1975 AIC Football Team to be inducted into Athletics Hall of Fame

The team’s history-making season will be honored during the College’s 2025 Homecoming

SPRINGFIELD, MA – The American International College (AIC) Department of Athletics will induct the 1975 Football Team into the AIC Athletics Hall of Fame during the College’s 2025 Homecoming, recognizing the squad that set a program-best 11-game winning streak—a record that still stands today. Widely considered “The Greatest Team Ever” at AIC, the honor comes on the fiftieth anniversary of their historic season.

The tribute will take place during halftime of the Homecoming football game between the Yellow Jackets and Bentley University on Saturday, September 27, at Ronald J. Abdow Field. 1975 Co-Captains Fran Lavigueur ’76 and Dave Solheim ’76 will lead the honorary coin toss at noon.

“Celebrating the success of one of the most storied football teams in AIC history during their fiftieth anniversary is an honor I am excited to share,” said Director of Athletics Rob Kearney, who also serves on the Hall of Fame Committee. “This team led one of the most successful on-field campaigns we have ever seen, and their brotherhood coming from those years is one to cherish. Sharing inspiring stories like theirs will only motivate our current student-athletes to be their best and compete at the highest level. This team set a precedent we want to emulate to bring back that level of success to the football field.”

Led by AIC Hall of Fame Head Coach and administrator Milt Piepul, the 1975 football team entered the campaign with high expectations after closing out the 1974 season with a three-game win streak. Few could have predicted, however, the level of success that followed.

The season opened with a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over West Chester University, with two late scores securing a 13–9 win. Quarterback Jim Jagiello ’77 connected with Harold Anderson ’77 for a 76-yard touchdown pass in one of the game’s defining plays. Jagiello repeated the late-game heroics at Norwich University, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 31–24 win.

Momentum continued with back-to-back shutouts: a 14–0 win over Amherst College and a 29–0 drubbing of Northeastern University at the then–John Homer Miller Field. The offense remained dominant, topping 30 points in wins over Cortland State, Springfield College, and Central Connecticut State. A hard-fought 17–14 victory over Southern Connecticut State marked the team’s eighth win of the season—a program record at the time—and extended its overall winning streak to eleven games, still the longest in program history.

Though the Yellow Jackets fell in their finale at C.W. Post (now Long Island University), the season’s remarkable run cemented 1975 as the best year in the program’s history since it began varsity competition in 1934.

As was typical of the era, the rushing attack was central to the team’s success, with seniors Greg Davis ’76 and Tim Rehm ’76 each averaging more than seventy rushing yards per game. Jagiello contributed in the air, throwing for 1,353 yards and ten touchdowns. His favorite target was Tom Peno ’78, who snared thirty-three catches for 419 yards.

Defensively, AIC was equally strong, holding the opposition to just fifteen touchdowns and an average of 12.1 points per game, while Yellow Jacket rushers alone accounted for seventeen touchdowns. All-American and co-captain Fran Lavigueur ’76 anchored the defense, forcing seven fumbles in nine games, with linebacker Ken Buckley ’77 posting 144 tackles and three interceptions – making scoring for the opposition nearly impossible.

Other standout players included Terry Randolph ’77, who earned All–New England honors despite missing part of the season due to injury, and Butch Campagna ’77, who went on to set the College’s single-season sacks record with seventeen before playing professionally in the CFL and NFL.

Now, five decades later, the College is recognizing the team with its highest honor: induction into the AIC Athletics Hall of Fame. Lavigueur summed up the feeling of the team when he said, “It means an awful lot. We were a bunch of individuals, but we came together. Everything that we had heard about being a team started coming to fruition: ‘none of us are as good as all of us;’ ‘my brother next to me is all I care about right now.’ It’s the team being honored – our success is the direct result of the team being dedicated to each other and a common goal. As a group, we came together and were able to achieve this.”

The induction of the 1975 football team will be a highlight of AIC’s Homecoming celebrations, offering alumni, students, and the wider community an opportunity to honor the legacy of Yellow Jacket athletics. The College invites all members of the AIC family to join in recognizing this historic team and celebrating the enduring spirit of “One Hive, One Family.”