Bethany selects 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame Class
BETHANY, W.Va. (June 14) – Bethany College has announced that it will induct five new members as part of its 40th Annual Athletic Hall of Fame Class.
The 2018 inductees include Matt Drahos, Class of 2006 (men's basketball); Mike Drahos, Class of 2006 (men's basketball); Kelley Richardson-Mills, Class of 2004 (women's basketball); Steve Opfermann, Class of 2000 (baseball); and Cornel Crawford, Class of 1984 (football).
These new members of the Bethany Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted at the Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, September 28 and will also be recognized at Bison Stadium the following day prior to kickoff of the Homecoming football game against Washington & Jefferson College at 2 p.m.
Matt and Mike Drahos, class of 2006 (Wheeling, W.Va./John Marshall High School), were two of the most instrumental leaders in the history of the Bethany College men's basketball program. The brothers were part of two Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships in 2005 and 2006, including consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, and graduated as the winningest-class in school history with 76 victories from 2002-06. The Drahos twins were also featured in the February 27, 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated in its "Faces in the Crowd" feature.
Matt Drahos still ranks second all-time in school-history with 1,930 points and is the all-time leader in both rebounds (926) and blocked shots (132). As a senior in 2006, Matt became the first-ever men's basketball First-Team Academic All-America selection in school history, was a finalist for the coveted Josten's Trophy as the National Player of the Year, was named the PAC Player of the Year, and garnered All-American honors from both D3Hoops.com and D-III News. He earned All-PAC laurels all four years, including three first-team nods, and was tabbed the PAC Freshman of the Year in 2003. Matt also established two notable single-game records at Bethany for points (49) and rebounds (26), which still stand to this day.
Following graduation, Matt served two seasons at Bethany as an assistant basketball coach and head men's golf coach and went on to become both an NCAA Division II & III men's basketball official and a high school official in West Virginia and Ohio.
He is currently the Market President for BB&T Bank and oversees five branches in the tri-state area, while managing the entire commercial loan portfolio for the region.
Mike Drahos currently ranks fourth all-time in school-history with 1,681 career points, third all-time with 877 rebounds and sixth all-time with 135 assists. Mike was a two-time PAC Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 and a three-time All-PAC First Team selection. In 2006, he was tabbed Second-Team Academic All-America and garnered D3Hoops.com All-Region laurels after helping the team to its second-consecutive PAC Championship. On the court, he was selected to six all-region teams and was a two-time All-American over the course of his four-year career.
Mike served as an assistant coach for the Bethany men's basketball team from 2006-08, before spending five seasons as an assistant coach for the West Liberty University women's basketball program from 2008-13.
Since 2013, he has served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown women's basketball team.
Kelley Richardson-Mills, Class of 2004 (Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke High School), was a four-year standout for the Bethany College women's basketball team. She helped lead the Bison to four-straight PAC Tournament Championships, along with three-straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Richardson was voted as the PAC's Player of the Year as a senior in 2004 and collected two All-PAC First Team selections and a Second Team All-PAC selection. She holds Bethany's all-time rebounding mark with 1,010; is the program's single-season scoring leader with 556 points scored during the 2002 season; and also ranks second on the all-time scoring list with 1,755 points.
Richardson graduated from Bethany with a degree in psychology and went on to earn a master's degree in school counseling. She recently completed her eighth year as an elementary school counselor in Austintown, Ohio. In 2016, she was named School Counselor of the Year in Ohio. She is married to former Bethany Football Team Captain and fellow 2004 graduate Michael Mills.
Steve Opfermann, Class of 2000 (Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny High School), helped the Bethany College baseball team post back-to-back PAC Championships in 1999 and 2000. He led the Bison to a school-record 27 wins during the 2000 season, a record which still stands today. He was named the PAC MVP following both championship runs, including in 1999 when he hit a career-high .479, totaling 61 hits, 39 RBIs, 15 doubles and a slugging percentage of .740. In 2000, Opferman posted a career-high 66 hits, which still ranks third on Bethany's single-season record book. He drove in 50 RBIs and finished the season with 22 doubles, both of which still stand as single-season records in school-history. Opfermann ranks first all-time on the Bison career list in total bases (275) and RBIs (121) while ranking fifth in total hits (175).
Since graduating in 2000, Opfermann has been an annual contributor and active partner of the Bethany College baseball program and has also served as an assistant baseball coach at West Allegheny High School.
Cornel Crawford, Class of 1984 (Pittsburgh, Pa.), was a three-year letterman at defensive back and a member of the school's last PAC Championship football team in 1980. In both 1982 and 1983, he had six interceptions, which is tied for second all-time in school-history, and was selected All-PAC, Pittsburgh Press All-District, and All-America in both seasons. Upon graduation he held the all-time interception mark of 13 and still ranks second all-time in the category. During his four seasons from 1980-83 in the Bethany defensive backfield, the Bison had the top-ranked defense in the PAC.
He is currently the Director of Finance for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund in East Point, Georgia.
Bethany College inducted its first hall of fame class in 1977 and has added a class each year since, with the lone exception occurring in 1986, when no inductions occurred.