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Coach Gravel Formally Inducted Into MASCAC Hall of Fame

Westfield State University President Dr. Linda Thompson presents late coach Jerry Gravel's MASCAC Hall of Fame plaque to Jerry's wife Joan and family at the 2023 Gravel Scholarship Golf Tournament at Far Corner Golf Club in West Boxford, Mass. on Sept. 9, 2023. Pictured from right are Susan and David Froment, president Thompson, Mark Gravel (Jerry's son) Joan Gravel, Heather Gravel (Jerry's daughter), Shane Gravel (Jerry's Grandson) and Jim Gravel (Jerry's brother).
Westfield State University President Dr. Linda Thompson presents late coach Jerry Gravel's MASCAC Hall of Fame plaque to Jerry's wife Joan and family at the 2023 Gravel Scholarship Golf Tournament at Far Corner Golf Club in West Boxford, Mass. on Sept. 9, 2023. Pictured from right are Susan and David Froment, president Thompson, Mark Gravel (Jerry's son) Joan Gravel, Heather Gravel (Jerry's daughter), Shane Gravel (Jerry's Grandson) and Jim Gravel (Jerry's brother).
Posted: Oct 20, 2023

Former Westfield State Athletic Hall of Fame track and field coach and faculty member Jerry Gravel was formally inducted (posthumously) into the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on September 9, 2023 as part of the ceremonies at the Gravel Scholarship Golf Tournament, managed by coach Gravel's alumni and the Westfield State Foundation, Inc.

Westfield State University president Dr. Linda Thompson presented the award to Joan Gravel '89, Jerry's wife, while surrounded by family members and alumni after the tournament.

Gravel's selection to the Hall of Fame was announced in May, along with forrmer Owls basketball All-American Russell Thompson.

The awards are presented by each inductee's institution at a public event.

Gravel was previously inducted to the Westfield State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.  His 1980 New England Division III championship men's track and field team was also inducted into the Westfield State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, during coach Gravel's last visit to campus.    Jerry passed in 2019 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. 

The Gravel Scholarship Golf Tournament was renamed in Jerry's honor after his passing.  The long-standing tournament was previously named the Dan Doyle Scholarship Tournament, and built one of the largest scholaship funds held by the Westfield State Foundation, Inc., providing several scholarhips annually for Westfield State University students.

Knowing the importance of scholarships at Westfield State and the lasting legacy they have for students, the track and field and cross-country alumni rallied around Coach Gravel's passing to honor him with an endowed fund. Coach Gravel had been instrumental in working with his student-athletes and alumni to keep Dan Doyle's memory alive through an annual golf tournament and the group felt it fitting to now move their efforts to raising funds in Coach Gravel's memory.

The tournament is annually played at the Far Corner Golf Club in West Boxford, Mass., in early September.

Gravel stayed active after his retirement from Westfield State, annually returning for the golf tournament as well as frequently for the Owls' James Earley Invitational cross country meet, or the Gravel Invitational track and field meet in the spring, or whenever one of his many alumni were inducted into Westfield State's hall of fame.

Westfield State named the outdoor track in his honor in 2009 in conjunction with an alumni fundraising campaign that formed an endowed fund to support the track and field programs.

Gravel is the fifth Owl to be inducted into the MASCAC hall of fame, joining former athletic director Paul Bogan, current New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette '86, and national champion cross country and 3000 meter runner Cindy Sturm Menard '83, and national champion hammer thrower Claudine Rice Poplawski '95.

Thompson will be formally inducted on November 10, 2023, in conjunction with Westfield State men's basketball's season-opener in the Hampton Inn / Rick Martin Invitational tournament at the Woodward Center, as the Owls host William Paterson (NJ) University at 5:30 p.m.