Hall of Fame
Zafer came to Cumberland in 1963 with a background in judo and an interest in forming judo as a club sport for other students. Zafer's idea quickly took hold. He enlisted Dr. O.J. Helvey to be the sponsor and become one of his first students. While Zafer was already gone from Cumberland during the sports heyday, he provided the inspiration and groundwork for what became one of the finest judo programs in the world, producing several Olympians and an Olympic medalist. Following his graduation, Roback taught and coached judo and karate at the University of Tennessee for 11 years. As Cumberland's judo teams progressed, they achieved national recognition as the men's team won more than 15 Mid West Collegiate Judo Championships and three National Championships and the women's team won four National Championships. Along with the championships, team members participated in the World University Games and the Pan american Games. Four Cumberland College judo team members were members of the U.S. Olympic teams in 1984, 1988 and 1992. Throughout the history of Cumberland's judo program, Roback has remained an avid supporter. In furthering his individual interests in judo, Roback was an eight-time participant in the Senior Olyympic Games, accumulating about 40 medals in the process.
