Milligan Athletics 2023 Hall of Fame class announcement

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (October 27, 2023) – The Milligan University Department of Athletics and Office of Alumni Relations have announced Rich Aubrey, Eli Cramer and Sidney Burns Greatti as the Milligan Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The trio marks Milligan's first three-person class of inductees since 2005. The induction ceremony will take play at the Celebrate Milligan Dinner this evening.

Rich Aubery ('85)

Rich Aubrey led Milligan's women's basketball team to 522 wins over the course of 27 seasons. Under his watch the Buffs won nine regular season conference championships and three conference tournament titles. Milligan won 30 games and reached the round of 16 in the NAIA National Tournament in 1999 and 1997. The 1998-99 Milligan women's basketball team was inducted into the Milligan Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

A 10-time conference coach of the year honoree, Aubrey was the 2017 US Marine Corps/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year. His teams won six NAIA Champions of Character awards and he was honored as the 2013 NAIA National Coach of Character.

In addition to women's basketball, Aubrey served as the men's and women's tennis coach at Milligan, winning conference coach of the year honors in both sports. Following his retirement from coaching, Aubrey became the campus minister and currently serves as the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean.

Eli Cramer ('24)

Eli Cramer was a key contributors to Milligan's 2021 NAIA men's cross country national championship team, the first NAIA team national title in Milligan University history. He earned cross country All-America honors as a freshman (27th) and sophomore (20th).

Cramer died on March 31, 2022 after he and two other teammates were struck by a car while preparing for a track meet the following day. He was a two-time All-AAC First Team finisher in cross country and a three-time national qualifier in indoor and outdoor track.

The 2021-22 academic year saw Cramer break school records in cross country and track. He set Milligan's cross country 8k standard of 24:17 at the Queen City Invitational in Charlotte. He and several of his teammates ran even faster times the following week. At the 2021-22 NAIA National Indoor Track & Field Championships, he set Milligan's indoor 5k standard in 14:44.53 during the national semifinals. His career best 8k and 5k marks remain among the time tops in program history.

Sidney Burns Greatti ('11)

Sidney Burns Greatti graduated in 2011 as one of the most decorated softball players in Milligan University history. She set and continues to hold single-season and career records in strikeouts (772 career, 261 single-season) and earned run average (1.19 career, 0.90 single-season).

Greatti was a two-time Appalachian Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and a four-time all-conference selection. Greatti won 75 career games and led the Buffs in win, ERA and strikeouts in all four of her seasons at Milligan. She led the NAIA in assists in 2008 and 2009 and had a perfect fielding percentage in 2011.

When the Buffs took on the United States Olympic softball team in 2008, Greatti was Milligan's starting pitcher. She was voted a NAIA Champions of Character Round Table Member in each of her four years at Milligan.

Greatti is a project lead in food safety at Chic-Fil-A's corporate office.

She resides in Mableton, Ga. with her husband Nathan, a 2011 Milligan graudte. They are excited to welcome their first child in April. The Greattis attend M28 Baptist Church.