Regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com are aware that we are gradually compiling the top 50 lists for every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the University of Wisconsin has announced the addition of 12 new members to its prestigious institution.

The new class will be inducted on September 5 and will be honored during the Badgers’ home game against Middle Tennessee State the following night.

The new inductees are:

Mohammed Ahmed, Track & Cross Country, 2009-14.  Ahmed was a four-time Cross Country All-American and a five-time All-American in Track.  He won the 2012 and 2014 Big Ten Indoor 5,000 Championships and the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor 5,000 Championships.  Ahmed represented Canada internationally and competed in four Olympic Games, which included a Silver Medal in the 5,000m in 2020.

Dorcas Akinniyi Jansen, Track & Field, 2008-13.  Jansen was a two-time Big Ten Outdoor Champion in the Heptathlon (2010 & 2013), a three-time Big Ten Indoor Champion in the Pentathlon (2010, 2011 & 2012), and was a six-time All-American.

Molly Engstrom, Women’s Hockey, 2001-05.  Engstrom was the two-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time First Team All-WCHA Selection, and helped Wisconsin reach its first NCAA Tournament (2005).  She competed internationally for the United States, winning five World Hockey Championships.

Travis Frederick, Football, 2009-12.  Frederick anchored the Badgers to three straight Big Ten Championships (2010-12) and was a First Team All-American in 2012.  He later played in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, where he was a five-time Pro Bowl Selection.

Frank Kaminsky, Men’s Basketball, 2011-15.  In his senior year, Kaminsky won the Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year, and was a Consensus All-American, leading the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours (2014 and 2015). 

Mary Massei Landini, Softball, 2010-14.  Landini was a two-time First Team All-Big-Ten Selection and batted .370 with 249 Hits over her career in Wisconsin.  She helped the Badgers win their first-ever Big Ten Tournament Title in 2013.

Matt Lepay, Special Service.  Known as the voice of the Badgers, Lepay had been the radio play-by-play announcer for Men’s Basketball since 1988 and Football since 1994, and had won the Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year award 11 times.

Joe Pavelski, Men’s Hockey, 2004-06.  Pavelski played two seasons for the Badgers, where he scored 111 Points and took Wisconsin to an NCAA Championship in 2006.  He was a four-time NHL All-Star and a member of Team USA at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, as well as the captain of the U.S. team at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Tom Shipley, Baseball, 1970-74.  Shipley was Wisconsin’s team Captain in 1973 and 1974, and was a two-time First Team All-Big 10 Selection.  He compiled 148 Hits for the Badgers.

Martin Smith, Cross Country Coach, 1983-97.  Smith was a two-time NCAA Coach of the Year and a six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, who also coached the Badgers to two NCAA Cross Country Championships (1985 and 1988).  In all 15 of Smith’s seasons as a Coach, Wisconsin qualified for the NCAA Championships, and he coached a total of four NCAA Championships and 31 Big Ten Champions.

Cara Walls, Women’s Soccer, 2011-14.  Walls scored 42 Goals for the program and led the Badgers to the Big Ten Championship in 2014.

James White, Football, 2010-13.  Playing at Running Back, White gained 4,015 Yards on the ground with 45 Touchdowns for the Badgers, and later won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the incoming members of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

 

A very solid player throughout his career, Michael Finley was capable of brilliant flashes of offense in the open court, and a stronger commitment to defense in his later campaigns. In his prime, Finley was a two-time All-Star and an electric player to watch. He was a workhorse on good Dallas Maverick teams (three times he led the NBA in minutes played) and was part of the ‘Run and Gun’ that they executed so well. Like so many of these players though, he found his championship ring in a supporting role where he won with San Antonio in 2007 coming off the bench.