Announcing the Newest Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame Class!

From left: Denise Dallamora, Mike Coven, Pete Varney and Bill Shipman

WALTHAM, Mass. – As part of the 2020 Virtual Homecoming celebration, the Brandeis University Department of Athletics has announced the next class of Hall of Famers, who will be inducted formally at the next in-person Hall of Fame Ceremony. The newest members of the Hall of Fame will be a quartet of legendary coaches who have recently retired after 30 or more years with the Judges: baseball coach Pete Varney, who coached for 34 years and retired in 2015; men's soccer coach Mike Coven, who retired in 2016 after 44 seasons; fencing coach Bill Shipman, who retired in 2018 after 37 years; and women's soccer coach Denise Dallamora, who coached for 40 seasons before retiring last spring. As a group, the four coaches were responsible for more than 2300 victories, 94 postseason berths, 62 NCAA Championship appearances, eight ECAC Championships, six trips to the NCAA championship weekend and 45 All-Americans

Coven started at Brandeis in 1973 and accumulated 526 wins in his tenure at Brandeis, ranking sixth all-time in Division III and 10th among coaches of all divisions at the time of his retirement. He was one of two coaches to win a national championship, taking the team to the title in 1976. Coven also reached the Final Four in 1984, when they lost in the championship game, 1981 when they finished in third, and during his final season in 2016. In all, he led the Judges to the postseason in 25 of his 44 seasons, including his final seven in a row. His players earned 18 All-America awards and two CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. In addition to his soccer duties at Brandeis, Coven also coached the men's lacrosse team in the 1970s and was an active member of the physical education staff.

Dallamora came to Brandeis in 1980 and was the first and only head coach in Brandeis women's soccer history at the time of her retirement last spring. She totaled 378 career wins, 13th all-time in Division III history and 23rd among all divisions. Dallamora was one of just three NCAA women's soccer coaches who spent 40 years at one school. She had the first women's team in school history to reach the NCAA Division III tournament, achieving the feat in 1988. In all, Dallamora guided her squad to the postseason in 20 of her 40 seasons, including 15 of the final 17. In 2016, she led the Judges to their first-ever Final Four, earning United Soccer Coaches National Division III Coach of the Year honors that season.  In 2017, the organization named scholarship in her honor, granting one female coach free tuition to a United Soccer Coaches' coaching course or to the national convention in January. Dallamora coached six All-Americans and one CoSIDA Academic All-American. In addition to her soccer duties, Dallamora has held many roles in the department - from athletic trainer, physical education instructor and at one point, the chair of physical education.

Shipman joined Brandeis in 1981 and guided Brandeis to more than 750 wins while coaching the men's and women's fencing teams, more than any other coach in program history. He led the team to five University Athletic Association titles and 13 men's, women's and combined Northeast Fencing Conference championships in his tenure. He coached two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 18 All-Americans over the years, including Tim Morehouse '00, Brandeis's only Olympian, a silver-medalist in Beijing in 2008. Shipman was a three-time member of the NCAA Fencing Committee, including in 1994, when Brandeis hosted the NCAA National Collegiate Championships for the first of four times. Shipman led Brandeis fencers to the NCAAs 26 times in his tenure, including a 10th-place finish in 1989 and 16 total top-20 finishes. Shipman also served as Brandeis's golf coach for 10 seasons from 2001 through 2010, and was the department's intramural coordinator from 1984 through 1993.

Varney, who became head baseball coach in 1982 and retired in 2015, earned 705 career victories, the most of any coach to lead a single team in Brandeis history. He retired 29th on the Division III career wins list, and fourth among coaches from New England. He guided the Judges to 21 postseason berths in his 34 seasons, including two ECAC titles and 12 NCAA tournament berths. Varney led the 1999 squad to the New England Regional Championship, only the second Brandeis baseball team to advance to the Division III World Series. Varney coached three American Baseball Coaches Association All-Americans, one CoSIDA Academic All-American and 12 student-athletes who went on to play professionally, including Nelson Figueroa '98, Brandeis's only major leaguer.


Click the links below to read more about each soon-to-be Hall of Famer!

HALL OF FAME SPOTLIGHT: PETE VARNEY

HALL OF FAME SPOTLIGHT: DENISE DALLAMORA

HALL OF FAME SPOTLIGHT: MIKE COVEN

HALL OF FAME SPOTLIGHT: BILL SHIPMAN