February 27, 2024 – Marietta, Georgia – Life University’s (Life U) Athletic Department honored four new members of the Life U Athletics Hall of Fame this past Friday, March 23 with its second annual Life U Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet in the Upper Gym of the Center for Athletics and Sport Health Science (SHS). Kaitlyn (Broughton) Slaughter (Women’s Rugby student-athlete), Dalton Bailey (Men’s Wrestling student-athlete), Graham Tutt (Men’s Soccer Head Coach), and the 1986 Men’s Club Rugby Team were the 2024 inductees.
Director of Athletics Jayme Pendergast shared her thoughts on the weekend, stating, “This fourth HOF class headlines the first-ever inductees in the sport of Women’s Rugby and Men’s Wrestling, a legendary coach who put Life University Men’s Soccer on the national radar, and a Men’s Club Rugby team that gave Life U its very first national championship – a benchmark that all teams aspire to achieve.”
Kaitlyn (Broughton) Slaughter played an integral part of the Women’s Rugby team from 2015-2018. In her first season in the Spring of 2015, she scored the game-winning try at the buzzer over the University of North Carolina propelling the fledgling team to its first XVs Final Four. She helped lead the Running Eagles to their first USA Rugby Collegiate National Sevens Championship Title in 2016 and was named the Most Valuable Player for that championship title game. She was also central in back-to-back Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s Titles in 2016 and 2017.
A force to be reckoned with as a center in XVs, she helped her team to its first D1 Elite National Championship game in the Spring of 2018 in Fullerton, California against Lindenwood University. Her excellence on the pitch resulted in her being named a three-time Collegiate All-American in both 7s and 15s (in 2015, 2016 and 2017) and nominated twice for the MA Sorenson Award for Most Outstanding Collegiate Rugby Player in the U.S. During her time at Life U, she also had the opportunity to represent the Red, White and Blue, competing for the United States in a Collegiate All-American match against Canada.
Soon after graduating with a degree in Computer Information Management, Broughton was named to the senior side National Team in the Fall of 2018 and was capped five times for the U.S. Representing the U.S. in November 2018, she recorded a try against Ireland. She is currently tied for the most XVs caps for the Life University Women’s Rugby program. Broughton’s career continues as a software developer for the state of Colorado, and she is currently playing professional rugby for the Rocky Mountain Experts RC in Premier Rugby Sevens.
Dalton Bailey was a vital part in helping build the Men’s Wrestling team on the NAIA national stage during his time at Life U from 2013-2018. He received three consecutive Mid-South Conference individual titles from 2016-2018, dominating the 197-pound division. In 2016, his success also earned him Wrestler of the Year for the Eastern Division of the Mid-South Conference. Bailey qualified for four NAIA National Championship appearances, and he became Life U’s first three-time All-American. In 2017, he became Life U’s first national finalist and in 2018, Bailey returned to the NAIA Championship and finished his collegiate career with his second-straight national runner-up finish.
Bailey has been a dedicated alum, staying involved with Life University Men’s Wrestling as an assistant coach, helping the Running Eagles win their first-ever team NAIA national championship in 2021. Bailey was also honored as a two-time Daktronics Academic All-American during his time as a student-athlete.
Coach Graham Tutt played a historic role in developing Men’s Soccer at Life University and made a huge impact with soccer in Georgia. He was born in London and moved to America in the late 1970s. Before his time coaching, Tutt was a profound goalkeeper and played professionally for many years with teams like the Columbus Magic and the Atlanta Chiefs. After his playing career ended in the 1980s, he began to run summer soccer school at Kennesaw College where he helped develop soccer players and had a positive influence on thousands of youth and teenagers who attended his camps.
In 1991, Coach Tutt developed the Men’s Soccer team at Life U where he amassed an outstanding record of 189-38-13 and guided the program to three national tournament appearances, as well as the highest ever national ranking, No. 4. Graham continued to make an impact for Georgia soccer culminating in his induction into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012. Life U honored Tutt and all his accomplishments posthumously as he passed away on June 22, 2022.
In 1986, the Men’s Club Rugby Team was split into two different teams by administration, with one team being placed into the Men’s Graduate School Division while the club team remained in the Men’s Club Division. The club team competed in the East Coast Championships Finals in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and after a hard-fought battle, they finished second. That same weekend, the Graduate School team was also invited to the USA Rugby Graduate School National Championship in Conshohocken. The team, with leadership from captain Jay Zimmerman, went on to defeat the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in the final and became the 1986 USA Rugby Graduate School National Champions. With the win, the Graduate School team became the first program to win a national championship at Life U. Team members include Jay (John) Zimmerman, Bud Frick, Andrew Lombardi, Tom Ayres, Jim Louro, David Dolan, Ed Frisbee, David Lytle, Ron Sinagra, John Grant, Kevin Jackson, David Fano, Shane Palmer, Evie Willing, Mark Grant, Yasu Tanaka, Joe Canova, David Hemberee, Vince Spivey, David Rose, Stan Melton, Chuck Chinzi, Stephen Fleisher, Thad Bosman and Ron King.
Inductee Dalton Bailey shared his thoughts about his induction into Life U’s Hall of Fame, saying, “I am grateful to be named as the first wrestler to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I’ve dedicated my life to the sport and over a decade to Life University. Both have helped me grow into the man that I am today.”
Founded in 1974, Life University is a health sciences institution most known for its College of Chiropractic, the largest single-campus College of Chiropractic in the world. Undergraduates can pursue undergraduate degrees; a pre-chiropractic, degree-seeking pathway; and graduate degrees within the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies. Some degree programs are offered to distance learners through the College of Online Education. This year, Life U celebrates its Golden Jubilee anniversary, marking 50 years in chiropractic and vitalistic healthcare education excellence.
Life University strives to empower our students to succeed both professionally and personally. At Life U, we innovate our approach to higher education, while also remaining true to our philosophical commitment to produce informed leaders who exemplify humanistic values in their professions. To achieve this goal, Life U recognizes and demonstrates its dedication through three official Life University Values: Lasting Purpose, Vitalism and Integrity.
Life U’s 110-acre campus in Marietta, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, is home to more than 2,700 undergraduate, graduate and professional students who come from all 50 United States and more than 65 countries.
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About Life University
Life University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees, and also has programmatic accreditation through the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). The mission of Life University is to empower students with the education, skills and values necessary for career success and life fulfillment, based on a vitalistic philosophy.
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