2019 INDUCTEES hall of fame inductees

In Picture: George Mandt, Toby Donath, Marcos Flegmann, Jason Smith


Fourth Babson Rugby Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Held at the 40th Anniversary of BURC on October 12th, 2019.

George Mandt

Class of 1981

George Mandt, 1981M

Scrum Half Rock Hard, Instrumental to Founding, Rugby Mentor, Lead by Example

Year #4, H.O.F. #22

George Mandt: George (left) receives his plaque from Ken Jasper ’82.

George Mandt, 1981M

Scrum Half Rock Hard, Instrumental to Founding, Rugby Mentor, Lead by Example

Year #4, H.O.F. #22

George was the only truly seasoned Rugby Player when we started the club in 1979. Tim ‘TD’ DeMello, Brian ‘Bags’ Bagley and Craig ‘Reggae’ Tucker each had played a little but nothing to the extent George had. After playing for Denison during his undergraduate years, George arrived at Babson just as we were starting the club. George was a hard-nosed scrum half with an eye for the ball who could hit with the intensity of a flanker. He was a big part of first two years of play and helped shape the culture of the club with rugby stories, relentless socializing, and exemplary play. George was a role model for the inexperienced and younger guys and was a key element along with DeMello, Hanafin and others to accelerate the level of play within the upper echelon of Division I Rugby in New England.

Jason Smith

Class of 1997

Jason 'Smitty' Smith, 1997

Centre Tough in Tackle, Punishing Ball Carrier, Leader on & off the Pitch

Year #4, H.O.F. #23

Jason Smith: Jason (left) receives his plaque from Nelson Santiago ’97.

Jason 'Smitty' Smith, 1997

Centre Tough in Tackle, Punishing Ball Carrier, Leader on & off the Pitch

Year #4, H.O.F. #23

Jason was a co-captain Senior year along with future HOF'er Nelson Santiago. He was elected to this position after 3 years of playing the hardest brand of rugby that Babson has ever seen. His nicknames of "Hulk" and "Moose" only begin to touch upon the style of play that Jason brought to the center position. Tackles were never missed, as a matter of fact they were their own art form. Opposition tackles were broken and shrugged off until multiple men were finally able to bring him down. Jason was mentioned in over 90% of team articles as either a try-scorer or man of the match.

His rugby career after leaving Babson has been equally as impressive. He was the first non-Irish captain of the Boston Irish Wolfhounds and has his jersey retired by Division 1 New Haven Rugby club after he left that team for work reasons.

Toby Donath

Class of 2004

Tobias 'Toby' Donath, 2004

Fly Half Backs Captain, Rookie of the Year, 2 x MVP Competitive, Scorer, Winner & Leader

Year #4, H.O.F. #24

Tobias Donath: Toby (left) receives his plaque from Ryan Fuller '04

Tobias 'Toby' Donath, 2004

Fly Half Backs Captain, Rookie of the Year, 2 x MVP Competitive, Scorer, Winner & Leader

Year #4, H.O.F. #24

Toby was a key member of the team helping to lead the HOF '02-'03 team to a strong showing in both the NERFU and NRU tournaments. As a Canadian citizen, Toby grew up playing rugby so he helped bring a knowledge of the game to the team which elevated everyone's play. He was voted a captain of the team for the '03-'04 season a role he was filling since the day he joined the team.

Marcos Flegmann

Class of 2012

Marcos 'Little Child' Flegmann, 2012

Lock & Prop VP, Captain & Leader on and off the field Loyal Friend & Absolute Lad

Year #4, H.O.F. #25

Marcos Flegman: Marcos (right) receives his plaque from Chris Plankey ’11.

Marcos 'Little Child' Flegmann, 2012

Lock & Prop VP, Captain & Leader on and off the field Loyal Friend & Absolute Lad

Year #4, H.O.F. #25

Marcos ‘Circus Maximus’ Flegmann, as he was called in his later years for his imposing physical size and punishing play, left a lasting impact at Babson where he played for all four years and lead the undefeated 2011-2012 Fall team. Marcos was a leader on and off the pitch and a happy warrior at that. His talent was immense and he did things with such ease that it seemed almost effortless. He was Vice President of the team in his junior year and Forwards Captain his senior year.

After Babson, Marcos played for the Boston RFC in the American Rugby Premiership and recorded 14 official caps for the Mexico Serpientes, Mexico’s National Rugby Union Team. He also played with Argentina during the Maccabiah Games, and played with Mystic River Rugby Club, the USA Premier League 2016 National Champions.

Marcos lost his battle to cancer on December 21, 2020 and he is remembered with an annual Back to Babson Hospitality Tent at the pitch in his honor each year since 2025.

Team of 1982-1983

Class of 1983

Ranked 4th in New England

Year #4, Team #5

Ranked 4th in New England

Year #4, Team #5

BURC was ranked 4th among all-schools in New England and swept the Division II Tournament at UMass Amherst, blanking all opponents in the process. BURC also won the New England Small College Invitational Tournament in the title match 12-9 vs Amherst