On Thursday, over 20 student-athletes joined with alumni and the DU community to induct four individuals and the 1957-58 hockey team into the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame to kick off Homecoming weekend.
As the Denver Spirit Squad welcomed DU alumni, the Pioneer Pep Band played the fight song and DU’s student-athletes and coaches, old and new, gathered to honor Denver’s athletic program.
The event was held at the Westin Tabor Center downtown.
“It’s a great honor to be a part of the Hall of Fame ceremony,” senior swimmer and Student Athlete Advisory Council member Blake Worsley said. “It’s exciting to see all these people getting inducted. They serve as role models to me. All of the athletes obviously dream of being in the Hall of Fame, so it’s nice to be a part of this beforehand.”
“It’s great to be here and just to give thanks to everything they gave to DU athletics,” said basketball player Nigel Peter-Denman. Chancellor Robert E. Coombe gave the opening remarks and discussed the success of last year’s athletic teams and how they have represented the University.
“There is nothing quite like athletics when it comes to visibility of the university,” Coombe said.
Coombe went on to discuss how the experiences of the alumni being honored, has carried them on to “lives of great substance,” and the excellence associated with Denver athletics.
“The bottom line, when it comes to athletics at the University of Denver, is that it’s about excellence. It’s about the kind of excellence that is infectious and moves through all the student population at the university and expresses what the university is really about,” Coombe said.
Inductees in the 12th Hall of Fame class included James “Jimmy” Bowen, the quarterback from 1953-55, the heritage era inductee; Mike Law, men’s lacrosse standout from 1998 to 2001, modern era inductee; Deshawnne Running, women’s inductee; Dan Garcia, former coach inductee; and the 1957-58 DU hockey team, team inductee.
The alumni thanked the University for the honor and the opportunities DU gave them.
Garcia congratulated and thanked the university for the strides in women’s athletics, especially how the gymnastics program has progressed in the last 10 years.
“He (Garcia) didn’t’ have the great equipment he didn’t have all the resources necessary and they still won,” current gymnastics head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “They were still successful and he was able to inspire those student-athletes and it’s an honor and a thrill for me too, because I know we wouldn’t have had the success that we’re currently enjoying if it wasn’t for what he built before I got here.”
Vice Chancellor of Athletics and Recreation Peg Bradley-Doppes closed the evening in looking back on the traditions and excellence of the alumni.
“What a rich, rich tradition,” Bradley-Doppes said. “When you look at all of these inductees and this distinguished class there is a passion for excellence, a passion for being a Pioneer. We aspire higher every year because we feel a part of the rich tradition.”
The success of the alumni left lasting impressions on all of the student-athletes there that evening, Bradley-Doppes said.
Junior baskeball player Nate Ronhert was also honored take part in the induction ceremony.
“It’s great to be a part of something that honors the athletes that have helped to give us what we have today and give thanks for everything they’ve added to the DU athletic community,” he said.
Escorting former hockey captain Ed Zemrau was current hockey captain senior J.P. Testwuide.
“It was an honor to be able to walk a former captain up and being the captain. It was really inspiring,” Testwuide said. “It’s pretty cool, I mean, they started something from a long time ago and pretty much started the championship tradition if you really think about it, it’s pretty incredible.”
