UIC Athletics will hold its 2017 Hall of Fame Banquet and Reunion on Saturday, Jan. 28. This year's class features representatives from five different sports, one former coach and long-time administrator, and the first men's basketball team to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
 
Leading up to the celebration, UICFlames.com will be profiling each of the 2017 inductees, which include Tricia Charbonneau (Softball), Tom Cisar (Men's Golf), Jay DeMerit (Men's Soccer), Erin Garrett-Guevara (Women's Swimming), Justin Johnson (Baseball), Denny Wills (Coach/Administrator) and the 1997-98 men's basketball team.
 
Jay DeMerit (Men's Soccer, 1998-2001)
By: Marinko Kuljanin
 
A switch in position catapulted Jay Demerit's career as a soccer star. Born in Green Bay, Wis., DeMerit grew up in a household of athletes. His grandparents were coaches and both his parents were gym teachers and coaches. He never played just one sport, participating in wrestling, track, basketball, soccer, baseball and football. In his freshman year of high school, he did not play soccer, and when he joined the team as a sophomore, he only played three to four months until it was time for basketball, and later track.
 
After high school, he was offered a scholarship to play soccer at UIC. DeMerit is thankful for his parents and says they were a source of inspiration for him. With only one scholarship on the table, it would have been easy for them to make him stay in Green Bay and go to a local college instead of playing for a university.
 
When he got to Chicago, he instantly fell in love. DeMerit admired the amount of players that came to the city. It offered a great amount of competition, and allowed him to play with and against other great players.
 
Recruited as a forward, DeMerit never played as a defender. In a preseason game during a tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., he got his first chance to not only play on the back line but to play on the field. With two players down due to a red card and injury, head coach Sasha Begovic called DeMerit's number.
 
"He pulled me aside and said 'Your athleticism is one of your better attributes,'" said DeMerit. A wide-eyed freshman just waiting for his chance to go on the field, DeMerit took the opportunity. Looking back at his time before playing for UIC, DeMerit said, "I played the wrong position my whole life."
 
Some of DeMerit's favorite games were against rivals. Ones played against Green Bay allowed him to put on a show for his hometown. "It was great to come home and play in front of friends and family." said DeMerit. Being the best team in the conference at the time, Milwaukee was a natural rival for the Flames. His roommates, Jay and Kevin, would go all out in games against Loyola because they had friends playing there.
 
The most memorable game for DeMerit was during his junior year. UIC was one game away from going to the NCAA Sweet 16, and the only one in its way was Bradley. "Little UIC was playing against the big dogs." said DeMerit. His job was to guard Bradley's forward who was also their leading scorer. It was a mental challenge for him. He watched tape of the forward to study his style of play and used it to find ways to slow the forward down. "I had to make sure he didn't have a good day." said DeMerit. He did not let any of the pressure faze him. "The thing to remember the most was to go and win, and get a Sweet 16 berth." said DeMerit. UIC went on to dominate the game and advance to the round of 16 for the first time in program history.
 
DeMerit received numerous awards during his time with the Flames. He was a three-time NSCAA All-Midwest Region defender, a First Team selection two years in a row, and was named All-Conference First Team three times. "It's nice to know that you were voted by other coaches and not just your coach." said DeMerit. Although the recognition was nice, the awards did not drive him to be better. "The work you are putting in is valid," said DeMerit. "The awards only validate it a little further."
 
DeMerit is very thankful for his teammates and the Flames' soccer staff, as well as the athletic trainers who helped him through ankle injuries. But it is his appreciation for his coach, Sasha Begovic, that stands above the rest. "He planted the seed to turn me into a much better player."
 
After his time at UIC, DeMerit was disappointed to know that he did not get drafted to play soccer. The fact did not discourage him. He made friends with an Englishman during his time at UIC, and he invited DeMerit to go to England with him.
 
"The time was now to dream of professional soccer." said DeMerit.
 
Living in the attic of his friend's house, DeMerit only had the belongings in his suitcase. He explained that in London, there were hundreds of soccer teams, and that there could be six to seven hundred teams within a four hour radius.
 
Playing for a ninth division team, DeMerit was making 40 pounds a game and playing free on Sundays in his starting league. An American and 23 years old, DeMerit was out of place in England. "People would ask, 'What are you doing here?'" said DeMerit.
 
He got his chance to move up in the ranks when his team played a preseason game against Watford, a team in the first division. The Watford coach liked DeMerit's play style, and needed a center defender. The Watford coach asked DeMerit's coach if they could sign him for a trial.
 
The reality of being in a first division team hit him hard in his first game during his trail contract. "I thought I was going to get five minutes off the bench," said DeMerit. "But when I walked into the locker room, I was in the starting lineup." After his trial ended, DeMerit was signed to a one-year contract.
 
There were times when DeMerit was doubted by others, and wondered if he could succeed. Professional soccer players are usually signed at the age of sixteen while he was twenty-three when he arrived to England. "I didn't treat it as a chip on my shoulder, but as a reality to work hard." said DeMerit.
 
DeMerit also had the honor to play on the United States Men's National Team in the 2010 World Cup. Like most of his soccer career, he would have to get through challenges in the way. Six months before the World Cup, DeMerit got an infection in his eye. The infection was caused by dirt in his contacts. In 36 hours, he lost 70 percent of his vision. In order to fix his eye sight, DeMerit had to get the cornea of a cadaver. It took three months of rehabilitation and during those months, the eye sometimes had to be manually adjusted through surgeries.
 
The other challenge he faced was during a game in the World Cup. In the second or third minute of a game versus Algeria, DeMerit went up for a header but hit the elbow of a player instead. He bit on his tongue which caused it to split on its left side. "It was like I had a Kool Aid mustache on my lips." said DeMerit. Requiring five stitches, DeMerit did not leave the game until it was all over in the 92nd minute. Never shying away from a challenge, and never letting the odds discourage him, DeMerit recovered from one injury, and played with another, to play for the national team.
 
Retiring from the game, DeMerit went back to his Industrial Design degree and created his own business. DeMerit, along with his wife, opened up a stereo company a year and a half ago. They take old furniture and suitcases and then turn them into boom boxes. "It all comes full circle." said DeMerit about his new career move. He took two activities he did at UIC, designing in class and working at venues, and combined it into one. Having no regrets, DeMerit is proud of his time as a Flame. "Looking back at it, it was a great time in my life, as a person and player."