2015 UA Sports Hall of Honor Class Announced
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A total of nine former University of Arkansas student-athletes will be inducted as members of the 2015 class of the UA Sports Hall of Honor this September. The honorees include a pair of consensus football All-Americans, one of the top rebounders in school history, two NCAA championship divers, a women’s track and field star and one of the most decorated men’s track and field stars in the storied tradition of Razorback Track and Field.
The 2015 class includes former Razorback football greats Steve Korte, Kendall Trainor and Lynn Garner, men’s basketball star Derek Hood, baseball standout Mike Loggins, divers Ron Meyer and Robin Ford, women’s track and field All-American Deedee Brown-Campbell and men’s track and field All-American and NCAA Champion Niall Bruton. The 2015 inductees were elected to the UA Sports Hall of Honor based on a vote by former Razorback letter winners in conjunction with the A Club.
“We are proud to announce the inductees for the 2015 University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long says. “This year’s class includes nine outstanding Razorback student-athletes who competed in seven different programs at the University of Arkansas in careers spanning four decades. Being selected by your peers for induction into the UA Sports Hall of Honor is the highest honor any Razorback student-athlete can receive from the A Club. We look forward to recognizing their extraordinary achievements during the Hall of Honor weekend this September.”
The 2015 class will be inducted during the Hall of Honor weekend, Sept. 3-5. Hall of Honor weekend includes a golf tournament at the Fayetteville Country Club and an induction banquet at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale. Inductees will also be recognized during half-time of Arkansas’ football home opener against UTEP at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Tables and individual tickets to the induction banquet and the Hall of Honor golf tournament may be purchased from the Razorback Foundation. Sponsorships are also available for the banquet and golf outing. For more information, call the Razorback Foundation at 479-443-9000 or visit RazorbackFoundation.com.
2015 UA Sports Hall of Honor Inductees
Steve Korte
Lettered in football in 1981 and 1982. Earned Consensus All-America honors as an offensive guard as a senior in 1982 helping Arkansas rush for more than 2,300 yards and 22 touchdowns. Korte was the fourth offensive guard in UA history to earn All-America honors. He was selected to All-America teams by the Associated Press, UPI and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) among others. As a senior, he helped lead the Razorbacks to a 9-2-1- record and a win over Florida in the Bluebonnet Bowl. Arkansas finished ranked No. 8 in the UPI poll that season. Was a consensus All-SWC selection in both 1981 and 1982 helping the Razorbacks to a 17-6-1 record in those two seasons. Known for his exceptional strength, he bench-pressed 585 pounds during his time in Fayetteville. He was selected to the Senior Bowl following his Razorback career. Korte was selected as the No. 38 overall pick in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played eight seasons as a center and offensive guard with the Saints (1983-90). He played 83 career games with 63 career starts. Korte was a member of the UA All-Century Team and the UA all-Decade Team for the 1980’s.
Kendall Trainor
One of the best placekickers in Razorback history, he was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 1988. A former walk-on, Trainor led the nation with an average of 2.18 field goals made per game in helping lead the Razorbacks to a Southwest Conference championship. Trainor holds multiple school records including the record for most field goals made in a season, splitting the uprights 24 of 27 times, and made field goals in a game (5-5) against TCU and Texas A & M. He made 24 consecutive field goals, one short of the national record, in his senior season. For his career, Trainor hit 51 of 69 field goals attempts for a .739 percentage. He scored 264 career points as a kicker and also punted for the Razorbacks during his career. As a freshman, he converted a 37-yard field goal with less than a minute to play to give Arkansas an 18-17 win over Arizona State in the 1985 Holiday Bowl. Trainor also was a three-year baseball letterman including helping the Hogs to the 1987 College World Series. He was drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals in the 1989 NFL Draft. He also spent time with Sacramento and the New York/New Jersey franchises in the World League of American Football.
Derek Hood
A four-year letterwinner from 1996-99, Derek Hood was one of the most prolific rebounders in Arkansas history. A second-team All-Southeastern Conference performer by both the Associated Press and SEC Coaches in 1999 and third-team player in 1997, Hood is one of only two players in school history to score 1,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds, finishing just 13 boards shy of Sidney Moncrief’s record. He led the SEC in rebounding average two times, 1999 and 1997, and the league in field goal percentage as a senior. He is the only player in program history since 1975 to average double figure rebounds in a season with 10.3 rebounds per game in 1998-99, a year in which he also set the Arkansas single-season record for overall rebounds (349) and rebounds in SEC action (152). Hood’s 10.3 rebounds per game in 1998-99 were bolstered by a program record six-game double-double streak that included all three games of Arkansas’ run to the SEC title game. The 1999 National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District player in 1999 concluded his career averaging 9.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for teams that went to three NCAA Tournaments and the NIT Final Four.
Mike Loggins
An All-American outfielder for the Razorbacks, Loggins played for Arkansas head coach Norm DeBriyn from 1983-85. Loggins was named an All-American in 1985 and earned All-Southwest Conference honors in both 1984 and 1985. He also earned All-SWC Tournament honors in 1985. The Crossett, Ark., native was key offensive contributor for the Razorbacks while patrolling the outfield at George Cole Field. He finished his career with a .335 batting average, 159 hits, 261 total bases, 132 runs, 108 RBIs and 19 home runs. By the time his Razorback career concluded, he ranked tied for second in career stolen bases (41) and had a spot in the career top 10 school record book in almost every offensive category. He led the team with 15 stolen bases in 1985. He also posted a .358 average and 11 home runs and 61 RBI that season. In 1984, he tallied a .325 batting average, including .379 in conference play, with seven home runs, 31 RBI and 14 stolen bases. As a true freshman in 1983, he hit .301 with one home run, 16 RBI and 12 stolen bases. While he was a Razorback, Loggins competed for the United States at the World Baseball Championships in Cuba. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 1985 draft and played seven seasons in professional baseball.
Ron Meyer
The only four-time All-American in Razorback men’s swimming and diving history, Ron Meyer stands alone as the most accomplished diver in the history of the University of Arkansas. Meyer earned All-America honors in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1985. Meyer won NCAA titles in both the one and three-meter diving events at the 1985 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Meyer was the NCAA champion on the three-meter with 606.7 points, winning the title by a hundredth of a point. He also won the one-meter competition with a score of 548.10 points.
Niall Bruton
Bruton lettered from 1991-94 at the University of Arkansas and was a three-time NCAA Champion during his career with the Razorbacks. The Dublin, Ireland native was an 11-time All-American, earning All-America honors in each of his four years competing for Arkansas. He won back-to-back NCAA championships in the indoor mile in 1993 (4:00.05) and 1994 (3:59.34). Bruton ran on the indoor distance medley relay team that won with a time of 9:30.07 at the 1994 NCAA Championships. Bruton was a four-time SEC Champion with victories in the mile (1992 Indoor), 1,500 Meters, 5,000-Meters (1993 Outdoor) and as member of the Distance Medley Relay Team (1994 Indoor). Bruton also captured an NCAA Regional Cross Country Individual title in 1993 on the way to leading the Razorbacks to a NCAA Cross Country Championship. During his tenure, Bruton helped lead the Razorbacks to a combined 11 NCAA Championships and 12 SEC team titles. In addition, Bruton won three Irish 1,500-Meters titles and won the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He posted a personal best of three minutes and 53 seconds in the mile. Bruton represented his home country, Ireland, at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga.
Deedee Brown-Campbell
A member of the University of Arkansas women’s track and field team from 1999-2002, Brown-Campbell was a two-time All- American and is the former school record holder in the pentathlon. During her time on campus, Brown-Campbell was a three-time SEC individual champion (2000 SEC indoor – distance-medley relay, 2000 SEC outdoor – heptathlon, 2002 SEC indoor – pentathlon) and helped lead the Razorbacks to four SEC team titles. Brown-Campbell later went on to work for Razorback Athletics was the first female African-American to be promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in the former Women’s Athletics Department. When the athletic departments combined, Brown-Campbell continued to serve as an Associate Director of Academic Support and became the first Coordinator of Athletic Diversity Initiatives for the Razorbacks. She now works with intercollegiate athletics at Baylor University as Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services.
Robin Ford
An NCAA champion, Ford was a member of the Razorback diving team from 1983-85 under the direction of diving coach Donnie Craine. While at Arkansas, Ford became the first female diver to claim an NCAA title when she captured the three-meter title with a mark of 482.45 at the 1985 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Metairie, La., native also finished earned another top-10 finish in the same championship meet by placing ninth in the one-meter competition (415.65). Ford received All-America accolades for her efforts at the NCAA meet and helped the Hogs to their best team finish in history. She also captured the NCAA Zone diving title that year, leading up to her national title. Ford first made an NCAA appearance at the 1983 championship meet finishing 16th in the three-meter competition
Lynn Garner
Lynn Garner lettered for the Razorbacks from 1967-69 and was a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection as a junior. He collected 330 tackles, a number that was third in school history at the time and is still tied for 10th on Arkansas’ career list. During his career the Razorbacks were 23-8-1 and claimed the 1968 SWC championship with a 10-1 record. The 1968 team was ranked No. 6 in the final AP poll after defeating No. 4 Georgia 16-2 in the 1969 Sugar Bowl, a victory helped by Garner forcing a goal-line fumble to preserve a 10-2 lead in the third quarter. The 1969 team finished the year 9-2, earned a return trip to the Sugar Bowl and was ranked No. 7 in the final poll. As a sophomore, he led the team with 110 tackles and tied for the team lead with three fumble recoveries. His 125 tackles as a junior included 19 in a 35-29 win vs. SMU, which was tied for the sixth-highest single-game tackles total by a Razorback. In his senior season, he collected 95 tackles while performing on a defense that led the NCAA by allowing just 7.6 points per game.
For more information regarding Razorback Athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
