University Liggett School celebrates Class of 2022 Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame inductees
University Liggett School kicked off 2022 Homecoming Weekend activities with the 12th-annual Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony. At the Friday night ceremony the school honored Bruce Birgbauer '60 GPUS (Grosse Pointe University School), Kevin Whitfield ‘91, Emmet “Tripp” Tracy III ‘92 and Monte Squiers ‘07. Including this year’s inductees, there have been 52 alumni inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, to date.
University Liggett School Head of School Bart Bronk kicked off the program by sharing with attendees the many new developments at the school, including status updates on the fall sports teams that are likely to advance to championship competition. He also shared with the crowd that our Upper School robotics team, Knight Vision, won the world championship in the spring of 2022.
This year's attendees are as follows:
Bruce Birgbauer ‘60 GPUS, a University Liggett School predecessor school, played football, basketball and tennis for four years. 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. In his speech, Birgbauer noted, “What was most important was that the school was an encouraging community. The loyalty to the school is incredible.”
Kevin Whitfield ‘91 played varsity football and earned All-State honors in 1988, 1989 and 1990. He was also 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, and 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. Whitfield shared, ”The teachers at Liggett helped me tap into a part of me I could use on the field – passion.”
Emmet “Tripp” Tracy III ‘92 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. Tripp went on to play varsity hockey for four years at Harvard University and was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1993 NHL entry draft and played professional hockey from 1996-1998 with the Carolina Hurricanes. Tripp rejoined the Hurricanes organization as an announcer for the 1998-1999 season. Tracy, who was live-streamed from San Diego where he was calling a game, said, “I can’t even begin to quantify what it means to me that my parents sacrificed for me to go to Liggett.”
Monte Squiers ‘07 was a four-year varsity soccer player who started and played the full 80 minutes in 81 of 83 matches over four years. 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, played varsity hockey for two years and varsity lacrosse for one year. Monte was also on varsity crew for one year while at MIT. He said, “Liggett encouraged me to take full advantage of academic, artistic and athletic opportunities.”
The Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame is a warm celebration of the many outstanding alumni athletes and the rich athletic history at University Liggett School. Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are reviewed and selected by the Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, which comprises inductees, past and current coaches, and the school’s athletic department and alumni relations manager.
See photos from the ceremony here.