Legendary former head football coach and athletic director Jerry Boyes will headline a decorated class of five inductees into the Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on September 26.

Jacey Brooks (Basketball, '07), Mike DeLaVergne (Hockey, '17), Luke Pavone (Soccer, '17) and Melissa Smith (Soccer, '17) will join Boyes in this year's induction class. 
Boyes was a fixture at Buffalo State from 1986-2020, initially hired as the school's head football coach and in short order put the Bengals on the map as one of the premier college football programs in New York State.

After establishing the program's roots over his first four years, Boyes led the Bengals to a breakthrough campaign in 1990 with a 7-2 record, marking the team's first-ever winning season. What followed was a "decade of dominance" with 10 more winning seasons, seven NCAA tournament appearances, three ECAC Bowl Championships and 85-30 (.739) record during the 11-year span.  Boyes was named the ECAC Upstate Coach of the Year three times and in 1995 was honored as the CNN Division III Coach of the Year.

Boyes also was promoted to Assistant Director of Athletics in 1991 and then became the school's Director of Athletics in 1999.  Following the 2000 football season, Boyes stepped down from his coaching role to focus solely on leading the athletics department. 

In his role as director, Boyes has been the driving force behind several significant upgrades within the department of athletics, including the elevation of all head coaches to full-time status and he oversaw the addition of the women's ice hockey program.  Boyes also led major facility upgrades, including the construction of the softball field, installation of turf on Coyer Field, the construction of the Coyer Field press box, the major renovation of Houston Gym, the installation of new bleachers in the Sports Arena and the renovation of team locker rooms. 

Brooks played four seasons on the hardwood for the Bengals and ranks seventh in school history with 1,219 career points.  A two-time All-SUNYAC performer, she also ranks 16th in school history with 554 rebounds and holds school records for 3-point percentage in a season (.434), free throw percentage in a season (.870) and free throw percentage in a career (.845).

Following graduation from Buffalo State, Brooks has forged a successful coaching career, currently serving as the head coach at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois University.  Her coaching resume also includes stops as an assistant coach at Division I St. Bonaventure, Canisius, Bowling Green and University at Buffalo, as well as serving five seasons as head coach at Division III Cortland where she was two-time SUNYAC Coach of the Year and won the SUNYAC regular season title in 2022 and the conference tournament championship in 2023.

DeLaVergne played four seasons at Buffalo State and was a two-time SUNYAC Goalie of the Year as well as a third team All-American during his senior campaign.  He holds the school records for career save percentage (.926), career goals against average (2.23), wins in a season (17), goals against average in a season (1.98) and save percentage in a season (.932).  He also ranks second in school history in career shutouts (6), career wins (37), and shutouts in a season (3 – twice).

After graduation, DeLaVergne went on to play parts of four seasons of professional hockey in the Southern Professional league with the Macon Mayhem and the Huntsville Havoc where he helped the team capture back-to-back league championships.

Pavone transferred to Buffalo State from Division I UMass with just two seasons of eligibility remaining, but made the most of his time as a Bengal earning a pair of first team All-SUNYAC honors.  Pavone helped transform a men's soccer program that had just three winning seasons in the previous 30 seasons before his arrival into a program that has now posted winning records in nine of the past 10 seasons.

Pavone tallied 19 goals and 9 assists for 47 points in 38 career games.  During his first season in 2015, he was named All-East Region third team after leading the Bengals in scoring.  After suffering a season-ending injury in the opening game of the 2016 campaign, he returned in 2017 for his final year and was named second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches after once again leading the Bengals in scoring.

Following his collegiate career, Pavone has played professionally with Hapoel Petah Tikva FC in Israel, the Richmond Kickers of the USL1 and most recently Phuket FC in Thailand.
Smith also played just two seasons at Buffalo State after transferring from the University of Pitt-Bradford.  Despite playing just two years, Smith ranks sixth in school history with 64 points including 25 goals and 14 assists in just 41 career games.

The two-time SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year led the Bengals to their only conference championship in 2016, scoring the only goal in the title game, earning SUNYAC Championship MVP recognition.  Smith was also a two-time NSCAA All-East Region honoree, garnering first-team honors as a senior.

Buffalo State Athletics will hold its 2026 Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union.  This is a semi-formal event.
 
Itinerary
6:30 p.m. – Cocktail reception with light hors d'oeuvres (Fireside Lounge)
7:30 p.m. – Buffet Dinner (Social Hall)
8:00 p.m. – Induction Ceremony (Social Hall)
** Concluding with coffee, tea and dessert reception
  
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED NOT LATER THAN SEPT. 16

Cost: $50 - includes dinner, dessert and two drink tickets
 
To make reservations, contact Jeff Ventura via email venturjm@buffalostate.edu or by calling (716) 878-6030