KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Small College Basketball named its 2025 Hall of Fame Class on Friday, May 23, and among the announced selections was American International College men's basketball star and AIC Athletics Hall of Famer Mario Elie '85.

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The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 2016, and the 2025 induction is the ninth for the organization as there was no Class of 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Hall seeks to "pay tribute, honor and promote college basketball players, coaches, contributors and alumni within the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA levels…Our focus is to enhance the lives of those people by paying special tribute to those who have made great contributions. By doing so, we will raise the profile of basketball at these levels and enhance the overall game of basketball."

One of the most dominant players in AIC and Northeast 10 Conference history, Elie was the 1981-82 NE10 Rookie of the Year and won Player of the Year honors in 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85 as he led the Yellow Jackets to regular season titles in each of those three seasons. AIC won the NE10 Tournament in 1984 and 1985, with Elie winning Championship MVP in each contest, and AIC won the 1985 Northeast Regional with victories over Bentley University and Sacred Heart University.

Elie was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American three times, with a third-team selection in 1982-83 and second-team honors in both 1983-84 and 1984-85. He scored 2124 points and grabbed 1008 rebounds in his career, making him one of a select few to reach the 2000-1000 club in program history, and still rates second all-time in program history in points.

The official induction ceremony will take place on October 31.