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The 2015 Grand Valley State Athletics Hall of Fame class will be inducted on the weekend of October 23-24. It is a terrific class of five student-athletes and one head coach, all of which represented GVSU in an outstanding manner during their time in Allendale. GVSULakers.com will profile all six members of the upcoming Hall of Fame class in alphabetical order, starting with quarterback Cullen Finnerty.
 
2015 GVSU Hall of Fame Class: Cullen Finnerty | Chuck Martin | Nate Peck | Allyson Riley | Erika Ryskamp | Katy Tafler
 
The winningest quarterback in college football history, regardless of NCAA Division.
 
One of two Division II quarterbacks ever to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 2,000 yards in a career.
 
A three-time Division II National Champion and a player who accounted for 141 career touchdowns.
 
All of the above accolades can be used to describe Laker legend Cullen Finnerty, who started 55 games at quarterback for Grand Valley State from 2003 to 2006. Finnerty and the Lakers won 51 of those games, giving the smashmouth QB from Brighton a career record of 51-4, the best of any quarterback to ever play college football.
 
Finnerty will be posthumously inducted into the GVSU Hall of Fame this October, as he passed away in 2013 at the age of 30. The legacy of Finnerty, however, lives on with statistics and accomplishments and championships galore.
 
"Cullen Finnerty was the ultimate competitor on the field and held his teammates to a very high level of expectations," said current GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell, who was a Laker assistant coach during Finnerty's time in Allendale.
 
"Not a single coach or player on those championship teams questioned his competitiveness and willingness to put in the work necessary to be elite," Mitchell continued. "At the same time, he had a great personality that drew people in and developed team chemistry. It was a difficult balance, but Cullen managed it better than any player I have ever been around."
 
Choosing the most impressive achievement in Finnerty's career is next to impossible. There are certainly a great number of triumphs to choose from, including the ones already mentioned.
 
Grand Valley State won the final 28 games in which Finnerty lined up under center, including a 17-14 victory in the 2006 National Championship game over Northwest Missouri State. Not surprisingly, Finnerty scored the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard run early in the fourth quarter of his last game.
 
Finnerty and the Lakers played in 15 playoff games during the 2003 to 2006 seasons. GVSU won 14 of those contests, ending in Division II National Championship victories in 2003, 2005, and 2006.
 
He threw for 10,905 yards and ran for 2,370 more. Finnerty essentially created the '10,000 passing yard/2,000 rushing yard club' as the first Division II quarterback to reach both milestones. The current membership of that exclusive club includes Finnerty and just one other quarterback.
 
When his playing career concluded, Finnerty's 13,275 total yards were the third-most in Division II history. He still ranks ninth all-time in that category.
 
Finnerty tossed 110 career touchdown passes, the eighth-most by a Division II player when he graduated and still the 15th-highest figure in division history.
 
Clearly a gifted passer, Finnerty was also a dominating runner, as he bulldozed his way into the endzone 31 times as a rusher. In four seasons, Finnerty racked up 141 total touchdowns.
 
He led the 2006 Lakers to the fourth Division II National Championship in five seasons, as Finnerty was a consensus First Team All-American and finished as the runner-up in the Harlon Hill voting, the equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in Division II.
 
All three of GVSU's national championships during Finnerty's career were decided by one possession and each was full of dramatics. The 2003 triumph over North Dakota - a 10-3 defensive battle - saw Finnerty total 227 yards, as he was also the game's leading rusher with 78 yards on 19 carries.
 
In 2005, Finnerty was responsible for all three of the Lakers' touchdowns in the 21-17 comeback victory over Northwest Missouri State. He notched a pair of short touchdown runs in the first and third quarters and after trailing 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, he connected with receiver Brandon Langston for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning 35-yard touchdown.
 
The 2006 playoffs saw the Finnerty-led offense post 35, 30, and 49 points in the Lakers' first three games before the 17-14 rematch victory over Northwest Missouri State. That GVSU team was just the second Division II school to record a perfect 15-0 season.
 
During Finnerty's 15-game playoff career, the Lakers outscored their opponents by an average score of 27.0 to 14.8. He either passed or ran for 34 touchdowns in postseason play, including 14 scores in 2006 and another 10 TD's in 2005.
 
GVSU ran off records of 14-1, 10-3, 13-0, and 15-0 during Finnerty's four seasons as a Laker, with the incredibly durable quarterback missing just one of those 56 games.
 
Though he is the 29th football inductee into the Grand Valley State Hall of Fame, Finnerty is undoubtedly one of the best to ever wear the Laker uniform.