Current
Issue

UNIToday
Archives

Submit
Class Notes

Alumni
Home

2009 Hall of Fame honorees

Five individuals and one team will be inducted into the University of Northern Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming festivities the weekend of Oct. 17.

The 2009 Hall of Fame inductee class includes: the 1950 wrestling team, former wrestling coach Don Briggs, former women’s golfer Lisa Miller, former men’s swimmer Mark Onstott, and former track athlete Joey Woody. Also being inducted is former sports information director Nancy Justis, who will receive the Dr. Jitu D. Kothari Meritorious Service Award.

The 1950 wrestling team captured both the NCAA team title as well as the AAU wrestling championship in 1950, outlasting Big Ten Champion Purdue by a final dual score of 30-16. Three of the Panthers—Keith Young, Bill Nelson and Bill Smith—won NCAA individual championships. The 1950 wrestling team remains the only team sport at UNI to win a Division I national title.

Briggs was the head wrestling coach for the Panthers for 15 years (1983-97), leading the Panthers to nine top 15 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including two 10th place finishes. Briggs won 12 consecutive West Regional titles and finished with an overall dual coaching record of 164-98. He coached 15 wrestlers that earned All-America honors, including four wrestlers who earned the distinction twice and two who earned three All-America citations.

Miller was a member of the UNI women’s golf team from 1976-1979, earning the first women’s golf scholarship in 1978. Miller became the first woman to earn her Class A Membership in the Iowa Section of the PGA and now is a member of the board of directors for the Iowa Section PGA. Miller was named a PGA Master Professional in 2005, one of just nine women to earn the distinction out of more than 25,000 members and apprentices. Miller currently serves as the golf operations manager/director of golf for the city of Cedar Rapids.

Onstott, a member of the UNI men’s swimming team from 1972-1975, earned All-America honors in 1975. Onstott was a member of three conference championship teams with the Panthers and was awarded the James Witham Award as the Outstanding Swimmer of the Year. As a coach, Onstott earned National High School Coach of the Year in 2005 from the National High School Coaches Association and also by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.

Woody became the Panthers first Division I track athlete to win a national title, winning the 400-meter hurdles at the 1997 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Woody was a four-time All-American while at UNI, placing at the national meet three times in the 400-meter hurdles and once in the 800 meters. In 2000, Woody was a member of the USA’s 4x800 meter relay team that set the indoor world record along with being a member of the USA’s 1999 world championship effort in the 4x400 meter relay and placing second in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2003 World Championships. Woody has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa, spending the five seasons prior to that as an assistant with the Panthers.

Justis, the Dr. Jitu D. Kothari Meritorious Service Award recipient, spent 30 years in the UNI athletics media relations department, including 26 as director of media relations. Justis came to UNI in 1974 and began working as the assistant editor in the office of public relations, but moved to athletics and spent three years as the assistant media relations director. Justis was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as well as serving as the chair for the CoSIDA Career Enhancement Committee.

Adding strength to athletes and academics

University of Northern Iowa student-athletes will be able to take advantage of one of the premier strength and conditioning venues in the Midwest with the completion of the Panthers’ new weight room, which is one of the main elements of the Richard O. Jacobson Human Performance Complex.

“This is top-notch in every facet of the design,” UNI strength coach Jed Smith said. “We will be using items that will put us on the cutting-edge of strength and conditioning. This is truly an exciting time to be a student-athlete at UNI.”

And the benefits extend to academics, as well.

“We want UNI’s School of HPELS (Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services) to be the Midwest’s premier program for students entering the field of strength and conditioning,” Smith said. “This facility will be a state-of-the-art educational tool for our students and will bring in first-class scholars from around the world to study at UNI.”

The new weight room gives UNI student-athletes nearly 10,000 square feet of workout space, almost doubling the size of the previous facility.

“There are flat screen monitors placed throughout the weight room and they are hooked up to digital recorders which will show the athletes how they are performing and give instantaneous feedback,” Smith said. “This type of technology will allow us to frame our athletes as they are working out with world-class athletes. This would be especially helpful on the track and field side of things as our sprinters can work on their form and then be placed digitally over someone like Michael Johnson or Usain Bolt.”

Not only will student-athletes benefit from their new environment, coaches and fans alike can watch the action live on the Internet as each station will stream the activities, which Smith said is unlike anything he’s ever worked with before.

“Each of the athletes will be hooked up so we can monitor their breathing and heart rates and all of that info will also go out on the Web,” Smith said. “There is just so much space for our athletes to work with and then adding in all the technology—no doubt the word that comes to mind is ‘impressive’.”

New Turf for the UNI-Dome

The UNI-Dome had new turf prior to the 2009 football season’s kickoff, thanks, in part, to a major grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association. A safe surface is vital, not only for Panther football, but also for the many university, community and statewide events hosted in the UNI-Dome each year.

Securing funds for the new turf was part of the fundraising initiative Vested in the Panthers, which seeks resources for Panther Athletics programs, facilities and scholarships. UNI invites alumni and friends to become Vested in the Panthers by pledging $15,000 over five years to any number of UNI Foundation funds that support Panther Athletics. For more information, visit www.unipanthers.com.