Butler County Community College alums Rick Barger, a former college coach, and Tom McConnell, a retired certified public accountant, will be recognized with BC3’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Saturday, Oct. 4, during the annual Oak Hills Celebration.

Barger, of Hummelstown, McConnell, of Butler, and speakers including Taylor Voloch, a psychology student and BC3 Education Foundation scholarship recipient from West Sunbury, will address at least 215 guests in Founders Hall on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township.

The Oak Hills Celebration also serves as an opportunity for students who received one of 164 named scholarships through BC3’s Education Foundation in 2025-2026 to meet their benefactors, Cornetti said.

Barger earned an associate degree in business administration from BC3 in 1969 and worked as a certified public accountant and former partner in the Harrisburg office of Ernst & Young, an international firm, until he retired in 2001.

McConnell graduated from BC3 in 1980 with an associate degree in general studies. He led NCAA basketball programs at St. Francis University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 15 seasons as a head coach.

The college’s alumni council reviews nominations and annually recognizes former students whose qualities include integrity, character and success, and who “provide inspiration to BC3 students and the community,” Cornetti said.

Barger “is an outstanding man and very deserving of the recognition,” Butler resident Thomas E. Menchyk wrote in nominating his former Butler Senior High School classmate to the alumni council. “He is a man of character and reflects the values of BC3.”

McConnell “fits the bill and stands shoulder to shoulder with each of the alumni who began their academic and professional journeys at BC3 and are now respected citizens and leaders in their communities,” Butler resident John Reddick wrote.

Barger and McConnell bring the number of former students to be recognized with BC3 Distinguished Alumni Awards to 60 since it debuted in 2004.

College president Megan Coval said the Oak Hills Celebration is meaningful.

“It allows us, as a college, to take a moment and honor our former students who have achieved so much in their lifetime, not only with success in their career, but in giving back to our community and the communities in which they live and have become tremendous citizens. All while getting their start at BC3,” she said.

Barger, 76, graduated from Butler High in 1967 and was the first member of his family to attend college.

“BC3 just opened my eyes to big opportunities,” Barger said. “Before I went to BC3, my world was Butler County. We didn’t do a lot of traveling. And when I got to BC3, the faculty embraced us. They really just took us under their wing and talked to us about things that I had never talked to anybody about before.

“It made me realize the world was a lot bigger. That caused me to aspire.”

Barger later earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University in 1971 and completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business’s executive program in 1989 in Chicago.

He has volunteered with or served on boards for numerous central Pennsylvania professional and nonprofit organizations since 1971. Among his awards are those from Penn State University, and the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal with his 2011 selection for a lifetime achievement award as chief financial officer of the year.

After his retirement from Ernst & Young, Barger served in various executive capacities with Diakon, a Topton-based nonprofit organization that provides social services for children and families.

Barger and his wife, Patricia Barger, established a scholarship with the BC3 Education Foundation in 2014 in memory of their parents.

McConnell, 65, graduated from South Hills Catholic High in Pittsburgh in 1978.

McConnell said he was influenced during his time at the college by Tom Beckett, a baseball and basketball coach, Charles Dunaway, the college’s athletic director, and by Sue Bennitt, a former counselor who lived near campus.

“Beckett poured into me and helped me to become the best version of myself,” McConnell said. “His believing in me in turn helped me believe in myself … My biggest takeaway from Dunaway is I wanted to do things the way he did them. He was very, very competitive but at the same time, such a gentleman who treated people with such dignity and respect.

“The Bennitts were incredible. They took me into their home. I spent a lot of hours at their house when I was a student. I had so many great talks about life with them. They were such a great example for me.”

He also credited Dick Robertson, the interim dean of students who “really challenged me and helped me to embrace my BC3 experience more fully by being active with campus life outside of basketball.”

McConnell later earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1984 from what is now Point Park University.

His NCAA Division I men’s basketball program at St. Francis University won 85 games in seven seasons and his NCAA Division II women’s program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania won 197 and qualified for the national semifinals twice in eight seasons.

He was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West coach of the year a record three times at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and was an assistant coach of the USA women’s under-16 national team in 2021 and of the under-17 squad in 2022.

McConnell has founded and directed numerous basketball and ministry camps since 1981. After his retirement as a coach in 2022, he became director of evangelization at All Saints Parish in Butler.

His selection as a distinguished alumni “gives me an opportunity to let people know what BC3 has meant to my life,” McConnell said. “I have taken all the lessons learned and a part of BC3 with me everywhere that I have been. I hope I have made a difference in other people’s lives the way BC3 did for me.”

McConnell will also become the sixth member of the college’s Charles W. Dunaway Pioneer Hall of Fame to also be selected as a distinguished alumnus.

Bill Miller, Kimberly Geyer, Michael Franko, Andrew Matonak and John Stuper, a starting pitcher in a 1982 World Series game for the St. Louis Cardinals, were also inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame and chosen as distinguished alumni.

Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.