EIU Athletic Hall of Fame (minimize screen window to 75 percent to view)  |  Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois added six new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014 was inducted Saturday afternoon, Sept. 6. The ceremony will took place surrounding the Panthers football game with Southern Illinois. Entering the Hall of Fame for the Class of 2014 are former athletes Amanda (Dore) Bos, Brad Fichtel, Rachel Galligan and Ron White (unable to attend ceremony); former athletic coach Rick Samuels and friend of athletics Dr. Joni Comstock.

LISTED BELOW ARE SHORT BIOS ON EACH INDUCTEE (Athletes are listed with hometown and high school)…

Amanda (Dore) Bos (Women's Swimming / Hickory Hills, Ill. / A.A. Stagg HS)
Amanda (Dore) Bos was one of the most decorated women's swimmers in Eastern Illinois history competing in the water between 1998-2001.  In each of her four seasons she helped the Panthers finish runner-up in the season ending Mideast/Midwest Classic.  Upon completion of her collegiate career she held the EIU school record in seven events and was second in another.  During the 2014 season her school record in the 50 freestyle (24:10) was broken.  She continues to rank in the top five in school history in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly individual races.  She is still part of the school record holding team in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:33.21.  Bos earned second-team Academic All-American honors as a senior.

Brad Fichtel (Football / Oswego, Ill. / Oswego HS)
Brad Fichtel was an anchor on the Eastern Illinois offensive line between 1989-92.  He was a three-time All-Gateway Conference selection at offensive line.  In 1991 he earned second team All-American honors by Sports Network moving from offensive guard to center.  He was named a second team All-American by the Associated Press as a senior in 1992.  Fichtel was a member of the Panthers 1989 NCAA FCS playoff team that reached the quarterfinal round.  He was selected to the Gateway Conference All-Decade team as an offensive lineman.  Following his EIU career he was drafted in the 7th round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.  Fichtel was a two-year member of the Rams squad appearing in three games at center during the 1994 season.

Rachel Galligan (Women's Basketball & Track / Bloomington, Ill. / Central Catholic HS)
Rachel Galligan helped build a foundation for Eastern Illinois women's basketball success playing for the Panthers team between 2006-09.  She ended her career as the Panthers all-time leading scorer with 1,891 points, a total that now ranks second.  She was a three-time first team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection after being named the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2006.  She led the OVC in scoring as a junior averaging 18.5 points per game and ranks second on the Panthers single season scoring list with 582 points in 2009.  She ended her career ranked first on the EIU career blocked shots list with 185.  Galligan helped lead the Panthers to back-to-back appearances in the OVC Tournament Championship game as a junior and senior.  As a track athlete Galligan competed in the javelin ranking fifth on the Panthers career list.  She was the OVC champion in the javelin in 2007 earning a trip to the NCAA Regional.
 
Ron White (Men's Track / Dallas, Oregon / Dallas HS)
Ron White was a two-time NCAA All-American during his time as a member of the Eastern Illinois men's track team between 2000-02.  He twice placed in the top ten at the NCAA National Championships competing in the javelin.  In 2000 he placed 10th at the championships followed by a 6th place national finish in 2002.  He set the school record in the javelin with a toss of 251'8" while his OVC Championships record toss was 248'6".  He was twice the OVC champion in the javelin and in 2002 was named the OVC Outdoor Male Field Athlete of the Year.

Rick Samuels (Athletic Coach – Men's Basketball)
Rick Samuels was one of the most successful coaches in Eastern Illinois men's basketball history guiding the program at the NCAA Division I level for 25 seasons (1981-2005) which was the second longest active tenure at the Division I level at the end of his career.  Samuels posted 360 wins which ranks first on the EIU list and led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.  The Panthers first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance was in 1992 as EIU won the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.  EIU returned to the Big Dance in 2001 as Samuels coached the team to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship.  EIU also won the 1985 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament but did not advance to the NCAA due to the league's lack of an automatic bid.  As a head coach he developed three NBA Draft picks in Kevin Duckworth, Jon Collins and Kyle Hill while a fourth player, Jay Taylor, signed and played as an NBA free agent.  He coached the EIU and OVC career leading scorer Henry Domercant who has gone on to a successful professional career in Europe.

Dr. Joni Comstock (Friend of Athletics)
Dr. Joni Comstock is being inducted as a friend of athletics based on the impact she has had not only on Eastern Illinois Athletics but also on the national collegiate athletic scene.  Comstock currently serves as the NCAA Senior Woman Administrator and Senior Vice President for Championships at the NCAA.  In her current position she is in charge of 85 NCAA Championships, statistics, playing rules, administration, media coordination and serves as a member of the President's Senior Management Team.  She was a two-sport athlete during her time at Eastern Illinois (1975-79) competing in both volleyball and badminton.  In 2013 she was honored by Eastern Illinois as one of ten significant contributors to Panther Women's Athletics during the school's celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX.  Prior to the her time at the NCAA Comstock served in athletic administration at several schools including the Director of Athletics at both American University and North Carolina-Asheville.