Mark Schlereth, Jerry Kramer and Gus Johnson are just a few of the nationally known names residing in the Vandal Athletic Hall of Fame. Only the best athletes, coaches and contributors make it into the Vandal Athletic Hall of Fame, and six new individuals and two teams will be added to the list Friday at the University Inn-Best Western for the 2014 banquet and induction ceremony.
“It’s a very fun time to see new inductees go into your Hall of Fame,” Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear said.
The new inductees for the fifth Hall of Fame class are Bob and Jan Cowan, the namesake for the Cowan Spectrum; Russ Winger, standout thrower at Idaho; Super Bowl champion Jake Scott; longtime record holder Sherrie Crang; 10-time track and field champion Jackie Ross and two sets of standout tennis and cross country teams.
Spear said more than 200 people are expected to attend the induction banquet on Friday. Most of the people will be friends and family members of the inductees as well as other Vandal supporters. The inductees will also be honored between the first and second quarter of Idaho’s Hall of Fame football game Saturday against Western Michigan.
Inductees Bob and Jan Cowan are recognizable to Vandal fans as they are the namesake for the Idaho’s basketball arena, the Cowan Spectrum. The Spectrum is constructed inside the Kibbe Dome every year during the basketball seasons.
“The number one thing about Bob and Jan (Cowan) is they really understand the importance of a quality athletic program and how that really adds value to the overall university,” Spear said. “They’ve been annual contributors forever, contributing a significant sum every year. In this world you have to have people like Bob and Jan to stay even with your competition.”
Joining the Cowans in the 2014 induction class are several track and field and cross country athletes. Sherrie Crang was the 1982 AIAW national champion in the 3,000 meters while helping the Vandals to a second-place national finish.
“She was probably one of the premier distance runners in her day,” Spear said of Crang. “Her 5000-meter record stood until 2013. She must’ve been a fabulous athlete back in the day for her record to stand for 25 years because Idaho has had quality distance programs and quality track programs, so very deserving.”
Russ Winger, another former track and field athlete and 2014 inductee, is still competing today. He is a six-time NCAA All-American thrower, a 10-time qualifier for NCAA Championship meets and has competed at the highest level in the Olympics.
Jackie Ross rounds out the track and field inductees for the 2014 class. Ross was a 10-time Big Sky Conference champion, and set an outdoor triple jump record in 1990 that still stands.
“Jackie came from the Caribbean, was an international student and had probably never seen snow in her life,” Spear said. “Came here and still resides in the United States, but was a fabulous athlete in our track and field program.”
Idaho is also inducting the 1937-41 men’s cross country teams that dominated the Pacific Coast Conference with four straight conference titles.
Outside of track and field inductees, Jake Scott is a former Idaho football player who made his name after Idaho competing at the highest level. Scott, a Lewiston Idaho native, played for the 2006 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, and was on the 2004 Football Digest all-Rookie Team.
“The most important thing that Jake Scott brings is he is a college of engineering graduate,” Spear said. “What a great role model to be a college football player and go play at the highest level, but have a quality degree from a great institution.”
Rounding out Idaho’s 2014 Vandal Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are the 1966-73 men’s tennis teams. Spear said the strong tradition Idaho has had in tennis in recent years started back with those tennis teams that won seven successive Big Sky Conference titles from 1967-73.
Selection and induction into the Hall of Fame is a long process, he said.
“We have a Hall of Fame committee, we have byelaws and there are certain criteria to be even nominated for possible induction into the Hall of Fame,” Spear said. “A lot of people nominate individuals of the past and that’s how we’ve going about it at least the last three inductions.”
Spear helped start the Vandal Athletic Hall of Fame with the help of Benny Blick, the late Bob Curtis, Ken Jones, Jerry Meyerhoffer and Becky Paull in 2007. Since then, classes have been inducted in 2008, 2010, 2012 and now in 2014. The next nominations will be in 2016.
“In 2007 and 2008 we inducted 92 individuals and five teams,” Spear said. “We really made up for lost ground in those first two years so those were our inaugural class.”
Some of Idaho’s most recognizable inductees in inaugural Hall of Fame classes are Schlereth, Kramer and Johnson.
Schlereth is a regular NFL commentator on ESPN who came to Idaho out of Service High school in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1985. He went on to be a two-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time Super Bowl champion in the NFL.
Kramer was Idaho’s first football All-American playing for the Vandals from 1955-58. He went on to play for the Green Bay Packers, where he helped win four NFL Championships and had victories in Super Bowls I and II.
Johnson was the best basketball player to ever come out of Idaho and he only played for the Vandals for one year, Spear said. Johnson was a Vandal for the 1962-63 season before embarking on a 10-year NBA and ABA career with the Baltimore Bullets, Phoenix Suns and Indiana Pacers. He played in five NBA All-Star Games and the Bullets retired his No. 25 jersey.
“That was really rewarding to go back and look at all the great athletes and people that have been associated with the University of Idaho … I’ve met some incredible people along the way,” Spear said. “It’s a great way to reward the excellence of the past and I think that’s what makes our university great, is it has such tradition.”
The Vandal Athletic Hall of Fame can be viewed on the second floor of the eastside of the Kibbie Dome by the weight room.
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]