Anonymous female athlete deferred induction into this year's Rutgers Hall of Fame class

While the 2019 Rutgers Hall of Fame class didn't include any female inductees, an offer of induction was extended to a former Scarlet Knight, but she declined, according to a department spokesperson. 

"There was a female inductee selected for the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame, however, due to other personal commitments, she chose to defer to a future date," the spokesperson said. 

It's the second instance of a female athlete deferring induction since the department switched to the all-sports Hall of Fame format in 2013. The last time was in 2015, the only other Hall of Fame class to not have a female inductee. 

Prior to 2013, the Hall of Fame was separated into separate halls for football, men's basketball, women’s basketball and Olympic sports. Since the merger, there have been 10 female inductees. The one female who did defer in 2015 has since been inducted, but prefers to remain anonymous. 

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