Sandie Capifali & Kashif Hameed Named Iona College's 2016 MAAC Honor Roll Inductees
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Iona College’s honorees to be inducted in the MAAC Honor Roll. The honorees will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on October 15.
Each member institution of the MAAC honors one male and one female from its basketball “family” as part of the 2016 induction class. A dinner event will be on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Court of Dreams to recognize the Honor Roll inductees.
Each honoree will be profiled in the game program for the 2017 MAAC Basketball Championships, and will also be featured in a video display at “The MAAC Experience.”
Sandie Capifali – 1974-1984
Sandie Capifali was a catalyst in the creation of the Iona College women’s basketball program in the early 1970’s. Following the pioneering work of Iona Goal Club Hall of Fame members Jeanne Morris and Janice Ghiorsi, Capifali was hired as the head coach for the Maroon & Gold women’s basketball team in 1973. From that moment on, she pushed the program forward and found early success as the Maroon & Gold’s leader on the sideline. In her first season, Iona went 12-2, while winning the Dominican College Invitational Tournament.
From 1974 through 1984, Capifali led the Gaels to an overall 141-122 (.536) record. Iona joined the MAAC in its inaugural season of 1981-82 and she led the program in the league in her final three seasons as head coach.
Kashif Hameed – 1995-1999
Kashif Hameed ’99 was part of one of the Iona College men’s basketball program’s most successful stretch during his time with the Gaels from 1995-99. Iona won back-to-back MAAC regular season championships during his freshman and sophomore campaigns in 1995-96 and 1996-97. The program earned at-large bids to the National Invitation Tournament against Saint Joseph’s and Connecticut those seasons.
As a junior, Hameed led the Gaels to a MAAC tournament title and a berth in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Iona drew Syracuse in a first round matchup in the South region at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
Hameed earned All-MAAC honors in 1997 and 1998 and was named the 1998 MAAC Player of the Year. In 2010, Hameed joined the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame as the 25th member of the men’s basketball program to receive the distinction.