Hall of Fame
The 1988 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. In 1988, the Panthers won the 50th anniversary of the Dad Vail Regatta, ending Temple's five-year reign as the men's varsity heavyweight rowing champion of the event.
After two days of elimination heats, it all came down to this afternoon's final. Never headed after a blazing 43-stroke starting sprint, the Panthers opened a quarter boat-length lead on Temple in the first 500 meters. At the 1,200-meter mark of the 2,000-meter course, Florida Tech had a half-boat-length lead when Temple raised its rating to 37 in an attempt to recoup its deficit. The Panthers won by 2.11. seconds, or a half boat-length, in the time of 5:42.03.
The Florida Tech rowers also won the overall men's point trophy with 34 points.
The team included Jim Barrett (Cox), Wayne McFarlane (Stroke), Andy Loeffler, Rob Mildish, Jim McDevitt, Scott Killen, Chris Cornell, Art Schofield, Jim Petrowski (Bow), and Bill Jurgens (Head Coach).
