DU INDUCTS CLASS OF 2008 INTO ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
Four Individuals And 1957-58 Hockey Team Make Up 12th Class
DENVER — Four distinguished individuals and the 1957-58 hockey team became the 12th class of the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame Thursday night in a ceremony at the Westin Tabor Center in downtown Denver. The event kicks off homecoming week at DU, with the hockey team hosting Ohio State Friday and Saturday in Magness Arena.
With these additions, the Athletic Hall of Fame now includes 106 individuals and seven distinguished DU teams. DU teams have won 26 National Championships four of the Pioneers' six NCAA title-winning hockey teams. The full list of 2008 inductees is below, with brief biographical sketches :
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
HERITAGE ERA INDUCTEE Jimmy Bowen - Posthumously
Football
1953-55
A staple of one of the finest three-year stretches in the history of the DU football program, Jimmy Bowen was a three-year letterwinner at quarterback on the final team to ever win a conference championship. He is first in school history in touchdown passes (24) and second in passing yards (2248), total yards (2213), completed passes (167), completion percentage (.515) and fourth in all-purpose yards (2267). He quarterbacked the 1954 team to a 9-1 record, the Skyline Conference title and a final national ranking of No. 18.
MODERN ERA INDUCTEES Mike Law
Lacrosse
1998-2001
A four-year letterwinner, Mike Law is the standard bearer for which all future DU lacrosse players will be judged. Leading the team in scoring his final three seasons in which he was a three-time All Great Western Lacrosse League selection, he made school history when he was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2001, the first player ever to earn such a distinction at DU.
WOMEN'S INDUCTEE Deshaunne Running
Soccer
1993-96
One of the finest players to ever wear the crimson and gold, Deshaunne Running was a four-time All-Colorado Athletic Conference selection as the anchor of the Pioneer back line. Serving as team captain for two seasons, Running’s defensive skill was noticed on a national scale in 1996, when she was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Umbro Division II Player of the Year.
FORMER COACHES INDUCTEE Dan Garcia
Gymnastics
1981-98
Serving as head gymnastics coach for 18 seasons, Dan Garcia brought unprecedented success to the first woman’s program at DU to compete at the Division I level. Taking over the team in 1981, Garcia won an AIAW Division II national championship in 1982, and followed that with an NCAA Division II title in 1983. Along the way, Garcia coached 12 All-American gymnasts and successfully moved DU to Division I in 1984.
TEAM INDUCTEE 1957-58 Hockey Team
The 1957-58 hockey team holds the distinction of the first hockey team to win an NCAA championship at DU, which they did with a 6-2 win over North Dakota in the NCAA final, a team that had defeated the Pioneers three previous times during the season. DU had a final record of 24-10-2 and finished tied for first in the WIHL, the school’s first-ever league crown.
