Hall of Fame
The 1982 men's varsity eight, a testament to Florida Tech's rich sporting legacy, was rightfully inducted into the Florida Tech Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2008. At the prestigious 1982 Dad Vail Regatta, the Panthers captured the Tom Conville Cup for varsity heavyweight crews and clinched the Jack Bratten Point Trophy for their outstanding overall regatta results.
The Panther oarsmen finished second in the freshmen heavyweight race, behind the United States Coast Guard Academy, and took first in the junior varsity heavyweight race.
That set the stage for the varsity finale. Florida Tech and Temple battled for the lead over the entire 2,000-meter distance of the course. After an initial one-seat lead in the first 500 meters, the higher-stroking Temple overtook Florida Tech, which pulled ahead 20 feet by the 1,500-meter mark. Florida Tech, seemingly biding its time until this point, drove its racing cadence to 38 strokes to the minute and edged ahead, winning by 3 seconds in 6 minutes and 8.6 seconds.
The team included Steve Stevens (Cox), Mike McDevitt (Stroke), Jim Kenny, Steve Fluhr, Greg Hogan, Gary Jacob, Scott Barberides (Bow), and Bill Jurgens (Head Coach).
