CSUN’s Athletics Hall of Fame made its return in February after a seven-year hiatus. The 2025 class, consisting of three individuals and one team, was inducted during a night of Matador pride and celebration on Feb. 28 at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills.
This year’s inductees are Channon Fluker ’19 (Women’s Basketball), Don Strametz (Track and Field/Cross Country coach), Joseph Vaughn (Football, posthumous) and the 1987 National Champion Softball team.
Decked out in their CSUN gear, the honorees and their loved ones arrived at the ceremony filled with energy and excitement. As they walked in, some chanted “CSUN!” while another group responded, “You know!”
“They’re a really special bunch that have accomplished incredible things and have made an impact,” said Susan King, assistant athletics director for external relations.
The Hall of Fame ceremony has traditionally been held every other year since 2018 (2010 to 2018), but COVID-19 and changes in administration led to a number of delays. “The tradition and its return were crucial to CSUN Athletics and the Matador community,” said Director of Athletics Shawn Chin-Farrell.
“I feel so blessed and honored to be the director bringing back the Hall of Fame,” Chin-Farrell said. “It is a time of reflection for our CSUN community on what has been accomplished in the past, and what is possible in the present and future.”
King agreed, noting the broader significance of the event. “The celebration of those involved in athletics is a celebration of the university,” she said. Matador teams at CSUN are often the first way people connect with or become aware of the school, she said. “Athletics is kind of the front porch of the university. The Hall of Fame is a celebration of the Valley.”
Selections for the Hall of Fame are made by a committee of athletics administrators and coaches (community members), but the nomination process is heavily community-driven. The open nomination period ran from Sept. 18-Oct. 1, 2024, allowing friends, family and supporters to submit their candidates through an online form. CSUN Athletics received nominations from throughout the country.
To be considered, nominees must meet eligibility requirements under at least one of five categories: student-athlete, coach, team, community member or posthumous award.
“Being a Matador is one of the biggest achievements of my life,” said Fluker ’19 (Early Childhood Development), the third Matador Women’s Basketball player to be named to the school’s Hall of Fame. “I am blessed to have been able to attend a university that gave me a lifetime of memories, and being a part of a community that gave me lifelong friendships is something I will forever cherish.”
The ceremony was a testament to Matadors’ enduring school spirit. “‘Together we’re better’ was our slogan, and we believed it,” said Debbie Ching, assistant coach of the 1987 National Champion Softball team.
“To this day, we’re still together,” former player Lori Shelly Castellano ’89 (Teaching/Coaching) said. “We bleed red and black.”
