Hall of Honor
Tom Snapp was a major contributor to a remarkable basketball heyday that found the Buccaneers winning three consecutive Midwest Conference championships and national tournament invitations, earning the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division III in 1981, and posting a 76-23 record during his four-year career. Of the 6’-4” forward from Mundelein, Ill., Bill Knapton, his Beloit coach and Hall of Honor member, says, “Tom was a dependable scorer, terrific defender, and outstanding rebounder and ball handler; there were no weaknesses in his game.” His teammates recognized him as a patient, team-oriented, and humble player who never clamored for the spotlight, eschewing personal statistics for team success. Exactly 100 seconds remained in his collegiate career when Snapp, who had passed up many shots to feed more-open teammates, scored on a nice inside move to reach the 1,000-point plateau,–this in an era without a three-point line or shot clock. He also totaled 420 rebounds and shot .741 from the free-throw line while earning team MVP honors and all-conference recognition twice, the coveted Janssen Award as a junior and Buc Defensive Player of the Year kudos as a senior. A former Mundelein police officer, Snapp has been an FBI special agent since 1990. He, his wife Gail, and their three children live in Bristol, Tenn., where he coaches girls’ basketball in East Tennessee Pride, an AAU organization.
