WORCESTER, Mass. – A group who set numerous school records and won several conference and regional championships headline this year's class of five individuals who will be inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2021 inductees into the Hall of Fame are Joe Lilly (Class of 1966, football), Jave Meade (Class of 2004, basketball), Dan O'Donnell (Class of 1969, track and field), Amy Peluso (Class of 1988, soccer) and Ralph Willard (Class of 1967, basketball coach).

Lilly was a standout member of the Holy Cross football team during the mid-1960s. A three-year starter at tackle playing both offense and defense, he earned first team All-New England honors in 1965. Lilly also served as a team captain during his senior season, when he received the Msgr. George S. L. Connor Award as the senior who, by a vote of the varsity squad, is named the person the players are most proud of as a teammate.

Meade was a star point guard on the Crusader men's basketball teams that won three straight Patriot League Tournament championships and made three NCAA Tournament appearances from 2001-2003. Twice named first team All-Patriot League, he helped lead the team to an overall record of 79-43 during his collegiate career. Meade totaled 1,024 points 599 assists and 246 steals during his four years, to rank first all-time at Holy Cross in steals and second in assists at the time of his graduation. The first player in school or Patriot League history to record over 1,000 points and 500 assists, he went on to play professional basketball in Europe following his time with the Crusaders.

O'Donnell was a key member of the Holy Cross men's track and field team in the late 1960s. A two-time New England individual champion in 1969, he won titles in the indoor 500-meter run (1:12.8) and the outdoor 440-yard dash (47.9). O'Donnell also ran a leg on the outdoor two-mile relay team which set a program record with a time of 7:26.8 in the spring of 1969, and the outdoor one-mile relay team which won the 1969 New England outdoor championship (3:15.0).

Peluso was a star goalkeeper for the Crusader women's soccer team from 1984-1987. She helped lead the team to an overall record of 40-33-5 during her four years, including three winning seasons and two appearances in the ECAC Tournament. Peluso holds the all-time Holy Cross career records with 935 saves and a .905 save percentage, in addition to recording 21 career shutouts. A team captain during her senior year, she also holds school single-season records for both saves (272 in 1984) and save percentage (.917 in 1985).

Willard served as the head coach of the Holy Cross men's basketball team from 1999-2009, posting an overall record of 192-117 and a 95-33 mark in Patriot League play. He led the Crusaders to four Patriot League tournament titles and four trips to the NCAA Tournament, in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007. Willard also guided Holy Cross to four Patriot League regular season championships (2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007), and one appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (2005). The second all-time winningest coach at Holy Cross behind only George Blaney (357-276 / 1972-1994), he was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2001, 2005 and 2007. The Crusaders finished with a winning record in eight of Willard's 10 years at the helm, including five 20-win seasons. 

These new honorees and the Class of 2020 will be formally inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at a Varsity Club sponsored event in the fall of 2021. More details will follow in the upcoming weeks.