the groundwork for the CACC to grow and prosper as a conference. In November of 2007, the CACC renamed its Commissioner’s Cup to the Alfred R. Restaino, Sr. Cup, which is awarded annually to the top performing men’s and women’s athletic programs. 

Michael Tobiason (Goldey-Beacom Men’s Golf): Tobiason was a standout golfer for Goldey-Beacom, but also made his mark conference wide and throughout all of Division II. From 2003-06, he was named the CACC Golfer of the Year, while also claiming the conference’s individual championship four times each. The program as a whole benefitted from Tobiason’s stellar play, as the Lightning claimed the CACC team title in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Tobiason led Goldey-Beacom to the 2006 NCAA Regional Team Championship, while also winning the regional’s top individual medalist honor with a first-place performance. The Lightning qualified for the NCAA Division II National Finals and Tobiason was named a Collegiate Golf All-American following the campaign. He won more than 30 times during his collegiate and junior careers and qualified for the 2011 United States Open, which is one of golf’s four annual major championships. Tobiason also competed on Golf Channel’s “Big Break” reality series in 2013.

Carol Walters (Georgian Court Women’s Basketball): Walters had a legendary career for the Lions women’s hoops program and still ranks as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,885 points. The mark has stood for 24 years since her graduation in 1991. She was twice named the CACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors three times. Walters’ accolades weren’t limited to the CACC, as she also made her mark at the regional and national levels. She was named the most valuable player of the NAIA District 31 three times and was also a three-time first-team all-district honoree. Walters was also named an NAIA Third-Team All-American twice. 

Norm Wilhelmi (The King’s College Coach & Director of Athletics): Wilhelmi, who at the time was the Director of Athletics at The King’s College in New York, organized a meeting in 1961 with several regional schools of similar size and characteristics. The meeting eventually resulted in the creation of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), which began competition in the fall of 1961. The eight original members of the conference included Bloomfield College, Dowling College, The King’s College, Marist College, Monmouth College, Nyack College, C.W. Post College and Southampton College. Wilhelmi, who was affectionately known as “Coach,” served many years as director of athletics, coach and teacher at King’s and later at Montreat-Anderson College in Montreat, North Carolina. Along with his teaching and coaching duties, he led the way in the founding of the East Coast Christian College All-Sports Tournament, the National Christian College Physical Education Association (NCCPEA), the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the Annual Christian College Baseball Tournament out of which developed a baseball clinic ministry teaching baseball skills and introducing Jesus to German youth. For many years, he hosted a nationwide radio broadcast that used sports stories to tell listeners about Christian colleges and mission sports programs. Mr. Wilhelmi passed away on Oct. 24, 2012, at the age of 86. 

Each CACC member institution that has an honoree in the inaugural class will select a date at some point during the upcoming year to celebrate the individual. The CACC conference office will produce a special digital print of the honoree and present one each to the individual and the institution for display purposes. 

The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.