Class of 2022 Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame inductees announced

Four members of the University Liggett School community who exemplify athletic excellence and character will be inducted into University Liggett School’s Alumni 2022 Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, October 14 at the Boll Campus Center.

These four outstanding alumni athletes have been selected:

Bruce Birgbauer, a 1960 graduate of Grosse Pointe University School (GPUS), played football, basketball and tennis for four years. He played on the 1957, 1958 and 1959 state champion tennis teams and was a co-captain and finalist in state doubles in 1960. During his senior year, Birgbauer lettered in four sports and was a finalist in the Detroit Junior District Golf Championship. He played varsity tennis and varsity squash at Williams College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and he also played squash while at Harvard Law School. Upon returning to Michigan in 1967, Birgbauer continued to play competitive squash, and he soon became nationally ranked in singles and doubles. He won 16 State of Michigan and Western squash championships, eight in singles and eight in doubles where he partnered with George Haggarty ‘59 GPUS. He served as President of both the Michigan and Western Squash Racquet Associations and was elected to The Jesters Club, an honorary squash racquets society headquartered in London. He also won club championships in golf and tennis, and has had six holes in one.

Kevin Whitfield, a 1991 ULS graduate, played varsity football and earned All-State honors in 1988, 1989 and 1990. He was first team All-State in 1990. He was a three-year All-East honoree, and a three-year All-Conference honoree in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference (MIAC) honoree and was the football team MVP in 1990. He was a three-year letter winner on the varsity basketball team and earned an All-State Honorable Mention for the 1990-91 season. Whitfield played football at Wayne State University from 1991-94. In 1994, he was an All-Conference receiver in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC.) Post college he turned semi-pro and was a receiver for the Pontiac Chargers for three seasons. He also played two seasons with the Michigan Bearcats and one season with the Detroit Buccaneers.

Emmet “Tripp” Tracy III, a 1992 ULS graduate and so-called “Liggett Lifer,” made his mark in hockey, and lacrosse. He was the ULS goaltender on the 1989-1990 state championship team and earned All-State honors that year. He was a three-year member of the ULS lacrosse team and earned All-State honors. Tracy went on to play varsity hockey for four years at Harvard University, where he shared goaltending responsibilities his first two years, but earned the starting goaltender spot his junior and senior year. In fact, Tracy was the starting goaltender when Harvard beat Boston University at the ‘93 Boston Beanpot and was nominated to the All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team during the 1992-1993 season. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1993 NHL entry draft and played professional hockey from 1996-1998 with the Carolina Hurricanes, and in the AHL in Springfield, New Haven and Richmond. After retiring from professional hockey in 1998, Tracy worked briefly for CNN before rejoining the Hurricanes organization as an announcer for the 1998-1999 season. He has been with the Hurricanes broadcasting team (TV and Radio) ever since and is part of one of the most popular NHL Broadcast duos in the country. He was also part of NBC Sports TV during the NHL Playoffs from 2014-2015.

Monte Squiers, a 2007 ULS graduate, was a four year varsity soccer player who started and played the full 80 minutes in 81 of 83 matches over four years. Squiers was instrumental in the teams’ state championship 1-0 win during sophomore year, when Monte helped shutdown Kalamazoo Hackett’s high-powered offense. Squiers earned All-District, All-Regional, and All-State first team honors during junior and senior years. Squiers also played junior varsity basketball for one year, varsity basketball for three years and varsity hockey for four years. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Monte played varsity soccer for four years (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), played varsity hockey for two years and varsity lacrosse for one year. Monte was also on varsity crew for one year while at MIT. Squiers then went on to play club hockey for two years at the University of Vermont while in Medical School.

The Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame honors and celebrates the rich athletic history of University Liggett School and its predecessor schools. The award recognizes alumni who have displayed solid character and citizenship while at University Liggett School or one of its predecessor schools, had an exceptional athletic record while in school and have achieved distinguished post-graduate athletic competition or coaching.

The 2022 Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame inductees were reviewed and selected by the Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, which comprises inductees, past and current coaches, our athletic department staff, and our alumni relations team.