AMHERST — Former UMass football and men’s basketball stars Victor Cruz and Chaz Williams were among the four UMass alums to be inducted into the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 on Saturday afternoon in the Campus Center Auditorium.
Cruz was a member of the Minutemen football team from 2005-09, and earned First Team All-CAA honors in 2008 and 2009 before signing with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2010. The Patterson, New Jersey native ranks eighth all-time in both receptions (131) and receiving yards (1,958) and posted a school-record 262 yards on 13 catches (tied for program record) against James Madison in 2008. In the NFL, Cruz went on to play five seasons and earned Second Team All-Pro honors in 2011, the same year he helped the Giants capture Super Bowl XLVI over the New England Patriots.
The newly-minted Minutemen Hall of Famer had a smile on his face the second he walked into the auditorium, and it never left throughout the entire ceremony.
“It’s incredible,” Cruz said. “It hasn’t even settled in yet that I’m joining the Hall of Fame of the college I went to, the college that I honed my skill and met all my lifelong friends. I’m very excited to be a part of the pantheon of UMass and be part of some of the people that are legends of this game and this school. I’m just really grateful right now.”
Williams became a fan favorite almost right away after transferring from Hofstra to the Minutemen ahead of the 2011-12 season. Generously listed at just 5-foot-9, Williams became UMass’ all-time leader in assists (702), seventh in points (1,563) and second in steals (199) over the course of his three seasons in Amherst. During the 2013-14 campaign, the Minutemen made their most recent trip to the NCAA Tournament and won 24 games behind Williams’ 15.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. UMass climbed as high as No. 12 in the national rankings that season.
He credited his late mother Diane several times for shaping him into the person and player he became. He said his time at UMass — with her proudly watching — is something he’ll never forget.
“It’s an honor,” Williams said. “Because UMass brought so much to my life. Not only friends, not only family, it’s brought me together as a whole as a man. This is where I found myself, and this is where it all started for my journey… None of this could be possible without my teammates. So many different stories and teammates; I love my guys. It was a brotherhood. Every day I woke up I knew I had somebody that was willing to go to war with me.”
Both Cruz and Williams shared their love and appreciation for not just their teammates, coaches and programs, but the UMass community.
“I can’t go anywhere without a UMass alum running up on me and telling me they went to school here; it’s just an immense amount of pride,” Cruz said. “Not just for myself, but for anyone who has gone to this school or goes to the school currently. You feel that pride because if you come to this school, it’s a grind. You understand what it’s like to be part of a grind and be part of something special and understand what it’s like to come out the other side and be successful.”
Williams, who still lives in the area because he enjoyed being in Amherst so much, said he not only keeps tabs on the men’s basketball program, he still comes and works out with members of the current team.
“I pay a lot of attention,” he said. “And being that I live close by, I try to come up in the summer time and see the guys. This summer I was working out with a few of their high school [recruits] in the area. So I try to be around as often [as possible].”
Diver Michaela Butler-Pimentel and rower Deanna Groark-Sheldon joined Cruz and Williams in the Class of 2025. Butler-Pimentel had zero diving experience prior to her time at UMass, but turned into a three-time All-American and is the first diver in Minutemen history to be inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame. Groark-Sheldon is one of the best rowers in program history and was a member of the first-ever collegiate women’s 8-plus crew to win the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta — one of three gold medals she earned during the 1996 season.
The 2025 class will go down as one of the most storied in UMass’ history, as all four are unquestionably among the best — if not the best — in their respective sport.
“[These four athletes] contributed so much to our athletics’ history here,” UMass Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford said. “This is honestly one of our favorite weekends of the year, when we get a chance to celebrate the people who came before us and all of the successes that they had.”