Courtesy: Pac-12 Conference
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference today announced the 2020 class to be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, the Conference’s most prestigious recognition of the greatest on and off-field contributors to Pac-12 athletics. Formal induction will take place on Friday, March 13 during a ceremony prior to the semifinals of the 2020 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by New York Life. Following induction, the class will be honored during a special halftime ceremony of the day’s first semifinal matchup at T-Mobile Arena. Tickets for the 2020 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament are available at Pac-12.com/tickets.
The 2020 Hall of Honor class will be the 19th since its creation in 2002, and the third to feature legendary figures from an array of sports after the Pac-12 expanded the field to be inclusive of the broad-based athletics success across the Conference of Champions. Each year a new inductee from each Pac-12 university is welcomed into the Hall of Honor.
“The extraordinary achievements of this year’s Hall of Honor class represent the very best of our universities’ rich history of excellence athletically, academically and professionally,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The Pac-12 is incredibly proud to call them our own and to honor their legacies.”
From Olympic Gold Medalists and Super Bowl Champions to NBA and WNBA veterans to NCAA Champions and collegiate athletics trailblazers, the 2020 class features another star-studded list of inductees, including (click to watch):
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Among the many combined accolades of this year’s inductee class includes:
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20 NFL Pro Bowl selections
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12 seasons in the NBA
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Numerous Olympians, Olympic gold medalists, NCAA championships, world records, All-American recognitions, Hall of Fame inductions, Super Bowl appearances and retired jersey numbers
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Conference Player of the Year recognitions
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Honda Sports Awards
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Rose Bowl appearances
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Senior leadership who played key roles in establishing women’s athletics on campus
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The first woman ever to receive an athletic scholarship on campus
Celebrating the broad-based example of excellence, the 2020 Pac-12 Hall of Honor class is part of a rich history of champions for the Conference. With over 200 more than the next closest conference, the Pac-12 leads the list for the most NCAA titles by any league with 529 across 29 different sports, including nation-leading totals for men’s (305), women’s (193) and combined (31).
The 2020 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place Wednesday, March 11 through Saturday, March 14 with an action-packed 11 games over four intense days in the event’s fourth year at Las Vegas’ hottest sports and entertainment venue, T-Mobile Arena. Since moving to T-Mobile Arena, the event has enjoyed record attendance. Passes and tickets for the 2020 event, including All-Tournament Passes, Single-Session Tickets and Flex Pass options, are available at Pac-12.com/tickets.
Sean Rooks, Arizona
A four-year letter winner at Arizona from 1989-92, the late Sean Rooks owned the key during his basketball career and made an immense impact on the sport. As team captain his senior year, he was named MVP, Pac-10 All-Conference and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. Rooks helped Arizona capture three Pac-10 titles over his four years, as well as two Pac-10 tournament championships. Following his time at Arizona, Rooks spent 12 years in the NBA with multiple organizations before moving his expertise into coaching, both in America and overseas.
Melissa Belote Ripley, Arizona State
One of the greatest American swimmers of all time, Belote Ripley shattered the Arizona State record books and left an unparalleled legacy for the Sun Devils. Bringing home three gold medals for the American swimming team in Munich 1972, she also set a new American record during those Olympic games in the 200-meter backstroke. While at Arizona State, she won six individual National Collegiate Swimming Championships, leading the university to two national championships. A four-year All-American, Belote Ripley also earned the esteemed Broderick Award in 1977 as the most outstanding women’s collegiate swimmer in the country. She was later selected to the U.S. Swimming “Team of the Century” in 1999.
Bill Marolt, Colorado
An athlete, coach, athletics director and Aspen native, Marolt made his mark as a ski icon in the Colorado community. For Colorado, he is one of only six student-athletes to be a four-time NCAA individual champion. Following his graduation, he went on to provide his expertise in coaching the Buffs in 1969, leading them to seven straight national titles before turning to coach the U.S. ski team from 1979-84, earning three gold and three silver medals over that span (a U.S. record five in the ’84 Olympics, including three gold). Later, Marolt went on to become CEO and president of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association for a landmark 18 years. In addition to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, he is also a member of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and CU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Don Bowden, California
Setting the national half-mile record while in high school, Bowden would later set an NCAA mark in the half mile in 1957 while at the University of California, Berkeley. Later that year, after completing an economics final earlier in the day, Bowden became the first American to break the four-minute mile mark. At only 20 years old, he was the youngest person in the world to accomplish the feat, a mark he held at Cal for another 50 years. After setting several other school records, he went on to make the U.S. Olympic team in 1956 and was later inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987 and the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2008.
Dan Fouts, Oregon
At Oregon, Fouts was the 1982 Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, also collecting numerous other records for the university before going on to the NFL. With the Ducks, Fouts held career records with 5,995 passing yards and 5,871 total offensive yards. He still stands among the top 10 of nearly all Oregon career-passing categories. In Eugene, he also established 17 other school records, including the University’s single-game passing record with 396 yards, a record that stood for 19 years. Fouts also orchestrated what is still the largest comeback in school history, closing a 19-point deficit in a 41-40 win over UCLA in 1970. Drafted by the Chargers in 1973, he went on to enjoy an illustrious career in the NFL, later being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, as well as the Oregon Hall of Fame in 1992.
Joni Huntley, Oregon State
Throughout her legendary career, Huntley shattered records and athletic barriers. Attending high school nearby Oregon State at Sheridan High, she captured six state titles and set the women’s American record for the high jump, becoming the first American woman to clear six feet. Huntley went on to letter at Oregon State in her first year and became AIAW National Champion and All-American in both the high and long jumps. Now 45 years later, she still holds the Oregon State record for the high jump. On the international scene, she earned a gold medal in the high jump during the 1975 Pan Am Games and brought home bronze in the same event later in 1983. She also placed in the 1976 Montreal Olympic games and earned a bronze in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Huntley was later named to the Pac-12 Conference All-Century Women’s Track and Field team in 2016.
Jennifer Azzi, Stanford
A four-year team captain, two-time FIBA world champion and two-time WBCA All-American, Azzi is one of the most respected and accomplished icons in Stanford women’s basketball history. On The Farm, she earned her degree in economics while leading the team to two Pac-10 titles and the first NCAA championship in school history as a senior in 1990. The best player in the country that season, she earned the Wade Trophy, Naismith Trophy, Honda-Broderick Award, USBWA National Player of the Year Award and was named the NCAA Final Four MVP. Following her time at Stanford, Azzi went on to earn a gold medal with the U.S. women’s Olympic team and played professionally for a total of 13 years, including five in the WNBA. Following her playing days, Azzi turned to coaching, becoming the head coach of the University of San Francisco’s women’s basketball program for six seasons, leading the Dons to the 2016 WCC Tournament title. She is a member of several Halls of Fame, including the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jonathan Ogden, UCLA
A four-year starter for UCLA, Ogden was selected twice to the All-Pac-10 team and was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1995. He capped off his collegiate career by winning the Morris Trophy, the UPI Lineman of the Year Award and became UCLA’s first Outland Trophy winner. Following his time with the Bruins, Ogden went on to dominate with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, helping the team capture a championship at Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. An 11-time Pro Bowl selection, Ogden received All-Pro honors six times throughout his career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006, the Ravens Ring of Honor in 2008 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Ogden was later chosen as #72 on the NFL Network’s list of the 100 greatest players of all time and named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team in 2020. The Bruins retired his jersey, number 79, just the eighth player in UCLA football history to have his number retired.
Barbara Hedges, USC
An esteemed athletic administrator and NACDA Corbett Award winner, Hedges led the Trojans to dominate during her 18-year career at USC. Her oversight saw the Women of Troy capture 13 national titles before she became a senior associate athletics director for USC in 1989. Later leaving for the University of Washington to become the first woman to hold the role of athletics director of an NCAA school in a major conference, she also would also become the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors’ first female president in 1996 and the first woman on the National Football Foundation’s Board of Directors in 1998. In 2002, she returned to USC as co-chair of the athletic department’s Heritage Initiative fundraising effort and later served as chair for the 2016 USC Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.
Kathy Kreiner-Phillips, Utah
A six-time Canadian national champion, Olympic medalist and NCAA Champion, Kreiner-Phillips dominated in skiing for the University of Utah. Her competition at the Olympic level began at the age of 14, competing for the Canadian National Team in the 1972 Olympics. Despite being the youngest competitor that year, she placed 14th in the slalom event. Later at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, she became the youngest gold medalist in skiing history by winning the giant slalom at age 18. In her third and final Olympics in 1980, she placed fifth in the downhill, the best Olympic finish in the event by a Canadian woman at that time. For the Utes, she helped Utah win the first men and women’s combined national title in 1983, winning the giant slalom to become the school’s first NCAA women’s champion. She was also an All-American for Utah’s second-straight title in 1984.
Lincoln Kennedy, Washington
Helping the Huskies to three-straight Rose Bowl appearances and a perfect 12-0 National Championship season in 1991, Kennedy was one of the most dominant linemen in Conference history. A two-time First Team All-Pac-10 selection and a Pac-10 Morris Trophy Winner for Top Offensive Lineman, he was the only unanimous First Team All-American selection in 1992 among Pac-10 athletes. He was also the top offensive tackle in the nation during his senior season. Later selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, Kennedy went on to enjoy a professional career by earning three Pro Bowl selections from 2000-02. Following his playing days, Kennedy now serves as an analyst on Fox Sports radio broadcasts and Pac-12 Networks, serving as a team broadcaster for the Oakland Raiders. Kennedy was inducted into the University of Washington Hall of Fame in 2004 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Jeanne Eggart Helfer, Washington State
A double threat at Washington State, Eggart Helfer was one of the most ferocious scorers in Cougar basketball history while also setting the school javelin record as a sophomore. She was the first woman to receive an athletics scholarship at Washington State, netting a legendary 1,967 points during her four-year career, an all-time Cougar scoring record that stood for 38 years until the 2019-20 season. After graduating, she went on to coach the Mead High School Panthers in Spokane, Wash., leading the girl’s basketball team to three state titles in the 1990’s. She would also later coach at Mt. Spokane High School. Now a member of the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, Eggart Helfer is also a member of several other Halls of Fame, including the Washington State Athletic Hall of Fame.