This year’s Hall of Fame inductees have shown that a star college athlete’s success doesn’t have to end after school. These alumni not only excelled in their respective sports, but went on to do well in the game of life as well.

Bob Bertsch (class of 1953) played two sports while at Loras. His talent stood out in both football and baseball.

In his sophmore year, Bertsch became a backup quarterback for Hall of Famer Jack Rohan. Set to become the No. 1 quarterback in 1951, he suffered a severe fracture to his left arm. But aided by the legendary Doc Kammer and using handball as therapy, Bertsch would prove the doctors wrong after they said he would never play again.

In 1952, he led Loras to an 8-1 season. He also became the school’s first 1,000 yard performer with a total of 1,003 yards.

On the baseball field, Berstch became the starting center fielder as a sophomore. His batting record is incomplete, but a teammate recalls that Bertsch had a batting average over .300 during his three seasons. He was also on the 1952 team that won the Iowa Conference North title with a 7-0 record.

In 1956, Bertsch received his law degree from Georgetown University, and was a staff legal officer in the U.S. Marines. Following his discharge, Bertsch started a strong law career in Dubuque, and retired in 1996.

Bertsch passed away in July of 2009, and is survived by his wife Carol and his three children, Jane, Joseph and Robert, along with eight grandchildren.

Bob Naughton (class of 1960) played junior varsity basketball his freshman year and subbed on varsity his sophomore year. Naughton played on the varsity squad his junior and senior years and scored an average of 12.9 points per game his senior year.

Naughton became the NCAA first-team all-tournament selection and had a team-high of 20 points in one game.

Upon graduation, Naughton became a naval aviator and served for 27 years in the US Navy. He toured Vietnam twice and was a POW from 1967-73. He received many awards for his bravery and commitment to his nation.

After the Navy, Naughton went on to join NASA in 1989, and became Division Chief of Aircraft Operations in Houston. He retired in 2004. He now lives in Houston with his wife Peggy and his three children, Kevin, Tim, and Mike.

John Duffy, class of 1978, joined the wrestling team as a freshman and won his first 10 matches in the 142-150 lbs weight class. Duffy ended his freshman year with a 14-4 record.

His sophomore year, Duffy compiled a record of 17-3, and went 22-2 as a junior. His senior year, Duffy won a total of 30 matches and lost 4. He became only Loras’ second All-American his senior year, thanks to his 6th place finish in the NAIA Nationals Tournament, where his weight class had 41 competitors.

Duffy still holds a career record for his junior year 22-2 season, and his .865 career winning percentage ranks fourth in school all-time records. Duffy’s winning pin in 13 seconds has gone down as one of the quickest in the program’s history. Almost every season, Duffy was the leader in takedowns and team points earned.

Coached by the legendary Pat Flanagan, Duffy was captain his senior and junior years. After graduating with a degree in accounting, Duffy continues to help wrestlers at the grade school and high school level. He is the Vice-President of Finance for DS Container, and lives in Chicago with his wife Patrice and his five children: Becky, Katy, Dolly, Dave and Nick—two of whom have played for the Loras soccer team.

Mike McDermott, a football player from the graduating class of 1982, entered Loras when its football program was being rebuilt. Mcdermott played nose tackle and defensive lineman under Coach Bob Bierie, who led the Duhawks to 19 winning seasons and 144 victories in 25 years.

“He was the best nose tackle to play that position in my years as head coach,” Bierie said. Twice McDermott was NAIA Regional Player of the Week, and senior co-captain and All-NAIA District 15. McDermott earned All-American status his senior year.

In 1981 McDermott was the main defensive reason that the Duhawks’ record was 6-3-1. McDermott also came up big with a 30-tackle game—a school record—against St. Ambrose to keep the Bell Trophy. McDermott’s 158 tackles in one season remains the school record.

Football wasn’t the only thing McDermott participated in, though. He was big in the field events on the Track and Field team, and in his senior year he was one of four male cheerleaders for basketball. He was also active in intramurals, the science club, and the Delta Sigma fraternity.

After Loras, McDermott earned a medical degree and has practiced in Chicago, where he lives with his wife Jackie and their three children: Jake, Mark and Brooke. He is also a youth coach in baseball, softball, football, and soccer.

Troy Cicero (class of 1984) was a starter on the basketball team all four years. He was a sparkplug that helped the team achieve 77 victories during that time. On the 1982-83 team, Cicero was the floor general on the team that ended with a 29-6 record, earning a spot in the NAIA national tournament.

In the 20 years since he played, Cicero’s name still holds several records. No one yet has scored more than the 1,034 points that he did during his Loras tenure, and he is in third place all-time with 198 season assists and 54 steals in 1982-83.

Cicero was an all-conference selection in his junior and senior years. He was the leader of the 1982-83 team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA before losing in the quarter finals to Ft. Hays State.

The Duhawks’ 29 victories remain a school single-season record. Cicero is No. 2 all-time in career assists (339), but this score doesn’t take into account the fact that the NCAA did not keep track of assists until Cicero’s junior year.

In 1983-84, Cicero helped his team offense to score 77.5 points a game, the third best in history at the time. Today Cicero is a church leader, as well as a mentor and role model to young boys. He is president and chief skill officer of MulticulturReal Communications, Inc. He lives in Joliet, IL with his wife Tara Cicero and his three children: Troy Jr., Terell and Taylor.

Kim (Kiner) Jacobsen jolted the track program in her freshman year, winning the 1994 Indoor NCAA Division III shot put title (45’-3/4’’). In the spring, she finished fourth nationally in the shot put (43’-11 3/4’’) and discus (143’-7’’). She also won the NCAA Division III shot put titles in 1996 outdoor and 1997 indoor when she set a meet record at 47’-8’’.

Her Nationals’ excellence included seconds in the 1996 indoor and 1995 outdoor in shot put. Her other All-American performance came in three top five finishes in the discus and shot put at Nationals.

Jacobsen was a big team player, and helped Loras win Iowan conference indoor and outdoor titles in the 1990s. In 1997, Jacobsen set the NCAA indoor record with a shot while competing with a broken toe. In total, Jacobsen reached either the indoor or oudoor NCAA finals nine times, making her a nine-time All-American in the shot put or discus. She also was the school’s first women’s national champion, winning three national titles and two-runner-up spots.

One of her more memorable events came in the final round of the 1994 NCAA Nationals. She went into the final round in third place, but would come back to win the title with a 45’- ¾” heave. In 1997, she set the NCAA Indoor record in the shot at while competing with a broken toe. The record stood for four years before Loras’ Sara Nauman broke it.

Jacobsen graduated with a history and education degree, and now is a sixth grade teacher at Henry Clay Elementary School in Chicago, where she is a volunteer and coordinator for various school groups. She lives with her husband Rob and her two children, Ryne and Kira.

To see these historic men and woman on September 19th in the Rock Bowl and attend the induction dinner, call Joyce Whelan at 563-588-7735.