Northeastern University Athletics

William L. Backman was elected to the Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the sport of crew.

Backman earned the first ever two time captaincy in the history of crew at Northeastern. With Backman powering the junior varsity as a freshman, the team earned a second place national ranking. From 1969 to 1973 at the varsity level, Northeastern crews, led by Backman, were a major force in Eastern and National collegiate crew. NU oared to the Super Bowl title of eastern crew- the Eastern Sprints- in 1972 and 1973. With such success, the team's captained by the former United States Army Staff Sergeant, gained national invitations to major crew races, such as the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. Then in 1973, NU expanded to the world, where the Husky eight were narrowly defeated by the Russian Olympic crew. Upon taking his Political Science degree, he also distinguished himself as a coach. He tutored a member of the 1976 women's Silver Medal team, the women's varsity at Radcliffe, and subsequently handicapped and visually impaired rowers while occupied with a full-time job and graduate studies at Harvard. Following his college days, Backman emerged as one of the nation's elite Master rowers.