The Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Dennis Fairall, head coach of the Lancer cross country and track and field programs, will join its inductees in the class of 2012.

Fairall is one of three founders joining five athletes to be honoured at an awards ceremony October 13 at the Caboto Club.

Besides Fairall, the founders group includes Herman football and Windsor Mic Macs baseball coach Harry Lumley and Massey cross county and swimming coach Lou Pocock.

The athlete inductees are former NHLers Bob Boughner and Tie Domi, former Major League Baseball player Stubby Clapp, former CFLer Tony Dennis and former Canadian amateur women’s golf champion Laura-Henderson-Matthews.

Gerry Brumpton, chair of hall’s governing body, called it “a tremendous class.”

“We’ve had some outstanding people and this group is just as powerful a group of athletes and founders,” he said.

Fairall is the most decorated head coach in Canadian university history, honoured a record 38 times as coach of the year by Ontario University Athletics or Canadian Interuniversity Athletics.

In 26 years at the helm, his Lancer teams have won 24 national championships (19 in track and five in cross country) and 43 provincial titles (36 in track and seven in cross country). This past season, he led the Windsor men’s and women’s teams to another sweep of the OUA track and field titles and helped the Lancer women captured their fourth consecutive CIS national title.

“When you look at some of the people who have been inducted into this hall of fame in track and field, it’s quite a thrill to be joining them,” Fairall said. “When I took over the program, I didn’t want to just develop athletes, I wanted to build a program that could win national championships. Here we are 24 titles later.”

Read the full story, “Legendary Coach Dennis Fairall to be inducted into Windsor Sports Hall of Fame,” at goLancers.ca.