The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (“AHEPA”) announces its 2026 AHEPA Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame selectees.
The AHEPA Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1974 and is the second oldest ethnic Hall of Fame, and now includes near 200 inductees, including athletes and leaders in the sports industry such as Harry Agganis, Alex Karras, Pete Sampras, Eric Karros, Steve Lappas, Bob Costas, Greg Louganis and Ted Leonsis.
The 2026 Class of the AHEPA Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame selectees are:
STEVE KIORPES BULPETT, Nahant, Massachusetts, is a journalist covering the National Basketball Association since 1985, the first 35 of those years as Celtics beat writer and columnist for the Boston Herald. More recently, he has been senior NBA columnist for Heavy.com. During his career, Steve has earned National Top 10 honors from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) for column writing, beat reporting and feature writing.
Since 2014, he has served as a vice president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA). Steve is a graduate of the University of Dayton, where he is a guest lecturer. Following his playing days in Greek basketball, he remained active in the Hellenic community. Stephen is currently on the Board of Governors for AHEPA Athens Chapter No. 24 in Boston;
PATRICK CALATHES, Casselberry, Florida, was a standout collegiate basketball player at St. Joseph’s (PA) University, followed by a ten-year professional career in Europe. At St. Joseph’s University, he led the Hawks to the 2008 Atlantic Ten Title game and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He is 27th on the St. Joseph’s career scoring list with 1,251 points and 22nd with 630 rebounds. In 2008 he was an All-Atlantic Ten First Team selectee and the Co-Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Big Five.
Pat had a ten-year professional career in Europe including stints with the Greek League Clubs Maroussi and Athens Panathinakos. In 2013, he was the Most Valuable Player in the Israeli Basketball League. Pat was also a member of the Greek National Team in 2011, along with his brother Nick, AHEPA’s Agganis Most Outstanding Athlete Awardee in 2025;
FOTIOS (FRANK) KLOPAS, Prosymna, Greece, was a professional soccer player and is currently a professional soccer coach. After immigrating to the United States from Greece, he became a member of the USA National Team from 1987 – 1995; in 39 international games he scored 12 goals, which ranked 4th on the USA All-Time goal scoring list at that time.
He played professionally from 1983 – 1999 for a number of teams in the North American Soccer League, including the Chicago Sting and the Kansas City Wizards, ending his career with the Chicago Fire, leading them to the Major League Soccer Cup in 1988. Frank thereafter started a career as a Head Coach and General Manager in Professional Soccer and serving as a color commentator on television broadcasts;
JASON PALUMBIS, Lake Oswego, Oregon, was an outstanding collegiate quarterback for Stanford University. At Lakeridge High School, in Illinois, Jason was named as the First Team All-American Quarterback, and to the All-State team. Thereafter, he had a four-year career at Stanford University.
In 1990, Jason led the nation in passing completion (69%) and was in the top-five in several other passing categories, and he led Stanford to an upset win over Notre Dame University when Notre Dame was the number one team in the nation. He was named as an honorable mention All-Pac-Ten Conference, then signed a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League; Jason was named an AHEPA Scholar-Athlete Awardee at the New Orleans AHEPA Convention in 1987.
JIM RAPPIS, Waukesha, Wisconsin, was a standout college professional basketball player at the University of Arizona. At Waukesha High School in Wisconsin, he was a member of the All-State Team in both his junior and senior years, and in 1972 was the UNICO National High School Athlete of the Year.
At the University of Arizona, he was a four-year starter for the Wildcats, was named to the Pac Ten All-Academic Team in 1974, 1975 and 1976, and was an Academic All-American in 1976, as well as a member of the All-Pac Ten Conference Team, and the University of Arizona Team MVP. He averaged 12.1 points per game during his University of Arizona career and then played for Panionios Athens in Greece. In 1974, Jim was a member of the AHEPA All-Star Team that toured Greece and in 1976 he was the AHEPA William Chirgotis Collegiate Awardee for the Most Outstanding Hellenic College Athlete of the Year.
AHEPA Supreme President Chris Kaitson indicated, “the Order of AHEPA honors brilliance and excellence in all fields, and in this case, athletics. These Hellenic Athletes and Sport Contributors reached the very pinnacle of success across their respective fields, and we are honored that they are joining the pantheon of outstanding Hellenic athletes and sports luminaries over this half-century of recognition”.
AHEPA Supreme President Chris Kaitson lauded this outstanding Hall of Fame Class of athletes and sportswriter who have reached the heights of their respective sports.
Supreme President Kaitson also noted, “I tip my cap to AHEPA’s Athletic Department, led by Supreme Athletic Director Chris Atsaves and Gregory J. Stamos, who Chairs the Hellenic Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee, for its’ dedication in honoring the careers of these exceptional Hellenic athletes, coaches and contributors to the sport’s industry”.
The selectees will be inducted at AHEPA’s 104th Annual National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Athletic Luncheon on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
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