Pauletto Named to the MAC Hall of Fame

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Bruno Pauletto, one of two individual NCAA Division I champions in Central Michigan history, will be inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame in May.

The league announced its 2019 class of inductees on Friday, March 15.

"It's a tremendous honor, obviously," said Pauletto, who is retired and living in Tampa, Fla. "It's very humbling; I'm very touched by it; you feel it in your heart. I'm so happy to put CMU back in the spotlight. I love the university."

Pauletto won the shot put at the 1978 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, becoming CMU's first individual Division I national champion. Casey Cunningham, who is also a member of the MAC Hall of Fame, became the second when he captured an NCAA wrestling title in 1999.

Pauletto is one of the most successful student-athletes in CMU history and he went on to an outstanding international career and later became a successful businessman.

"Bruno Pauletto is a legend in Central Michigan athletics," said Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Michael Alford. "The longevity of his records is a testament to what an outstanding athlete he was. We are very proud and honored that the MAC has chosen to honor one of our own as an inductee into the league's hall of fame. He stands with so many of the greats in CMU history."

At CMU, Pauletto earned All-America honors three times in the shot put by winning the NCAA indoor title in 1978, finishing runner-up in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in '78, and finishing fifth at the 1977 Outdoor Championships.

He was a four-time MAC outdoor champion, winning shot put titles in 1976, '77 and '78 and the discus title in '77. He was named the Most Valuable Performer at the 1978 MAC Championships, when he set the league record with a toss of 64 feet, 8 ¾ inches. That record stood until 2015 and remains the second-best mark in conference history. He also won the prestigious Central Collegiate Conference Championships in 1977 and 1978.

He still holds the CMU indoor (64-1 ¼) and outdoor (65-3) shot put records.

Pauletto was born in Italy and moved with his family to Sept-Iles, Quebec, when he was 10 years old. He earned a bachelor's degree with a major in exercise physiology from CMU, received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and was named the 1978 CMU Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He earned his master's degree from Tennessee, where he served as the Volunteers' strength coach for 15 years.

Pauletto, competing for Canada, placed first in the shot put in the 1982 Commonwealth Games after a second-place finish in '78. He also posted top-five finishes at the 1979 Pan-Am Games and the 1977 IAAF World Cup. He won Canadian national titles in the shot put three times from 1978-83 and earned a spot on the 1980 Canadian Olympic team, but did not compete because of Canada's boycott of the Games. He was also selected for the 1984 Canadian Olympic team but did not compete.

He co-founded with his wife, Julie, Power Systems, a strength-trainer company, in 1986. The company became the industry's largest fitness and sports performance accessory supplier. Pauletto served as the company CEO for 29 years before retiring in 2015.

Pauletto has authored three books and numerous professional articles on the subject of strength training. He served as the president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association from 1991-94. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and has received the organization's President's Award and has also been named its College Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year.

Pauletto is the 10^th Chippewa to be inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame, joining Cunningham, Herb Deromedi, Charlie Coles, Gary Hogeboom, Dave Keilitz, Ted Kjolhede, Dan Majerle, Dan Roundfield, and Marcy Weston.

Central Michigan University Athletics

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