Athletic Hall of Fame
The Gustavus Adolphus College Hall of Fame was established in 1978 at which time 19 "Charter Members" were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. As of the fall of 2022, 348 individuals (321 athletes, 16 coaches and 11 benefactors) have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The former Hall of Fame room on the second floor of the Lund Center was originally partially endowed by the families of both Dwight Holcombe's (the only father/son combination holding membership in the Hall). The hardwood plaque upon which the individual plates are permanently displayed, now in the Hall of Champions, was donated by the family of former football coach and Hall of Fame member Jocko Nelson, who passed away in 1978.
Raman Jayapathy
Tennis
Inducted: 2019
A lightning rod of energy and fierce competitor, Raman Jayapathy was a two-time All-America
honoree (1984, 1985) during the Golden Era of Gustavus tennis in the early 1980s. He was a
key contributor on teams that posted four top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships including
fifth place in 1981, first in 1982, second in 1984, and seventh in 1985.
During his second season on the squad, Jayapathy helped the Gusties capture the 1982 NCAA championship, edging host Kalamazoo College. In 1984, Jayapathy and doubles partner Riley Horan compiled a record of 20-13 and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship before falling to the top-seeded team from UC-San Diego. In 1985, he compiled a singles mark of 19-9 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship before losing to the defending national champion. During his standout career, Jayapathy compiled a record of 72-33 in singles and 67-25 in doubles. He won three MIAC singles titles (#6 in 1981, #4 in 1984, and #2 in 1985) and one MIAC doubles title (#3 in 1985) and was a member of four MIAC championship teams (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985).
After graduating in 1985 with a major in political science, Jayapathy played professional tennis from 1985 to 1987. From 1997-2004, he was the chair of the Junior and Junior High Performance Section Committee of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Northern section and was on the Board of Directors. From 2003 to 2018, Jayapathy served as the Tennis Director at Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minn. Since 1994, Jayapathy has organized men’s tennis programs at Flagship Athletic Club in Eden Prairie. He earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1990 and has been self-employed since 1992, specializing in corporate, business, and estate law. Raman lives in Eden Prairie.