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 The University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1993 in conjunction with the Football Centennial Celebration, in order to honor individuals and teams who have brought honor and distinction to the Intercollegiate Athletics Department of the University of Wyoming over its long and storied history. With the assistance of Jack Rosenthal of Casper, the Wyoming Hall of Fame plaque was designed and sculpted by Robert I. Russin, a world-renowned Wyoming artist. The plaques are currently displayed in the concourse of the Arena-Auditorium. It is open for public viewing during normal University hours and during all Arena-Auditorium events. The Hall of Fame will have a permanent display area in the Rochelle Athletics Center, which is currently under construction. The Hall of Fame categories are: 1) Athlete. Must have earned at least two varsity letters and must have been out of school at least five years. 2) Coach. A staff member for at least five years and no longer active at UW. 3) Team. An athletic team shall be considered as one inductee. The induction of a team shall not prohibit the separate induction of one or more team members. 4) Athletic Staff. A staff member for at least five years and no longer active at UW. 5) Special Achievement. Contributions to the ideals of sports. Honorees are chosen by the Hall of Fame selection committee, comprised of administrators, staff, and people close to the University's athletic program. |
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| Glenn
“Red” Jacoby
Athletic Director, 1946-73 |
Glenn J. “Red” Jacoby served as
the Wyoming Athletic Director for 27 years, from 1946 until his death in
1973. Jacoby, who was instrumental in the construction of War Memorial
Stadium and Fieldhouse, is credited with hiring some of Wyoming’s most
successful football coaches including Bowden Wyatt, Phil Dickens, Bob Devaney
and Lloyd Eaton. Jacoby was an integral figure in creating the Western
Athletic conference. He served on the United States Olympic Committee Board
of Directors. Jacoby was posthumously elected to the national Association
of College Athletic Directors Hall of Fame and the Idaho Sports Hall of
fame. The University of Wyoming golf course was named in his honor.
Inducted October 29, 1993
Honors and Awards Elected to the National Association of College Athletic Directors Hall of Fame |
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Jay Novacek Football & Track, 1982-84 |
Jay Novacek, a two sport All-American
at Wyoming, was a record setting football player and track and field performer.
He was selected to the Kodak All-American football team in 1984 after setting
an NCAA record for receiving yards per receptions by a tight end. He had
83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns as a tight end.
Novacek won the Western Athletic Conference decathlon championships earning
All-American honors. He set UW records for decathlon points, 7,615, and
in the pole vault, 16’4”. Novecek was a member of the 1993 Super Bowl Champion
Dallas Cowboys. Inducted October 29, 1993
Honors and Awards Wyoming record holder in Decathlon and Pole Vault |
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| Dr.
George Duke Humphrey
University of Wyoming President, 1945-64 |
George Duke Humphrey was the visionary behind the development of a successful athletic program. One of his first acts as president was to hire Glenn “Red” Jacoby as athletic director, and together they brought Wyoming athletics to national prominence. During Humphrey’s tenure, Wyoming posted a 106-39-9 record in football, which included two undefeated seasons and UW”s first three bowl appearances. Over the same period, Wyoming’s basketball team tallied six 20-win seasons and five NCAA tournament appearances. In addition, the Cowboys wrestling team placed as high as third at the NCAA tournament. Humphrey was largely responsible for the construction of the state-of-art athletic facilities: War Memorial Stadium and War Memorial Fieldhouse. Inducted September 16, 1994 | ||||
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| Jack
B. Aggers
Athletic Trainer, 1958-84 |
Jack Aggers, a 1950 graduate of
the University of Wyoming and native of Thermopolis, served his alma mater
for 26 years as the head athletic trainer. Aggers spent eight successful
years as a high school basketball coach in Cody and Worland, posting a
record of 106-93, before returning to UW in 1958. During his tenure, Aggers
worked for seven different head football coaches through four different
decades. During his career, Aggers served as a guest trainer for the Canadian
Football League, the host trainer for the 1965 NCAA Wrestling Championships,
and the trainer for the 1979 U.S. Olympic Basketball Development team that
toured Europe. In 1983, Aggers was Inducted into the National Athletic
Trainers Association Hall of Fame. Aggers retired from the University of
Wyoming in 1984. Aggers was given the prestigious White Hat Award by the
Cowboy Joe Club. Inducted September 15, 1995
Honors and Awards |
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| Patricia
L. Miller-Davis
Track &Field, 1980, 1982 |
Pat Miller-Davis twice earned All-American
honors in her two-year athletic career at Wyoming. Miller-Davis transferred
to Wyoming from Dodge City (Kans.) Community College, where she earned
All-American honors and was a national champion. In her first year at Wyoming,
she won the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) conference
championship in the long jump and was a member of the champion AIAW 4x220
relay. She set the UW school record in the long jump (20’4”) which remains
today. After taking one year off to have a child, Miller-Davis returned
to the team in 1982 and was again named All-American in the long jump,
winning AIAW indoor titles in the long jump and 55- meters. She still owns
school records in the long jump, 55-meters (6.89), and was a member of
the record setting 4x100 relay team (47.52). Inducted September 15,
1995
Honors and Awards |
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| Joseph
N. Nzau
Track, 1977-1982 |
Often referred to as the pioneer
of Kenyan running, Joe is perhaps the greatest track athlete ever at the
University of Wyoming. A four-year letterman from 1977-82, Nzau was a six-time
All-America and voted Wyoming’s Most Valuable Track Athlete all four years
he competed. As a freshman at UW, Nzau finished 21st in the country in
cross country and helped Wyoming finish third NCAA Championships. That
year he earned his first All-America honor. As a sophomore, Nzau was two-time
All-America in the 10,000 meters and fourth in the 3,000 meter steeple
chase. As a senior, Joe would round out his collegiate career with his
sixth All-America honor, with a fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters.
After graduating from UW with a degree in engineering, Joe competed in
the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif., for his native Kenya.
In the ‘84 Summer Games, he would finish sixth in the marathon and 10th
in the 10,000 meters. Inducted September 19, 1997
Honors and Awards |
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Kathleen Van Heule-Romsa Track, 1983-85 |
A Worland native and one of the
greatest all-around athletes ever to compete for Wyoming, Kathy Van Heule-Romsa
made a name for herself in the heptathlon. After transferring to Wyoming
as a sophomore from Florida State, she was a three-time High Country Athletic
Conference (HCAC) Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 1983, 1984 and
1985. Kathy was a back-to -back-to-back HCAC heptathlon champion during
those years, and was also the HCAC 100-meter hurdles champion in 1985.
During the 1984 conference championships she scored an amazing total of
46 points for the team, all while nursing an injured ankle. Kathy is the
HCAC record holder in the heptathlon and holds UW records in the heptathlon
and the mile medley relay. At one time she also held UW records in the
55-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles, high jump and the 100-meter dash.
A two-time NCAA qualifier, Kathy received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
Award and served as a UW assistant track coach for three years following
her senior year. Inducted September 25, 1998
Honors and Awards |
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Lee Kizzire Football, Wrestling, Track and Baseball, 1934-1936 |
One of the great athletes
in Wyoming pre-war history Captain Lee Kizzire was a four-sport letterman
for the Cowboys in football, wrestling, track and basketball. Kizzire was
a Wyoming native and was most decorated for his outstanding efforts in
football and wrestling. An All-American football player from 1933-1937,
Kizzire was also All-Conference and went on to play professionally. Kizzire,
a fullback on the football team, also was a talented wrestler. He was named
the rocky Mountain wrestling champion. His athleticism was such that he
excelled in all he did. In addition to his football and wrestling career,
Kizzire also lettered on the varsity track and basketball teams. Following
his award-winning career at the Wyoming, he went on to play professional
football, and later to coach at Riverton High School. In 1941, kizzire
entered the United States Air Corp and was commissioned as an officer in
1942. In November 1943, he was shot down on a mission near the island of
Wewak in the Pacific , and was never found. Inducted September 15,
2000
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Curtis and Marian Rochelle Special Achievement |
Curt and Marian Rochelle are honored
for their tremendous generosity in the special achievement category. The
Rochelles donated an historic $4.2 million gift to the University of Wyoming
Athletic department and made the dream of a new student-athlete center
a reality. Their gift is the largest in the UW’s history and this new student
athlete center will be appropriately named the Curtis and Marian Rochelle
Athletics Center, also know as the RAC. Curt Rochelle is a UW graduate
and a former trustee. Marian is a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia,
Mo., and Colorado College, in Colorado Springs, Co. The Rochelle’s have
given much more to the University than just the $4.2 million contribution
to the student-athlete center. In 1992, the Rochelles established the Curtis
and Marian Rochelle Professorship in Animal Science in memory of John Hill,
Curt’s advisor and college dean when he majored in animal science from
1937-1941. The Rochelles have also been honored as Outstanding Donors to
the College of Agriculture. Including the contribution to the student-athlete
center, the Rochelles have donated over $5.5 million dollars to the University
of Wyoming. Inducted September 28, 2001
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Ken Cook Special Achievement |
A long-time proponent of Wyoming Athletics, Ken Cook has devoted years of his life to the improvement of athletics, as well as the University, to achieve this induction to the Hall of Fame for Special Achievement. Cook came to UW as a student-athlete from Riverton, Wyoming and lettered in football from 1938-1942. His tireless devotion to the University is evident in so many areas. Cook was on the UW Alumni Association Board of Directors for seven years and president from 1983 to 1984. In 1987 he received the UW Alumni Association Medallion Service award. He also has been actively involved with the Cowboy Joe Club as an executive board member, and as its president from 1984 through 1986. He recieved Cowboy Joe's White Hat award in 1986, and helped launch the Steer-a-Year Program in 1995. He has chaired the Albany County Blitz and has consistently broken the club's donation goals. Cook was Vice Chairman of the football Centennial Celebration and has been an intricate member of the Hall of Fame Committee since its 1993 inception. He has proven to be a best friend to the University of Wyoming through his devotion to athletics and commitment to the success of the University. | ||||
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Charles "Mickey" Dunn Track, 1949-51 |
Arguably the greatest track and field performer in University of Wyoming history is Mickey Dunn. Dunn came to Wyoming from Johnstown, Colo., averaging 15.5 points per competition to reach a phenomenal total of 574.5 points in his three seasons of eligibility. In the 1951 Skyline Conference championship, he walked away as the 220 yard low hurdle and 220 yard dash champion. He was runner-up in the high hurdles, 100 yard dash, broad jump, high jump and placed in other events. Incredibly, Dunn still holds Wyoming's record in the 400 meter dash at :47.84 seconds set in May of 1951 and the 200 meter dash with :20.76 seconds which was one of the best track and field marks in the world that year. Dunn passed up the opportunity to develop his talents at a national level to ensure Wyoming was competitive in the conference. In 1952, he received the Robert E. Russell Memorial Award for the outstanding Amateur Athlete of the Year. Mickey Dunn, sometimes called Wyoming's "one man track team" was truly one of Wyoming's greatest athletes of all time. Inducted September 28, 2001 | ||||
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Jean Jackson Administrator 1951-87 |
Her loyalty, dedication, work ethic
and passion for Cowboy athletics as a senior administrative assistant in
the athletic department has earned her recognition that is much deserved.
The Laramie native attended the University of Wyoming before logging in
almost thirty-seven years as an employee working for five Athleitcs' Direcotrs
through her career. Beloved by athletes and coaches alike, her contributions
to athletics over the years were invaluable as she tirelessly worked to
make the department better. "She has touched so many lives in such a positive
way," said former Athletic Director Gary Cunningham. She was particularly
helpful to athletes who needed assistance while away from home. Her kindness
and work ethic was imcomparable. She had the respect of everyone with whom
she came in contact. Inducted September 28, 2001
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