Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan Announces 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame Class
7/30/2026 3:30:00 PM | Football, General, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Volleyball, Wrestling, Our Stories
Hall of Fame InducteesAmy Backus BioDavid Bolyard BioKen Ealy BioJim Hornak BioKaitlyn McIntyre BioBrittany Petzold Bio
Six individuals will be inducted into the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 16 as part of the Class of 2026; women’s basketball player Amy Backus; wrestler David Bolyard; football player Ken Ealy; soccer coach and administrator Jim Hornak; volleyball player Kaitlyn McIntyre; and gymnast Brittany Petzold.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A pioneer in women's sports, a standout wide receiver who played a role in one of the biggest upsets in CMU history, and another in a long line of wrestling greats will enter the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.
Gymnast Brittany (Franklin) Petzold, volleyball player Kaitlyn McIntyre, and former soccer coach and longtime faculty member Jim Hornak will join football player Ken Ealy, basketball player Amy Backus, and wrestler David Bolyard in comprising the class, which will be inducted during a ceremony in McGuirk Arena in the Kulhavi Events Center on Friday, Oct. 16 (6 p.m. ET).
The six-member class will then be introduced during the CMU-Western Michigan football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17.
"We are extremely proud and honored to introduce these Chippewa greats as our CMU Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026," said Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan. "This group, like those who have gone before, represents the very best of athletics at Central Michigan University and each has played a major role in the tremendous tradition of Chippewa athletics.
"We look forward to honoring each of them and celebrating their respective accomplishments at the induction ceremony and at the football game with Western Michigan in October."
2026 CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MARCY WESTON ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
2026 CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MARCY WESTON ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME BIOS
AMY BACKUS
Women's Basketball • 1975-79 • Vermilion, Ohio
Accomplishments
As a senior, became the first female in Michigan state history to earn a full scholarship as Title IX came into effect … averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 rebounds during her junior season and 8.6 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior … helped lead CMU to a combined 23-15 record during her final two seasons … went on to a long career in coaching and as an athletic administrator, serving as a head coach in basketball and softball at Otterbein University, and as an assistant basketball coach at Middlebury College and at Northwestern University … served as a senior associate athletic director at Yale from 2005-14 and as the director of athletics at Case Western Reserve from 2014-21 where she led a highly successful department including an NCAA Division III national runner-up finish by the men's tennis team and two individual national titles, one in tennis and another in track & field. Case Western student-athletes earned 48 All-America honors and 42 Academic All-America honors, and 16 NCAA postgraduate scholarships during Backus' tenure.
DAVID BOYLARD
Wrestling • 2002-05 • Akron, Ohio
Accomplishments
2004 All-American at 165 pounds with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships … four-time NCAA Championships qualifier … 2005 MAC champion at 165 pounds after consecutive runner-up finishes from 2002-04 … ranked as high as No. 2 nationally during senior season … captured title at prestigious Midlands Championships during junior season … named team co-Most Valuable Wrestler as a senior … helped lead Central Michigan to eight MAC team championships (four regular season, four tournament) … set a then-program record with 21-match win streak during senior season … ranks 10th in program history with 109 career victories … currently serves as an assistant coach at Michigan (2019-current) and previously served as the head coach at Eastern Michigan from 2015-18 … also worked as an assistant at Central Michigan.
KEN EALY
Football • 1988-91 • Ellenwood, Ga.
Accomplishments
Wide receiver who is a two-time All-MAC selection (1990-91) ... holds program records for yards per reception for a career (20.44) and for a season (20.82 in 1990) … in Central Michigan's career receiving statistics, ranks No. 10 in yards (2,064), No. 18 in receptions (101), and No. 8 in touchdown receptions (16) … in season receiving records, ranks No. 11 in yards (916 in 1990), and tied for fourth in touchdown receptions (9 in 1990) … twice caught three touchdowns in a game, tying for second most in program history ... scored three touchdowns and was named CMU's most valuable player in the 1990 California Raisin Bowl ... member of the 1990 MAC championship team and the first team to defeat Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in 1991 ... over four-year, 37-game career, caught 101 passes for 2,064 yards and 16 touchdowns.
JIM HORNAK
Men's Soccer Coach • 1978-91 • Alpena, Mich.
Accomplishments
First coach in CMU men's soccer history … recorded 115 victories over 14 seasons, including a 14-3-1 mark in 1983 … led CMU to MAC championship and was named MAC Coach of the Year in 1990 … coached two student-athletes, Ken McDonald and Paul Benford, who earned the prestigious Bill Boyden Leadership Award … also coached one CMU Marcy Weston Hall of Fame member (Dave Daugherty) and two Academic All-Americans … served as a CMU faculty member for 43 years, earning the CMU Faculty Distinguished Service Award in 2004 … CMU Club Soccer administrator from 1966-77 … Chaired the Department of Physical Education and Sport from 1992-2009 … supported countless student-athletes, nonathletes and graduate assistants in their pursuit of bachelor's and master's degrees as department chair.
KAITLYN MCINTYRE
Volleyball • 2011-14 • Beaver Dam, Wis.
Accomplishments
Earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors three times (2012-14) … third player in program history to accomplish the feat … MAC All-Freshman Team honoree in 2011 … helped CMU win a MAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2011 … two-time Academic All-MAC honoree … remains in the top 10 in program history in 14 statistical categories, including career kills (2nd, 1,521), career points (3rd, 1,694), career kills per set (3rd, 3.44), and career sets played (442) … also ranked among top 10 in five season records.
BRITTANY (FRANKLIN) PETZOLD
Gymnastics • 2011-14 • Shelby Township, Mich.
Accomplishments
2013 MAC Gymnast of the Year … 2012 MAC all-around champion … 2011 MAC uneven parallel bars champion … three-time First Team All-MAC honoree (2011, 2012, 2013) … part of six MAC championship teams – four MAC Championships and two regular season … four-time MAC Gymnast of the Week nominee … four-time Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-America Team member … three-time Academic All-MAC honoree … Over career, averaged a 39.400 all-around score, including a 9.900 on both uneven bars and floor exercise.
Gymnast Brittany (Franklin) Petzold, volleyball player Kaitlyn McIntyre, and former soccer coach and longtime faculty member Jim Hornak will join football player Ken Ealy, basketball player Amy Backus, and wrestler David Bolyard in comprising the class, which will be inducted during a ceremony in McGuirk Arena in the Kulhavi Events Center on Friday, Oct. 16 (6 p.m. ET).
The six-member class will then be introduced during the CMU-Western Michigan football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17.
"We are extremely proud and honored to introduce these Chippewa greats as our CMU Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026," said Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan. "This group, like those who have gone before, represents the very best of athletics at Central Michigan University and each has played a major role in the tremendous tradition of Chippewa athletics.
"We look forward to honoring each of them and celebrating their respective accomplishments at the induction ceremony and at the football game with Western Michigan in October."
2026 CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MARCY WESTON ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
| Athlete | Years | Hometown/High School | Sport |
| Amy Backus | 1975-79 | Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion | Basketball |
| David Bolyard | 2002-05 | Akron, Ohio/Springfield | Wrestling |
| Ken Ealy | 1988-91 | Ellenwood, Ga./Woodward Academy | Football |
| Jim Hornak | 1978-91 | Alpena, Mich./Alpena | Soccer |
| Kaitlyn McIntyre | 2011-14 | Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam | Volleyball |
| Brittany (Franklin) Petzold | 2011-14 | Shelby Twp., Mich./Eisenhower | Gymnastics |
2026 CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MARCY WESTON ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME BIOS
AMY BACKUS
Women's Basketball • 1975-79 • Vermilion, Ohio
Accomplishments
As a senior, became the first female in Michigan state history to earn a full scholarship as Title IX came into effect … averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 rebounds during her junior season and 8.6 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior … helped lead CMU to a combined 23-15 record during her final two seasons … went on to a long career in coaching and as an athletic administrator, serving as a head coach in basketball and softball at Otterbein University, and as an assistant basketball coach at Middlebury College and at Northwestern University … served as a senior associate athletic director at Yale from 2005-14 and as the director of athletics at Case Western Reserve from 2014-21 where she led a highly successful department including an NCAA Division III national runner-up finish by the men's tennis team and two individual national titles, one in tennis and another in track & field. Case Western student-athletes earned 48 All-America honors and 42 Academic All-America honors, and 16 NCAA postgraduate scholarships during Backus' tenure.
DAVID BOYLARD
Wrestling • 2002-05 • Akron, Ohio
Accomplishments
2004 All-American at 165 pounds with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships … four-time NCAA Championships qualifier … 2005 MAC champion at 165 pounds after consecutive runner-up finishes from 2002-04 … ranked as high as No. 2 nationally during senior season … captured title at prestigious Midlands Championships during junior season … named team co-Most Valuable Wrestler as a senior … helped lead Central Michigan to eight MAC team championships (four regular season, four tournament) … set a then-program record with 21-match win streak during senior season … ranks 10th in program history with 109 career victories … currently serves as an assistant coach at Michigan (2019-current) and previously served as the head coach at Eastern Michigan from 2015-18 … also worked as an assistant at Central Michigan.
KEN EALY
Football • 1988-91 • Ellenwood, Ga.
Accomplishments
Wide receiver who is a two-time All-MAC selection (1990-91) ... holds program records for yards per reception for a career (20.44) and for a season (20.82 in 1990) … in Central Michigan's career receiving statistics, ranks No. 10 in yards (2,064), No. 18 in receptions (101), and No. 8 in touchdown receptions (16) … in season receiving records, ranks No. 11 in yards (916 in 1990), and tied for fourth in touchdown receptions (9 in 1990) … twice caught three touchdowns in a game, tying for second most in program history ... scored three touchdowns and was named CMU's most valuable player in the 1990 California Raisin Bowl ... member of the 1990 MAC championship team and the first team to defeat Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in 1991 ... over four-year, 37-game career, caught 101 passes for 2,064 yards and 16 touchdowns.
JIM HORNAK
Men's Soccer Coach • 1978-91 • Alpena, Mich.
Accomplishments
First coach in CMU men's soccer history … recorded 115 victories over 14 seasons, including a 14-3-1 mark in 1983 … led CMU to MAC championship and was named MAC Coach of the Year in 1990 … coached two student-athletes, Ken McDonald and Paul Benford, who earned the prestigious Bill Boyden Leadership Award … also coached one CMU Marcy Weston Hall of Fame member (Dave Daugherty) and two Academic All-Americans … served as a CMU faculty member for 43 years, earning the CMU Faculty Distinguished Service Award in 2004 … CMU Club Soccer administrator from 1966-77 … Chaired the Department of Physical Education and Sport from 1992-2009 … supported countless student-athletes, nonathletes and graduate assistants in their pursuit of bachelor's and master's degrees as department chair.
KAITLYN MCINTYRE
Volleyball • 2011-14 • Beaver Dam, Wis.
Accomplishments
Earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors three times (2012-14) … third player in program history to accomplish the feat … MAC All-Freshman Team honoree in 2011 … helped CMU win a MAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2011 … two-time Academic All-MAC honoree … remains in the top 10 in program history in 14 statistical categories, including career kills (2nd, 1,521), career points (3rd, 1,694), career kills per set (3rd, 3.44), and career sets played (442) … also ranked among top 10 in five season records.
BRITTANY (FRANKLIN) PETZOLD
Gymnastics • 2011-14 • Shelby Township, Mich.
Accomplishments
2013 MAC Gymnast of the Year … 2012 MAC all-around champion … 2011 MAC uneven parallel bars champion … three-time First Team All-MAC honoree (2011, 2012, 2013) … part of six MAC championship teams – four MAC Championships and two regular season … four-time MAC Gymnast of the Week nominee … four-time Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-America Team member … three-time Academic All-MAC honoree … Over career, averaged a 39.400 all-around score, including a 9.900 on both uneven bars and floor exercise.
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