Don’t know about you, but I had always assumed that Nebraska already had a Hall of Fame to highlight its athletic prowess. That turns out to not be the case, although the university is set to rectify that situation.
And, as it turns out, they’ll also become the latest Hall of Fame to snub Tommie Frazier.*
In a press release, NU announced that 22 former student-athletes will be a part of the inaugural Nebraska Hall of Fame class that’s set to debut in a few months. One of those 22 is former football great and College Football Hall of Famer Dave Rimington, for whom the annual Rimington Award is named.
The enshrinement ceremonies will be held in conjunction with Nebraska’s 2015 football season opener against BYU Sept. 5.
The criteria for selection are as follows, with the stipulation that in this initial class there was one inductee from each of NU’s current 21 varsity sports as well as one from the disbanded men’s swimming program:
1) the nominee must have completed his or her Nebraska athletic career at least 10 years prior to the current academic year;
2) the nominee must have demonstrated exceptional performance in his or her sport(s) and earned at least one varsity letter; and
3) the nominee must have demonstrated good character and citizenship.
“We greatly appreciate the Hall of Fame Committee for the hard work and thoughtful consideration in putting together this inaugural class,” athletic director Shawn Eichorst said in a statement. “With the number of exceptional student-athletes who have matriculated at Nebraska, limiting the first class to just one inductee per sport was no easy task. We are especially grateful to our five former student-athletes who volunteered their time for this worthy endeavor. They helped establish Nebraska’s tradition through their achievements as student-athletes and now have played a significant role in building the legacy of our Hall of Fame.”
Below is the bio of Rimington provided by the university; for the complete class, you can click HERE:
One of the most decorated players in college football history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Dave Rimington was the first Nebraska student-athlete to be enshrined in the CoSIDA Academic All America Hall of Fame, earning the prestigious honor in 2004. The only two-time Outland Trophy winner in college football history (1981 and 1982), Rimington is one of just 11 players to win the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1982. For his play, Rimington was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He has two awards named after him. In 2000, the Rimington Trophy was created in his honor and is presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football. The Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year was created in his and Orlando Pace’s honor by the Big Ten Conference in 2010. Rimington exemplified the Nebraska football program’s reputation for excellence in athletics and academics by earning multiple first-team All-America accolades on the field and in the classroom. On the field, Rimington earned first-team All-America honors in both 1981 and 1982. Rimington was a three-time first-team All-Big Eight selection, and in 1982 he became the only offensive lineman to be named the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year. Rimington, whose No. 50 jersey is retired, also excelled in the classroom. A two-time, first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Rimington became just the second Husker student-athlete to be honored with an NCAA Top 10 Award, winning that honor in 1983, when it was awarded to a total of only five senior student-athletes nationally. Arguably the top college center of all time, Rimington was named the starting center on the All-20th Century Team by both the Walter Camp Foundation and Sports Illustrated. He was the No. 25 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Following a seven-year NFL career, Rimington returned to the University of Nebraska and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1990 with a major in economics.
(*It’s a little levity; lighten up, People of the Corn)
(Photo credit: Nebraska athletics)
