MAAC Honor Roll Inductees - Manhattan
MAAC Sports
On March 2, the MAAC will recognize 20 significant men's and women's basketball players at the first annual Honor Roll Dinner at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Two former student-athletes from each institution will be enshrined in The MAAC Experience, the league's exhibit at the Hall of Fame. Bios for each honoree will be featured on MAACSports.com as we count down to the private event, as well as the start of the 2012 MAAC Basketball Championships.
John "Jack" Powers - Manhattan College (1954-58)
John "Jack" Powers completed his collegiate career with 1,139 points and was a 1958 draft pick of the Syracuse Nationals. Powers, who was team captain his senior year, helped lead the Jaspers to three postseason appearances - two NCAA tournaments and one NIT. He began his coaching career as a high school basketball coach, but returned to the Jaspers as the head men's basketball coach in 1968. Powers led the team for 10 seasons, posting a record of 142-114. In 1973, the Jaspers won the ECAC Holiday Festival and made four appearances in the NIT. These accomplishments were achieved without a home court as Manhattan played their home games at Madison Square Garden. After leaving Manhattan, Powers paced the sidelines nine more times as the head coach of the NIT All Stars. Powers later spent nine years as the athletics director at his alma mater. During his tenure, he was also a member of the Executive Council of the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America; and was president of the Metropolitan Basketball Association and the MAAC. Additionally, Powers was Manhattan's representative to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, the sponsoring body of the NIT. He has been inducted into the Manhattan College Hall of Fame, Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, Brooklyn's Old Timer Hall of Fame, Brooklyn's Sports Foundation and the Mamaroneck High School Hall of Fame. Powers was also the winner of the NACDA/NIT Athletics Directors Award.
Sheila Tighe - Manhattan College (1980-84)
Sheila Tighe is Manhattan's all-time leader in points with 2,412 and all-time leader in career steals with 310. She played her last three seasons in the MAAC, and is the all-time leader in league history with her 22.0 points per game and ranks 10th in points with 1,871. Tighe was inducted into the Manhattan Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, and is one of only four players in conference history to earn MAAC Player of the Year Honors in back-to-back seasons (1982-83 and 1983-84). She was a three-time All-MAAC First Team member and as a senior she earned All-American Honors.