Olympians Zoe MacKinnon and Alan Pyle, along with Rhodes Scholar Kate Cochrane and Canadian national basketball team player Rob Wilson highlight the 12 Varsity Blues standouts who will be inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday, June 2.

Eight individuals, two builders and two teams will be recognized at the 25th annual event, held at Hart House on the U of T’s downtown campus.

Tickets are available at uofttix.ca, or by calling the Hart House box office (416) 978-8849. The reception will start at 6 p.m. in the Great Hall with the ceremony to follow at 7:30 p.m. in Hart House Theatre.

MacKinnon was a member of two Varsity Blues provincial and national championship field hockey teams before embarking on a highly-touted international career. She backstopped the Blues to the 1982 CIAU silver medal and was named to the tournament 11. That same year, she helped lead the team to their 18th provincial title, after allowing only four goals in 10 regular season games. MacKinnon went on to earn a spot on Canada’s 1983 World Cup team roster and then represented Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, placing fifth.

A 1972 Olympic water polo player, Pyle was a member of four consecutive Varsity Blues OQAA championship teams from 1964-68, while also competing with the Canadian national team. During his tenure with Team Canada, Alan competed at the 1967 and 1971 Pan American Games before heading to Munich for the 1972 Olympics. Pyle was also a member of four OQAA provincial and three CIAU national championship swimming teams at the University of Toronto, where he helped the Blues to back-to-back gold medals in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 1967 and 1968.

Cochrane etched her name into U of T history in leading the Varsity Blues women’s rowing team to their first OWIAA championship banner in 1990. She garnered gold medals in both the lightweight fours and eights, and went on to earn two titles at the Canadian championships. A 1991 Rhodes Scholar, she was invited to the selection camp for the 1991 Pan American Games before joining the Oxford rowing team in 1992-93.

Only the second player in Varsity Blues men’s basketball team history to be named a CIAU all-Canadian, Wilson capped off a very successful five-year career as the 1991-92 OUAA East division most valuable player. That year he led the CIAU in field goal accuracy (78.6%), while averaging 21.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. A three-time OUAA all-star, Wilson went on to play for Team Canada at the 1993 and 1995 FIBA Americas championship, finishing seventh and fifth, respectively.

Athletes joining MacKinnon, Pyle, Cochrane and Wilson at the 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony are international gymnast Alexandra Borowik, women’s soccer standout Nancy Lewis and Blues squash and tennis pioneers John Ireton and Walter Martin.

Long-time tennis head coach John Naccarato as well as former women’s T-Holders’ Association President, Sandra Turney, will be inducted in the builder category, while the 1951 Yates Cup champion football and 1986-87 Ontario and national champion women’s swimming team will also be honoured.

The Sports Hall of Fame honours U of T's greatest athletes and builders. It was established by the T-Holders' Association in 1987 as part of an ongoing effort to preserve and display the records relating to the outstanding historical tradition of athletic, academic and community leadership fostered by the University of Toronto.

Past U of T Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

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