Two of the best defensive backs in school history headline the 2022 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame class, which was announced Monday.
Prince Amukamara, a first-team All-American and Big 12 defensive player of the year in 2010, and Bruce Pickens, a two-time first-team All-Big Eight selection, are two of the six former Husker standouts in the class.
Other former Huskers in the class are offensive lineman Toniu Fonoti, a first-team All-American and Outland Trophy finalist in 2001; Ric Lindquist, a first-team All-Big Eight pick in 1981; Lee Kunz, a linebacker who led Nebraska in tackles in 1977 and 1978; and Ron McDole, a tackle who went on to play 18 professional seasons after leaving NU in 1960.
There are also two state college representatives in the class.
Former Nebraska-Kearney coach Darrell Morris went 101-63 in 15 seasons at UNK from 2000 to 2014. He led the Lopers to four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles and four NCAA Division II playoff berths. His 2009 team posted a school-best 11-2 record.
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Former Concordia tight end Ross Wurdeman was a two-time NAIA All-American who graduated with many of the program’s receiving records in 2001.
Wurdeman was named to the NAIA All-Decade team of the 2000s. He finished his career with 168 catches, 2,458 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.
In addition, the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will present the Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award to Marlene Ricketts of Omaha, and the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award to longtime athletic department employees Dr. Lonnie Albers and Mike Arthur.
The 2022 inductees were chosen by the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame. The class will be officially inducted at a Sept. 9 banquet in Lincoln and recognized the following day at the Huskers’ home game against Georgia Southern.
Nebraska’s Bruce Pickens is part of the 2022 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame class. The defensive back was a two-time first-team All-Big Eight selection
Prior to 2015, players must have been either an All-American or first-team all-conference selection to make the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame ballot. Beginning in 2015, Huskers who earned second-team all-conference honors dating back to the expansion of the Big Eight to the Big 12 (1996) and now the 14-team Big Ten, are eligible. Players are not eligible for the ballot until after a 10-year waiting period from the end of their collegiate careers. Major national award winners earn automatic induction. Active NFL players are not on the ballot.
A closer look at each member of the 2022 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class
Guy Chamberlin
Nebraska football never lost a game in the three years Chamberlin was on campus (1913-15), compiling a 23-0-1 record and winning the conference title every season. After serving in the U.S. Army following his Husker career, Chamberlin went on to become the first Husker to play in what is now the NFL. He was a winner in the professional ranks as well, winning four professional titles in five seasons as a player-coach.
Christina Houghtelling
Nebraska volleyball posted a 154-12 record in the five years Houghtelling was in Lincoln. From 2003 to 2007, Houghtelling helped the Huskers to four Big 12 titles and four top-five NCAA finishes, including a runner-up finish in 2005 and a national championship in 2006. When Nebraska was the NCAA runner-up in 2005, Houghtelling was the national player of the year.
Patrick Kirksey
Kirksey added to the legacy of the Nebraska men’s gymnastics programs as a four-year standout from 1987 to 1990. A three-time individual NCAA champion, Kirksey played a key role in Nebraska winning the national title in both 1988 and 1990. In Kirksey’s career, the Huskers were either the NCAA champion or NCAA runner-up all four seasons.
Shane Komine
Komine took the Nebraska baseball program to new heights from 1999 to 2002. He won a school-record 41 games in his career and helped the Huskers to 190 wins in his four seasons, an average of nearly 48 wins per season. Komine was the ace on the first Nebraska team to advance to a Super Regional (2000) before leading the Huskers to back-to-back College World Series appearance in 2001 and 2002, the program’s first two trips to Omaha.
Ali Viola
Viola was a key reason for the rapid rise of the Husker softball program from 1995 to 1998. After four straight losing seasons, Nebraska won 162 games and nearly 70% of its games during Viola’s career. Nebraska ended a six-year postseason drought by making the NCAA Tournament in each of Viola’s four seasons. Her career culminated with a record-breaking 1998 season when Nebraska went undefeated in the Big 12, swept the conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in a decade.
Angela Thacker
Thacker was a 15-time conference champion and the 1983 NCAA indoor long jump champion. She also played a key role in leading Nebraska to NCAA indoor national championships in 1983 and 1984. Thacker had a pair of top-three finishes at the 1983 championship and posted three top-three finishes at the 1984 championship. She contributed 35 team points for Nebraska’s back-to-back national championships in 1983 and 1984.
Bill Straub
Straub produced consistent winners as Nebraska’s head bowling coach. Straub’s teams won eight national titles in the 22 seasons he led the program as a varsity sport. Bowling became an NCAA sport beginning with the 2003-04 season, and Straub guided Nebraska to the NCAA Final nine times in 16 seasons, winning five NCAA titles. The Huskers won the inaugural NCAA Championship in 2004 and repeated as national champions in 2005, while also winning the NCAA title in 2009, 2013 and 2015.
Louise Pound
Pound won big in an era when female athletes had limited opportunities to compete. She was the 1891 and 1892 University of Nebraska-Lincoln tennis champion, competing in a primarily male field to win both titles. She was also the university runner-up in 1894, which earned her a men’s varsity letter and the distinction as the only woman in Nebraska Athletics history to be a men’s letterwinner.
Contact the writer at cbasnett@journalstar.com or 402-473-7436. On Twitter @HuskerExtraCB.
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