By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Love. For some, it is simply an intense feeling of deep affection. For others, it is a great interest and pleasure in something. And for Ray Hebert it is simply getting up each day and going to a favorite destination.
Thomas More University.
The 82-year-old Hebert, PhD and Professor of History at the school, has been making that trip for 49 years.
“I interviewed for an Assistant Professor of History position in April of 1975,” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
Since then, Dr. Ray Hebert has served as Chairman of the History Department, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, and Dean of Summer Sessions. He founded – and ran – the James Graham Brown Scholars Program, in 2000.
“Individuals in the program,” he said, “are challenged to be virtuous scholars. High School seniors of exceptional ability are eligible to apply for admission to the James Graham Brown Scholars Program. Students accepted into the program can receive full-tuition scholarships.”
Presently, he heads the William T. Robinson Institute for Religious Liberty at the school.
In April 2023, Thomas More University published Thomas More University at 100: Purpose, People and Pathways to Student Success – its centennial history as Villa Madonna College (1921-1968), Thomas More College (1968-2018), and Thomas More University (since 2018) in 320 pages, 95 articles, 29 chapters; and over 400 glossy photos. These stories were orginally published in the Northern Kentucky Tribune‘s Our Rich History.
“Sports play a significant role in our society,” writes Joseph L. Chillo, LPD, 15th President of Thomas More University. “It also shapes our institutions.”
And for almost a century, students at Villa Madonna College, Thomas More College, and Thomas More University have played sports as an integral part of their collegiate experience, the President continued.
Today Thomas More University has over 600 student athletes competing in NCAA Division II and intercollegiate sports, Chillo noted.
And that interest, participation, and love was the impetus for Hebert to write his 97-page glossy text – Student-Athletes & Athletic Programs at Thomas More University, Post-World War II to 2023. The book was edited by Paul A. Tenkotte.
“Just about 50 percent of our full-time students are athletes,” Hebert told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “I wanted to focus on the greatest athletes and teams of distinction at Thomas More.”
He says the book is good for potential recruits and a great way to spread the word of Thomas More University athletics.
“I did it,” he said, “For the love of Thomas More University. It took me about six-to-eight months for the 22 articles.” (These articles were also orginally published in the Tribune‘s Our Rich History.)
Although a history buff, Hebert is no stranger to athletics. He graduated from St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, in 1964 where he played two years of basketball. He then played one summer of semi-professional baseball for the minors of the Boston Red Sox.
Hebert cites Rick Hughes, a talented Thomas More basketball player in the ‘90s – by way of Walnut Hills High School – as a highlight in the book.
“He played four years for us,” Hebert said, “And was prolific enough to have scored 2,605 points between 1992 and 1996. That is still over 500 points more than the second in that category.”
Hughes averaged 24.5 points per-year, Hebert says. “He’s been sort of forgotten, as he never played in a national tournament game for the school.” After his senior season, he was selected by the Connecticut Pride with the 26th overall pick in the 1996 Continental Basketball Association (CBA) draft. While playing in Lebanon in 1998, Hughes averaged 36.3 points-per-game, the tops of any pro league in the world that year.
The Utah Jazz put Hughes on their pre-season roster prior to that season and on Wednesday October 13, 1999 he entered an NBA game for the first time, scoring four points. On Friday, October 15, 1999 he scored 19 points against the Seattle Supersonics and was featured in the highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
George “Cubby” Lyon, who in the 1950s writes Hebert, was probably Villa Madonna College’s first baseball team member. “He later rose through the ranks of the Boston Red Sox minor league system,” Hebert said. “Another forgotten, but important part of our athletic history.
“It is important to recognize these athletes and their contributions,” Hebert said.
He did. With much love.
Student-Athletes & Athletic Programs at Thomas More University, Post-World War II to 2023 is $19.99 and available through the All-Saints Club at athletics@thomasmore.edu and the Thomas More University website.