Benedictine College has announced the Raven Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2025, with the induction ceremony set for Saturday, Oct. 25, during the school's Homecoming Weekend. Charlie Gartenmayer '75 and George Papageorgiou (posthumously) will be recognized during halftime of the football game and will officially be honored and inducted at during the annual banquet that night.
Charlie Gartenmayer has served Benedictine College, the Raven Athletic Department, and Benedictine's student-athletes for more than 50 years. He graduated from Benedictine in 1975 and joined the coaching staff after completing his playing career for the Ravens.
He coached for 48 years, rising to Defensive Coordinator and eventually Associate Head Coach. He took over as Athletic Director in 2007, after having served in the Atchison Public Schools system as a teacher and administrator for 32 years. He stepped down from his role as Associate Head Coach for the Raven Football program in 2022.
Charlie was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2002. He was then named the Heart Conference Athletic Director of the Year in 2019 and Heart South Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020. Never in the recorded history of any level of college football has one man earned recognition as both a Coach of the Year and Athletic Director of the Year. Charlie was also honored with the Kansas Monk Award as an outstanding alumnus during the 2025 Alumni Reunion.
Charlie's impact on the lives of current players, former players, current coaches and former coaches goes well beyond football.
Under his leadership as Athletic Director, the Benedictine Athletic Department has continued to represent the school at the highest levels. Since the start of the 2020-21 academic year, the department has won 17 conference championships and competed in the NAIA postseason 52 times, including Men's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Lacrosse and Football all going to their respective national championships in 2018-2019, and winning the 2022 and 2025 NAIA Women's Lacrosse National Championships.
And success hasn't stopped with competition. Academics has also flourished, with student-athletes earning 483 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes honors, 808 All-Heart Scholar Athletes, and 59 NAIA Scholar Teams just since the Fall of 2020.
In addition, Raven Athletics has continued to expand in both programs and facilities. Charlie has added men's wrestling, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse as intercollegiate sports. Turf has been added to O'Malley Field in Wilcox Stadium and both turf and lights have been added to the soccer and lacrosse venue in addition to locker rooms, coaches' offices, and the press box at the John Casey Soccer Complex.
He has also overseen the addition of the Asher Sports Complex, which is home to Benedictine Baseball and Softball and includes Olsen Stadium.
The college has been blessed with Charlie's influence and pursuit of excellence for decades and that legacy will continue to bear fruit for decades to come.
George (Coach Pops) Papageorgiou spent 24 years on the sidelines for the Raven Football program, most recently serving as the offensive line coach. During his tenure, he mentored five of the Ravens' all-time leading rushers before taking over as the offensive line coach. In his time with the offensive line, his group anchored some of the top all-time offensive units in program history.
George earned a bachelor's degree in 1978 from the University of Washington, where he played football under head coach Don James. After four years as fullback in the Husky program, which included a trip to the 1978 Rose Bowl, he served as assistant defensive line coach with the Huskies for four years, contributing to trips to the '79 Sun Bowl, the '80 and '81 Rose Bowls, and the '82 Aloha Bowl.
George earned his Master's Degree in Health Education while coaching at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, in 1987. Before coming to Benedictine, he held coaching positions at Willamette University, Pacific University and Bethel College, where he was named Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996. In the 2000 season, George found a home as the Assistant Head Football Coach at Benedictine College, where he remained until his death in 2024.
George was a crucial part of Benedictine's success, earning multiple Heart of America Athletic Conference championships, multiple trips to the NAIA national playoffs, and an appearance in the 2018 NAIA National Championship game in Daytona, Florida. In 2018, he was named Heart of America North Assistant Coach of the Year. In 2022, George was named the NAIA Assistant Football Coach of the Year by the AFCA. Most recently, he was recognized by the AFCA for his 35 years of leadership and impact.
George's influence extends far beyond wins and losses, tackles and touchdowns, awards and accolades. He was a player's coach, whose primary goal was turning young men into the best versions of themselves, both on and off the field. He was a gifted recruiter adept at recognizing talent and potential that others often overlooked. Through his teaching, encouragement and support, thousands of players – including those with disadvantaged backgrounds – found success on the field and after graduation.
George was also a coach's coach — fiercely competitive and passionate on the sidelines, offering brilliant and informed strategies in the meeting room, and often spending the night in the office so he could be the first one to greet fellow coaches and players as they prepared for their next opponent.
But most importantly, off the field, George was a loving and dedicated husband and father. He had the kindest and most generous heart along with a passion for great storytelling and an ever-present smile. He loved his wife and four daughters deeply, and his fellow coaches were not just colleagues, but family.
George was coaching a youth high school football camp on the day of his passing, sharing his passion for and knowledge of the sport he loved to the end. The ripples from his extraordinary life will be felt for generations to come.
