Olivet College set to induct three into Athletic Hall of Fame

OLIVET, Mich. -- Olivet College will induct three new members, Crystal Dye, Rod Hathaway and Matt Wait, into its Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday, Sept. 11. They will be honored during halftime of the Comets’ season-opening football game versus Elmhurst (Ill.) College and then formally recognized at a dinner following the game.

Dye, a 1999 graduate of Olivet, was one of two women’s soccer players to come to Olivet from Hobe Sound, Fla. and earn a varsity letter each year. She also played four years of tennis.

In soccer, Dye quickly excelled. As a freshman and sophomore, she scored five goals and four assists each year, was named to the All-MIAA second-team and voted the team’s most valuable player. As a junior, Dye scored 11 goals and tallied five assists. She earned first-team All-MIAA honors and was named the team’s MVP for three consecutive years.

During her senior season, Dye had 25 goals and eight assists for 58 points. Her scoring helped Olivet advance to the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional for the first time in school history. For her efforts, Dye earned first-team All-MIAA honors and team co-MVP honors.

At the time of her graduation, Dye was Olivet’s career leader with 46 goals, 21 assists and 103 points. She still holds the single-game school record with five goals and 12 points.

After graduating from Olivet, Dye continued with the game of soccer. She played one year professionally with the Kalamazoo Quest before embarking on a coaching career. Dye served as head women’s soccer coach at Urbana University (Ohio) and University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), and as assistant women’s soccer coach at University of Findlay (Ohio). Currently, Dye is the head women’s soccer coach at West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

Hathaway, a 1981 graduate of Olivet, was a letterwinner on the basketball court for four years. In his career, he scored 638 points, grabbed 274 rebounds and dished out 262 assists. Hathaway’s best season was his sophomore year, averaging 12.2 points per game.

Off the basketball court, Hathaway was a member of Kappa Sigma Alpha and the Student Judicial Board, wrote for the Echo and served as a resident assistant in Shipherd Hall.

Hathaway graduated from Olivet with a bachelor’s degree in political science. For almost 20 years, he has worked in the insurance industry. Currently, he serves as vice president and principal owner for Buiten & Associates, LLC in Grand Rapids. Hathaway has also been a senior underwriter for Amerisure Insurance Company and New Hampshire Insurance Company.

Hathaway’s passion for basketball has remained strong over the years. He has supported the Olivet basketball programs in many different ways, as both a recruiter and philanthropist. Hathaway was also an assistant coach for the USAAI boys’ basketball team, which won the gold medal at the 2009 and 2010 World Games in Klagenfurt, Austria. He is president of ACB Hoops, a non-profit spring and summer competitive travel basketball organization.

In addition, Hathaway continues to serve Olivet as a member of the board of trustees.

Wait, a 1999 graduate of Olivet was a four-year letterwinner on the men’s soccer field for Olivet. As a senior, he posted single-season records with 17 goals, 10 assists and 44 points. Wait led all MIAA players with 14 goals during league play and was named to the All-MIAA team.

Despite splitting time in goal and in the field for most of his collegiate career, Wait ended an outstanding four years with the second-best totals in school history with 26 goals, 19 assists and 71 points. In addition, he was named the team’s most valuable player in 1995, 1996 and 1998.

Wait also excelled in the classroom and graduated summa cum laude. He received the Donald A. Morris award for being one of the top five seniors.

After graduating from Olivet, Wait stayed to serve as an assistant men’s soccer coach for two years before being promoted to the head coaching position in 2001. He held that position for four years.

Wait continues to serve Olivet as an assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies, director of judicial affairs and assistant women’s tennis coach. In addition, he earned a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2003.