Columbia International celebrates a decade of athletics with its inaugural Hall of Fame induction

CIU celebrated a decade of athletic excellence with its inaugural Hall of Fame Banquet. Daniel Mallard (center, wearing blue jacket, holding portrait), former CIU men’s soccer player, was CIU’s first Hall of Fame inductee.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (courtesy ciu.edu) — Over 200 people filled the Moore Fitness Center to celebrate a decade of athletic excellence at Columbia International University. The September event was the first-ever CIU Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet as the Rams instituted the CIU Athletics Hall of Fame, inducted their first Hall of Fame honoree, and paid tribute to the 2012 men’s soccer team and cross country teams, CIU’s first intercollegiate athletic teams.

Former CIU men’s soccer player Daniel Mallard was chosen by the CIU Athletics Hall of Fame Committee as the first inductee into the Hall of Fame.

Mallard scored the first goal in CIU men’s soccer history on Aug. 25, 2012, in a 1-0 win over Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, Georgia). The goal would be just the beginning of a decorated career as Mallard is still the all-time leading scorer in program history with 39 career goals and 93 points.

Mallard continues to use sports as a way to reach others for Christ, serving as the camp director for faith-based professional soccer team the Chicago Eagles and as the athletic director at Clapham Christian Classical School in Wheaton, Illinois.

Continue reading more about the CIU Athletics Hall of Fame induction on the CIU Rams website.

The event also kicked-off a year-long celebration of CIU’s 100th anniversary.