Richmond Athletics Announces 2021 Hall of Fame Class
10/5/2021
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Five individuals whose contributions to Spider Athletics span 10 decades comprise the 2021 University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame induction class, announced today by Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt.
The Class of 2021 consists of John Beilein (men’s basketball coach 1997-2002), Helen Dodd Driscoll ‘41, posthumously (basketball, track, tennis, field hockey), Heather Gardner Quinn ’96 (women’s lacrosse) Stacy Tutt ‘05 (Football), and Dr. Chris Young (Team Physician 1995-2021).
The 44th Hall of Fame class, the first since 2019, will be inducted during a ceremony and reception Friday night, November 5 at the Jepson Alumni Center on campus. The class will be introduced during the Homecoming football game Saturday November 6 at 2pm against Towson.
Ticket information for the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Reception can be obtained by visiting HERE. For game tickets please contact the Richmond Ticket Office at 1-877-SPIDER-1.
John Beilein
Men’s Basketball – 1997-2002
With suit jacket off and sleeves rolled up, John Beilein went to work to rejuvenate the Richmond men’s basketball program. It didn’t take him long.
Inheriting four seniors who had never experienced a winning season, and meshing them with an upstart group of underclassmen, Beilein guided the Spiders to a 23-8 record in his inaugural season. It began with a thrilling double-overtime victory against Virginia in the Robins Center and climaxed with a Colonial Athletic Association championship and first round NCAA tournament victory as a number 14 seed over number three South Carolina. The winning was just beginning.
In five seasons, Beilein’s teams won 100 games. His Spider winning percentage of .654 is second only to Hall of Fame coach Dick Tarrant’s .655. The Spiders appeared in the postseason again in 2001 and 2002. Richmond beat West Virginia in the 2001 NIT and won at Minnesota in the 2002 NIT, before falling at home to Syracuse in the quarterfinals, in what turned out to be Beilein’s last game as Richmond coach.
Beilein also led the basketball transition from the CAA to the Atlantic 10. The Spiders won the CAA regular season title in their last year in the league with a 12-4 record, then finished second with an 11-5 mark in the school’s first year of A10 play, and challenged nationally-ranked Xavier in the championship game of the A10 tournament. His teams went 44-21 overall in those two seasons.
Among the players he coached, Greg Stevenson was twice named State Player of the Year, his brother Jarod CAA Player of the Year, Charles Stephens CAA Rookie of the Year and Darryl Oliver CAA Tournament MVP.
Beilein, who came to Richmond from Canisius, went on to coach at West Virginia and Michigan. He became the Wolverines all-time winningest coach while guiding them to two Final Fours with two national championship game appearances.
Helen Dodd Driscoll
Basketball, track, tennis, field hockey – 1937-1941
A student-athlete for all seasons, Helen Dodd Driscoll excelled in the fall, winter and spring. She earned 15 athletic letters out of a possible 16 during her career – four each in basketball, track and tennis, and three in field hockey.
She was selected for the Southeast Reserves national team in field hockey, was a basketball team captain, played number one singles in tennis, ran the 50, 75 and 100-yard dashes and competed in the shot put.
Dodd Driscoll became just the second freshman in school history to be a Blazer award winner for three sports, and she won a Westhampton Seal award her junior year for outstanding achievement and character.
She was also a member of the University of Richmond Athletic Board for three years. Following graduation, she went on to a long and successful career as a Richmond Public Schools teacher.
Heather Gardner Quinn
Women’s Lacrosse – 1993-1996
The eye-opening records amassed on the lacrosse field only begin to tell the story of Heather Gardner Quinn, a standout Spider student-athlete and a long-time member and supporter of the Richmond lacrosse community. She finished her playing career atop the Richmond record books in career points (196), goals (134) and assists (62), becoming just the second UR player to reach more than 100 points and 100 goals in a career.
She led the team in points and goals back-to-back years, including netting 53 points as a sophomore and junior. As a sophomore, she broke the UR career assists record and as a junior shattered the UR career goals scored mark. As a sophomore, she scored 43 goals and added 10 assists, picking up First-Team All-America honors. She scored 40 goals and had 13 assists as a junior and earned All-America accolades, as well as first team All-State and All-Region. She was a two-time All Colonial Athletic Association first team selection. She finished among the nation's top-20 in total points and goals as a junior.
In 1995, Gardner Quinn helped the Spiders to their first national ranking since 1987, appearing for two consecutive weeks at No. 15 in the Brine/IWCLA Weekly poll.
After graduation, she became a fixture in the Richmond lacrosse community, including serving as Vice President, Girl's Division, of Blackhawk Lacrosse, where she was a two-time Volunteer of the Year. She was also a board member and youth girl's lacrosse representative for the US Lacrosse Richmond Chapter and volunteer assistant coach for Hanover High’s lacrosse program.
She co-founded the Women of Richmond Lacrosse League (WORLL), a collegiate and post-collegiate lacrosse league. Gardner Quinn was inducted into the Richmond chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2020.
Stacy Tutt
Football – 2002-2005
Saving his best for last, Stacy Tutt culminated his Richmond career with a record-breaking, award-winning senior season, leading the Spiders to an Atlantic 10 championship, quarterfinal playoff appearance and No. 8 final national ranking with a 9-4 record.
A team captain, he began the 2005 season at wide receiver, but was re-inserted at quarterback for the third game of the year, and went on to throw for 2,219 yards and 16 touchdowns. His single-season passing total ranked fourth all-time at Richmond, while his TD pass count was seventh.
His 3,047 yards of total offense in 2005 ranked as the best-ever at Richmond, while his 6,872 career total offense ranked second all-time. He finished with 5,318 yards through the air which ranked third and his 36 career touchdown passes was fourth-best ever at Richmond. His 160 points scored in a career was the fourth-most while his 72 points scored in 2005 was sixth-best.
He was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 in 2005 after twice being selected as A-10 Player of the Week and earning National Player of the Week honors after racking up 450 yards of total offense in the Spiders' 43-37 double-overtime win against Hofstra. Tutt was named Richmond Touchdown Club Offensive Back of the Year and he was a finalist for the Dudley Award, given to the top Division I football player in Virginia.
Showing his versatility and athleticism, he spent part of his college career at wide receiver and his pro career at halfback. For the Spiders, he caught seven passes for 101 yards in a game against Delaware in 2003. Tutt played in 11 NFL games for the New York Jets as a halfback in 2006-07. He later returned to his alma mater as an assistant football coach for two seasons.
Dr. Chris Young
Team Physician – 1995-2021
When Dr. Chris Young began assisting Hall of Fame team physician Dr. E.L. Clements in 1995, it began a 25-year association with Richmond Athletics. He volunteered his time, receiving no compensation for the countless hours of service to the athletic department. Dr. Young became head team physician in 1998 when Dr. Clements retired. He worked and traveled extensively with football, including with the 2008 National Championship team.
Dr. Young also established a referral network at his practice and throughout the Richmond medical community to better serve UR student-athletes. An orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, knee, and shoulder surgeries with more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Young performed hundreds of operations and treated thousands of Spider student-athletes, coaches and staff. Dr. Young retired in 2021, but his philosophy to always “treat every student-athlete like they were your own son or daughter” remains instilled with Spider Sports Medicine.
