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Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Front Row: Marty Valdez; Back Row: Sekou Andrews (accepted on behalf of Dr. Malachi Andrews), John Rico, John Benedick, Kim Johnson, Will Biggs

Pioneers Hall of Fame Welcomes Six New Inductees for 2022

11/16/2022 2:17:00 PM

In October 2022, the newest class for the Pioneers Hall of Fame was inducted. With families, Pioneer Hall of Famers and friends in attendance, six new members joined the distinguished group.  

The Pioneers Hall of Fame Class of 2022 includes Dr. Malachi Andrews, John Benedick, Will Biggs, Kim Johnson, John Rico and Marty Valdez. 

Dr. Malachi Andrews - Track & Field and Gymnastics

After his time as an outstanding long jumper at the University of Arizona, Dr. Andrews led student-athletes, serving as a track & field and gymnastics coach for the Pioneers. Here are some of the very notable achievements for Dr. Andrews while with the Pioneers.

  • Andrews was the first African-American track & field coach to be hired in the CSU system.
  • Coached 16 Track & Field All-Americans, including Pioneers Hall of Fame Members Kenny Bayless (Pioneers Hall of Fame 2019), Kermit Bayless (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1986), Edward Ray Clark (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1986), Willie Eashman (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1988), Marilyn King (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1986) and Collette Winlock (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1996)
  • Team finished 1st in the Far Western Conference Championships ('71)
  • Team finished 2nd in the Far Western Conference Championships ('69, '70, '72)
  • Team finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Division II Championships in 1970, 1971 and 1972
  • In 1971, Andrews coached Andy Weber to an individual National Championship in Javelin
  • Amateur Athletic Union National Coach - Women's Long Jump Coach for the All Army Track and Field Team
  • Served as the Meet Director for the Armed Forces Track Meet held at CSUH in 1987
  • Assistant Women's Gymnastics Coach from 1984 to 1986
  • Professor of Kinesiology at Cal State Hayward
  • Author of six publications, notably African Origins of Sports and Psychoblackology
  • Also inducted into the University of Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame as a former student-athlete in Tack & Field and Gymnastics
Andrews' son, Sekou Andrews, accepted the award on his father's behalf during the ceremony. 

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John Benedick - Men's Swimming and Water Polo
  • Four-time All-American Team Captain
  • All-America honoree in five events in total
  • Swam on national runner-up 400 Freestyle Relay team
  • Runner-up in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard breaststroke
  • Far West Conference champion in 50 Freestyle
  • Inducted into Collegiate Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2012
  • 2019 CSCAA Ben Franklin Award Winner
  • Coached men's water polo and men's and women's swimming for 22 years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Two-time New England Intercollegiate Swimming Association Coach of the Year
  • Spent 22 years as an athletic administrator at MIT, retiring in 2019 as Senior Associate AD
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Will Biggs - Men's Basketball Head Coach

Biggs had a career 233 wins as head coach, the most in Pioneer History. While Biggs was a leader for the men's basketball program, some of the records achieved include leaders in total points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and others. Will's teams hold the record for conference victories, all the points records and include a number of incredible players, particularly Mike Wood (Pioneers Hall of Fame, 2016) and Michael Dean (Pioneers Hall of Fame, 2006).

  • He took two Pioneer teams to the NAIA nationals, setting the standards for all of men's basketball to follow
  • His 1998-99 team had the highest winning percentage in program history - .785 (22-6)
  • Mike Wood received almost every academic award that the conference and NAIA offered during Biggs' tenure
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Kim Johnson - Women's Water Polo
  • All-American Second Team in 2005 and 2006, and All-American Honorable Mention in 2004
  • Holds school record for career saves (1,427) three highest single-season save totals in school history
  • Made three appearances in net for the Collegiate III National Championship tournament appearances
  • A second team selection for the Collegiate III National Championship All-Tournament Team in 2005
  • Four-time Academic All-American
  • After Johnson graduated, she worked for the US Peace Corps in Africa for three years assisting youth who contracted HIV
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John Rico - Football
  • First Team All NCAC Honoree 
  • Second Team NCAA Division II All-American in 1982
  • Matched program record of three touchdowns in single game
  • Was second all-time in program history in receiving yds (1,480), third in receptions (88) and scoring (98 pts) at the end of his career
  • Played for two Pioneers Hall of Fame coaches – Tim Tierney (Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012) and Don Sawyer (Pioneers Hall of Fame 2012) and was teammates with Pioneers Hall of Famers Bill Myatt (Pioneers Hall of Fame 2002) and Mitch Bigger (Pioneers Hall of Fame 1996)
  • Appeared in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals
  • Has coached football at multiple levels from youth to college football
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Marty Valdez - Sports Information Director

Starting at Cal State Hayward as a student assistant, his role evolved into what would become the sports information component of the athletic department. 

  • Received the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement award in 2015
  • CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Also served as conference SID for NCAC
  • Managed student event and ticketing staff while covering all sponsored sports
  • Very knowledgeable about the history of Cal State East Bay Athletics 

"Marty is a true Pioneer. He has lived in Hayward his whole life, graduated from CSUH, worked in Athletics as a student assistant, part-time and then for a very long time the only Sports Information Director we had. At the same time he managed the student event and ticketing staff and covered all of the sports. If you need to know anything about the history of this athletic program, ask Marty, he knows it all. He can do statistics in every sport, he can announce, he can do it all. We always said if you cut him, he would bleed red, black and white. Marty worked for four different directors of athletics and very rarely ever missed a day of work. Marty is a true Pioneer and he belongs in the Hall of Fame he has mentored for so many years."
-Debby DeAngelis, Pioneers Hall of Fame Class of 2019

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With the six new additions to the Pioneers Hall of Fame, there are now 115 individuals and six teams. 
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