BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Four legendary teams in the history of WKU Athletics will be inducted as part of the 35th class into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2026 includes the 1974 Men's Track and Field team, the 1992-93 Men's Basketball team, the 2015 Softball team and the 2015 Football team.
Information on individuals chosen for the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026 and recognition ceremonies will be released at a later date.
The 1974 Men's Track and Field team claimed the Men's OVC Outdoor Track Championship, as well as several other team and individual titles. The group was led by Men's OVC Outdoor Coach of the Year Jerry Bean – his third straight season receiving the honor.
At the OVC Outdoor Championship, the squad claimed the 440-yard relay title 41.1 seconds, as well as the 1-mile relay crown with a time of 3:13.4. Also in the OVC Outdoor Championship, David Jaggers claimed the 880-yard run championship with a time of 1:49.90, Nick Rose was the champion in the mile run with a mark of 4:02.6, Bobby Payne won the 120-yard hurdles with a time of 14.4, Chuck Durrant claimed the high jump crown with a mark of 6-11.25, Jesse Stuart was the shot put champion with a throw of 64-2 and Larry Prochazka was the conference champion in the javelin with a throw of 215-4. Nick Rose and Jesse Stuart were named All-Americans for the 1974 outdoor season, and Stuart also claimed All-American honors during the indoor season.
During the 1992-93 Men's Basketball season, the Hilltoppers posted a 26-6 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. Ralph Willard's Hilltoppers claimed the conference tournament title and made a run to the Sweet 16 with NCAA Tournament wins over Memphis State and Seton Hall, before eventually seeing the season come to a close with an overtime loss to Florida State. WKU reached No. 20 in the final Associated Press poll of the season and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.
Individually, Darnell Mee was named an AP Honorable Mention All-American, after receiving All-SBC honors and being named the MVP of the SBC Tournament. Mark Bell was also named to the All-SBC and All-SBC Tournament teams. WKU scored 2,720 points during the 1992-93 season, which was third-most in a season at the time and is still fifth-most in program history, and were led by Mee's 18.9 points per game. The 85.0 points per game are sixth-most in a season in program history and WKU's 516 assists are the second-most in a single-season in program history. Mee posted 606 points and Bell had 537, which are both top-30 marks in a single season in program history. The defense was just as strong, as WKU recorded 358 steals, which is most in a season in program history. Mee had 100 steals, which is more than any other player in a season in program history, while Bell tallied 76, which is fourth-most in a season. Darius Hall led the team on the boards with 6.1 rebounds per game.
The 2015 Softball team went 36-14 overall and 16-4 in Conference USA play, claiming the league's regular-season title and CUSA Tournament championship, before making a run to the NCAA Regional Final in Athens, Georgia, with wins over North Carolina and Georgia – including a 14-inning affair with the host Bulldogs.
The team was coached by Amy Tudor, who was named the CUSA Coach of the Year, and was led by pitcher Miranda Kramer, who recorded a program-record 439 strikeouts in 243.1 innings and posted a 1.24 ERA on her way to becoming the program's first-ever NFCA First Team All-American. She was also named NFCA All-Region, WKU's Student-Athlete of the Year, CUSA All-Tournament MVP, CUSA Pitcher of the Year, CUSA Newcomer of the Year, CUSA All-Conference and CUSA Female Athlete of the Year. Also highlighting the Hilltoppers that season were Larissa Franklin, an NFCA All-Region and All-CUSA selection who hit .417 on the season – the second-best mark in program history; Dani Pugh, who was an All-CUSA pick; and Kathryn Downing and Carleigh Chaumont, who both made the CUSA All-Tournament Team. The latter was also named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team.
The 2015 Hilltopper Football team went 12-2 overall and 8-0 in CUSA play, claiming the league championship with a 45-28 victory over Southern Miss and the Miami Beach Bowl title with a 45-35 victory over South Florida. WKU ended the season ranked No. 24 in the final AP Poll – the program's highest finish to a season in its FBS Era (since 2009). The 12 wins were tied for most in a single season with the 1973 and 2002 squads, and are the most in the program's FBS Era. The 2015 WKU Football team had 14 players on the roster that made an NFL roster.
The team set the program record for total yards in a season with 7,370 and points scored with 620, which both still ranks second. The high-flying Hilltopper offense, led by quarterback Brandon Doughty, averaged 44.3 points, scored a program-record 82 touchdowns and threw for 5,211 yards – the first time it crossed 5,000 yards passing in a season and still the second-most passing yards in a season. Doughty was named a Third Team All-American by Athlon Sports and earned All-American Honorable Mention honors from Pro Football Focus and Sports Illustrated. He was also a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award, received points in voting for the Heisman Memorial Trophy, was a Senior Class Award Finalist and was a Golden Arm Award Finalist. Doughty earned numerous conference recognitions, highlighted by Most Valuable Player honors. Taywan Taylor was named a Second Team All-American by Pro Football Focus and received Fourth Team All-American honors from Phil Steele, in addition to being named an All-CUSA First Team selection and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award after catching 86 passes for 1,467 yards and 17 touchdowns, which were all program records at the time. The team also featured tight end Tyler Higbee and offensive lineman Forrest Lamp, who both earned Pro Football Focus Second Team All-American and All-CUSA First Team honors. Kicker Garrett Schwettman also earned national recognition as a Lou Groza Award semifinalist to go along with his All-CUSA First Team honors. The 2015 Football team had several others receive postseason CUSA recognition, including Nick Holt, Kylen Towner, Anthony Wales, Jared Dangerfield, Nolan Downing, Prince Charles Iworah, T.J. McCollum, Jontavius Morris, Nicholas Norris, Jake Collins, Dennis Edwards and D'Andre Ferby.
The four teams included in the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will join 16 other teams already in the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of teams inducted in 2019. The other 16 teams are the 2002 Football team, the 1952 Football team, the 1991-92 Women's Basketball team, the 1974 Men's Cross Country team, the 1973 Football team, the 1975 Football team, the 1941-42 Men's Basketball team, the 1970-71 Men's Basketball team, the 1947-48 Men's Basketball team, the 1984-85 Women's Basketball team, the 1985-86 Women's Basketball team, the 1953-54 Men's Basketball team, the 1963 Football team, the 1980 Baseball team, the 1965-66 Men's Basketball team and the 1966-67 Men's Basketball team.
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