| Sport(s): | Men's Basketball |
| Year of Graduation: | 1996 |
Mount Ida alumnus Ralph Auriantal (West Simsbury, Connecticut) ‘96 was selected as the Mount Ida College Hall-of-Fame Inductee.
Auriantal earned an associate degree in Individualized Studies from Mount Ida College in 1996. During his time as a student, Auriantal was a member of the Mount Ida men’s basketball program for two seasons under the direction of head coach Rico Cabral. Auriantal ended his two year stint at Mount Ida with an impressive 868 career points in a short period of time, just shy of 1,000. In the two years he competed with the men’s basketball program his team turned in an impressive 53-8 overall record.
As a Mustang, Auriantal was honored as a two time first team All-New England player along with a pre-season All-American selection his final season. Upon graduation from Mount Ida College, Auriantal received a bachelor of science in Physical Education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. Auriantal went onto complete his MA in Clinical Nutrition at the New York Institute of Technology while an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team. It was at NYIT as an assistant that Ralph had the unique opportunity to coach two of his own brothers, who were undergraduate students and played on the team.
Auriantal was born in Montreal, Canada to Rodolphe Auriantal and Emilie Louissaint, who are originally from Haiti. He comes from a large family of seven children. During his teenage years, he developed a love for the game of basketball. He and his three brothers all ended up playing hoops in college and are often known in Montreal as the "First Family of Hoops." Ralph was recruited to play for Jere Quinn at St. Thomas More Prep in Montville, Connecticut. He was named a McDonald’s All American Honorable Mention his senior year.
Auriantal is currently a Physical Education Instructor and Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at The Master’s School in West Simsbury, Connecticut. Auriantal guided his team to three consecutive Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference (CISAC) championships and has qualified for the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) tournament once. Several of Ralph’s players, including current Mount Ida men’s basketball sophomore guard Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT/The Masters School), have gone on to play Division I, II, III basketball.