Mazzulla inducted to Hall of Fame

By BETH HURD

In a ceremony held Jan. 13 at Bryant University, five individuals as well as a team were inducted into the Bryant University Athletics Hall of Fame. It was the first time a whole team was inducted.

The 1966-67 men's basketball team, coached by Tom Duffy, had a 22-2 record overall, and a 20-0 regular-season record. The team played their home games at Hope High School in Providence, the school, at that time, known as Bryant College. The team featured all-time scoring leader Tome Smile of Pawtucket, who became the first player in Bryant history to score 2,000 points. His 2,390 career points is still a school record.

Also inducted was Dan Mazzulla, a member of the class of 1984 men's basketball team. The program biography reads: "One of the most prolific scorers in Bulldog history, Mazzulla led the Bulldogs to a pair of 20-win seasons and the school's first two NCAA tournament appearances. Mazzulla ranks 10th in career scoring with 1,390 career points scored at Bryant and ranks fourth in career rebounding with 761. In addition, he also holds the Bulldog single season record with a .913 free throw percentage."

Playing from 1976 to 1980, his team was coached by Bryant Athletics hall-of-famer Tom Foliard. Mazzulla is currently the director of the Johnston Parks & Recreation Department.

"I spent four good years there," said Mazzulla of Bryant. He still sees some of his former teammates periodically. "It was a relatively new facility," he added of the college, which moved from Providence to Smithfield in the 1970s.

"I don't really care about personal accolades, they're really not as important as the team," he added. "I was surprised and honored" of receiving the call in October, he said, adding that he never really kept track of his points.

Mazzulla started at the Parks & Recreation Department in 1987 as recreation supervisor, under director Vincent LaFazia and was named director in 2003. LaFazia had taken over from Dan's father, Daniel Mazzulla Sr., who died on the job in 1987. The senior Mazzulla was the first full time parks and recreation director for the town, and the baseball field at Memorial Park is named for him.

"He was an informal athlete," said Mazzulla said of his father.

After graduating from Bryant University, then Bryant College, Mazzulla played basketball in Chile, South Africa, from May 1980 to 1985, on a semi-pro team.

"Like our NBA, but not as big," he said of the experience.

Mazzulla has three children, and his oldest may follow in his father's footsteps, as a basketball star. Joseph Mazzulla graduated from Hendricken High School last May, and now plays for West Virginia. Mazzulla also has a 14-year-old daughter and a younger son.

Also inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame were Beth Connealy, class of 1996 for women's basketball; long-time track and field coach Charlie Mandeville; John Sjogren, of the class of 1988, baseball coach and player; and Mike McKenna, class of 1986, a player of hockey and golf.

The inductees were chosen by a 10-member committee, and were inducted before a standing-room-only crowd.

For a full list of Athletics Hall of Fame members, visit www.bryantbulldogs.com/information/Hall_of_Fame/HOFlist.htm