CHICAGO – UIC Hall of Famer Jay DeMerit has been named a nominee for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2018, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday (March 12). DeMerit is one of 32 individuals to be selected to the Player ballot and is one of nine to be named in their first year of eligibility.
 
Voting begins Monday, March 12 and runs through Monday, March 26 for the Player, Veteran Player and Builder categories. The results of the voting will be announced at a later date.
 
DeMerit was a top defender for the U.S. Men's National Team, competing for the Red, White and Blue in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2007 Copa America, 2008 and 2009 World Cup qualifiers, 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup.
 
DeMerit spent much of his club career with Watford FC in England prior to his stint with the National Team. Post 2010, he transitioned to Major League Soccer and spent four season with Vancouver Whitecaps FC before announcing his retirement in July 2014.
 
During his career at UIC from 1998-2001, DeMerit was a three-time NSCAA All-Midwest Region defender and earned First Team honors twice in addition to earning All-Conference laurels three times. He helped UIC to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 1999 and followed it up the next year with a trip to the Sweet 16. While starting in 69 consecutive matches, he secured 11 goals, 14 assists, 36 points, and was an integral part of 25 shutouts.
 
DeMerit was inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2017. He became the fifth former UIC soccer player, and sixth member of the program, to earn induction.
 
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME SELECTION PROCESS
 
To be eligible for selection in the Player category, an individual must have been retired for at least three full calendar years, but for no more than 10 full calendar years AND meet one of the following criteria:

• A player must have played at least 20 full international games for the United States. This 20-game requirement is reduced to 10 games if the games were prior to 1990.
• A player must have played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and been a postseason league all-star at least once.
• Played at least five seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League between the end of the NASL in 1984 and the end of the MISL in 1992 and been selected as a first-team postseason all-star in at least one of those seasons.