By: NYSPHSAA Staff

Latham, NY - The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has announced it will formally induct its Hall of Fame Class of 2024 on Wednesday, July 31^st at The Hyatt Long Island East End in Riverhead, NY.  The NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame, launched in 2002, is sponsored by Pupil Benefits Plan, Inc. and Crown Awards.
 
The Class of 2024 is Brian Giorgis (Coach, Section I), Roberta “Robbie” Greene (Administrator, Section IX), Mike Hart (Athlete, Section III), Greg Paulus (Athlete, Section III), Caryn Schoff-Kovatch (Athlete, Section 2), and Robert Stulmaker (Administrator, Section 2). Inductees were chosen using a two-level selection and rating process involving a screening committee and a selection committee.  Nominations were endorsed by each inductee’s member section of the Association—a preliminary requirement in the nomination process—before going onto the NYSPHSAA Screening Committee for consideration, then finally to the Selection Committee. Nominations can be submitted by anyone as long as a section endorsement letter accompanies the submission. The NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame is modeled after the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) program which recognizes individuals in the categories of athlete, coach, official, administrator and related contributor.
 
The 2024 NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame Class will be inducted on Wednesday, July 31^st with a reception at 5:30 pm and dinner to follow. Tickets and other Hall of Fame event information will be released at a later time.  
 
Brian Giorgis is one of the winningest high school girls basketball coaches in New York State. He accumulated a 451-44 career record as the head coach at Our Lady of Lourdes High School (OLL) in Section I.  Along the way, he led his teams to a record 9 NYSPHSAA State Championships, 17 NYSPHSAA Final Four appearances, 19 Sectional Championships and 9 New York State Federation Championships during a 19-year span (1983-2002). During that time, he also coached baseball, volleyball and softball at Lourdes taking those teams to the NYSPHSAA State Tournament on numerous occasions. In 1990, the only year Lourdes advanced to the State Final, Giorgis led OLL to its only NYSPHSAA Softball State Championship. A biology and health teacher at OLL for 25 years, Giorgis was inducted into the OLL Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 following an induction into the New York State Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2011.  After his career at OLL, he went on to become a successful college coach at Marist College where he racked up a 463-203 career record, 11 Conference Championships, made numerous appearances in the NCAA Tournament and was named MAAC Coach of the Year eight times between 2002-2022. Giorgis played interscholastic basketball at Cicero High School in Section III (later merged to become Cicero-North Syracuse High School) then went onto earn a bachelors degree from SUNY Cortland and a masters degree from Virginia Tech. He is retired and currently resides in Poughkeepsie, NY.
 
Roberta “Robbie” Greene is one of the most respected athletic administrators in New York State for four decades. She had a brilliant career full of leadership roles that took place in Section IX, and also served NYSPHSAA in dozens of capacities including as the longest standing member of its Executive Committee (governing board) since 1995 as the Section IX representative. Additionally, she has been the chair of the Handbook Committee since 2005 and served as a member of the NYSPHSAA Compensation, Investment, Hall of Fame and Foundation committees. Her service to NYSPHSAA came during a tremendous administrative career in the Washingtonville Central School District including roles as Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health (1996-2001), Assistant Superintendent (2001-06) and Superintendent (2006-16). Prior to administrative career, Robbie was a physical education teacher and coached basketball, volleyball and soccer (1983-96)—the latter two sports leading to numerous Coach of the Year honors. From 2000-04, Greene was honored by the New York State Health, Physical Education and Recreation (NYSHPER) with the Zone Honor Award and the Amazing Person Award. The New York State Athletic Administrators Association (NYSAAA) also honored her with the Distinguished Service Award during that time. Greene is a graduate of Jordan-Elbridge High School (Section III) where she starred in three sports before moving onto Slippery Rock State University to earn a bachelor's degree while playing for the soccer team. She was inducted into the Jordan Elbridge Hall of Fame in 1998 and Slippery Rock Ring of Honor in in 2018.   Robbie holds a master’s degree and administrative certification from SUNY New Paltz.  Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson School Study Council at Mount St. Mary College and splits her leisurely time between the Great Sacandaga Lake and Orange County.
 
Mike Hart was a record-setting running back while at Onondaga High School (Section III) where he led his teams to three NYSPHSAA State Championships and a 46-1 record from 2000-03.  Hart shattered numerous records in his four years at Onondaga including most yards in a season (3,489), most yards in a career (11,045), most 100-yard rushing games (47), most touchdowns in a season (67) and most touchdowns in a career (204) between 2000-03. In the process, Hart garnered numerous honors including three New York State Player of the Year honors and three All-State awards. His mark for most career touchdowns and points scored were also national records. Following graduation, Hart earned a full scholarship to the University of Michigan where he rushed for 41 touchdowns and set a school record in rushing yards (5,040). At Michigan, Mike was a two-time Doak Walker Award finalist for best running back in the country and finished fifth in the voting for the 2006 Heisman Trophy. After graduating from Michigan in 2008, he was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts playing three seasons including the 2010 season when the Colts lost to the Saints in the Super Bowl. Hart went onto coach at Eastern Michigan, Indiana University, Western Michigan and three years ago, returned to the University of Michigan coaching from 2021 through the 2023 season. His #32 was retired at Onondaga High School in 2014. Mike currently resides in Ann Arbor with his wife Monique and their three children.
Greg Paulus was considered the best quarterback and point guard in the state during his years at Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) in Syracuse. Paulus led CBA to its first NYSPHSAA Football State Championship, becoming the first Section III Class AA football team to win a state title. Under center, he broke state records for most touchdowns (152) and most yards (11,760) in a career and most yards in a season (3,677) while earning All-State honors from 2001-04. Additionally, Greg was recognized by Sports Illustrated as the best quarterback in the nation and collected football All-America honors from the U.S. Army, Parade and USA Today. In 2004, he received the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year (which covers all sports).  On the court, Greg accumulated 2,399 career points (12th in NYS), was named All-State four times and won New York State Mr. Basketball. In 2005, he was a McDonald’s All-American and rated as the top point guard in the country by Rivals.com. He went onto Duke on a full scholarship as their starting point guard, tallying 1,193 career points and ranks in the top ten in career assists (468), three-point field goals (210) and three-point percentage (.398). The two-time captain and two-time Academic All-American won three ACC Championships and earned numerous All-Conference honors. After graduating from Duke, Greg played one season as the Syracuse University starting quarterback, passing for 2,024 yards, 13 touchdowns and a single season school record completion percentage of 67.7%. Paulus is currently the head basketball coach at Niagara University. He and his wife, Megan, have three children Preston, Whitney and Landon.
 
Caryn Schoff-Kovatch is the all-time leading scorer (3,548 points) in girls basketball history in New York State. She earned a spot on the varsity basketball team as a 7^th grader at St. Johnsville Central High School (Section 2) where she spent six years shattering 25 Section 2 records including career points, points in a season, career rebounds and rebounds in a season from 1989-95; a period of time where her teams amassed a 146-7 record. As a sophomore and junior, she led the team to a 64-0 record, two NYSPHSAA Class D State Championships and two NYS Federation Championships. As a senior in 1995, Schoff-Kovatch averaged 36.2 points per game and 16.4 rebounds per game culminating with being named Co-Miss Basketball Player of the Year and New York State Sportswriters Player of the Year. That year she was also Salutatorian and Class President.  Caryn also lettered in soccer and softball for four years earning All-Star awards in both sports during high school. Following her decorated high school career, she earned a full scholarship to Syracuse University where she played for four years and piled up 583 points and 429 rebounds there. Caryn was named a Big East All Star, an Academic All-American and was team captain her senior year. She was later inducted into the New York State Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009. Her #32 jersey was retired at St. Johnsville the year she graduated. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse and currently resides in Louisville, KY where she is a Regional Vice President of Sales for a global medical technology company and the head varsity coach of the girls basketball team at Assumption High School. Caryn resides with her husband Eric and their daughter Kyla.
Robert Stulmaker, CAA, was a highly respected athletic administrator at Saratoga Springs High School in Section 2 from 1995-2007 and served as the NYSPHSAA Assistant Director from 2007-2015. He handled championship administration, was the liaison to the Championship Advisory Committee, coordinated officials, administered the Scholar-Athlete program and was responsible for implementing the statewide Community Service Challenge.  While at Saratoga, he was the Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health overseeing 74 athletic programs for one of the largest schools in the state. Bob was a longtime Physical Education teacher and coached varsity wrestling, varsity football and freshman baseball for the district starting in 1978 until 1995 when he took the Director position. From 1988-97, he served as the Section 2 Wrestling Coordinator and was active with many other committees in Section 2 and statewide during that time. In 2006-07, Stulmaker served as President of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association (NYSAAA). That organization honored him with the Apple Award, NIAAA State of Merit Award and a Hall of Fame induction in 2016.  Bob was inducted into the Saratoga Springs Athletic Hall of Fame (2013), the Upstate Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2016) and the Section 2 Wrestling Hall of Fame (2024). He was a three-sport athlete and graduate of Bethlehem High School in Section 2, then went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Ithaca College where he played baseball.  Furthermore, he received a school administration certification from the University at Albany. Bob is currently an Adjunct Professor at Russell Sage College and a supervisor of Physical Education student-teachers for SUNY Cortland.  He currently resides in Clifton Park with his wife Benita.