2024 Mizzou Hall of Fame class

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The 34th induction class for the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, containing six former standout student-athletes and coaches, will be enshrined on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.


The Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame features 256 Tigers legends and four teams — including this year's class — and was founded in 1990.


The 2024 inductees represent four sports and include Wayne & Susan Kreklow (volleyball),Krishna Lee (track & field), Amelia Moses (golf), Chris Rohr (track & field), Martin Rucker (football) and Bill Whitaker (football).


This year’s class will be officially inducted on Friday, September 20, 2024, in a ceremony which is free and open to the public. Additional details will be announced as they are finalized. The class will also be recognized on Saturday, September 21 at the Mizzou Football game against Vanderbilt. Game time and television network will be announced when available.



The Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame was made possible by the 1989 bequest of $100,000 from the estate of the late A.C. (Ace) and Mary Stotler. It is located on the Mizzou Arena concourse, after being housed in the Hearnes Center until the fall of 2004. The first class was enshrined in 1990, in conjunction with Mizzou’s observance of its 100th football season. Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon a Mizzou student-athlete, coach or administrator.



WAYNE & SUSAN KREKLOW — VOLLEYBALL

• Wayne and Susan Kreklow tag-teamed coaching the Missouri volleyball team from 2000-18 and took the program to heights it had never experienced before. After amassing a six-year record of 461-81 at Columbia College, including a pair of undefeated NAIA national championships (85-0) in 1998 and ’99, the Kreklows moved across town to take over at Mizzou. Initially Susan was the head coach and Wayne the associate head coach. In 2005, they reversed the roles. In their first season, the Tigers went 24-7, finished second in the Big 12 Conference, advanced to the program’s first NCAA Tournament and Susan was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Susan took the team to the NCAA Tournament in all five of her seasons and in 2002, Christi Myers became the Tigers’ first AVCA All-American – the first of 22 during the Kreklows’ tenure. Wayne, who had previously been an assistant coach at MU under Craig Sherman from 1989-93, took over as head coach in 2005 and took that team to its first NCAA Elite Eight appearance. In 2013, the Tigers stormed to a 34-0 regular-season record and won Mizzou’s first SEC Championship in any sport. Wayne was the SEC Coach of the Year and Molly Kreklow, their niece, was the SEC Player of the Year. In 2016, Wayne guided the Tigers to their second SEC title and again was the league’s Coach of the Year, as well as the AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Mizzou hosted first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games and by defeating Purdue, advanced to its third trip to the NCAA’s Sweet 16. In their final season of 2018, MU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and produced the program’s first four-time All-American – Alyssa Munlyn. In all, the Kreklows posted a record of 413-194 at Missouri, produced 12 20-plus victory seasons, 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament, four Sweet 16 appearances, one Elite Eight, two SEC Championships and 102 weeks ranked in the AVCA national top-25.

KRISHNA LEE — TRACK & FIELD

• A Kansas City native, Krishna Lee was a three-time all-America thrower on the MU track & field team – in the hammer throw (2009) and indoor shot put (2007-08). She was a 12-time all-Big 12 honoree and was the conference champion in the hammer in 2009. Twice a two-time team captain, she still holds the school record in the hammer throw (63.77m/209-2 ½). During her career from 2006-09, Lee qualified for the NCAA Championships in five events – outdoors in the shot put, discus, hammer throw, and indoors in the shot and 20-lb. weight throw. Post collegiately, she competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials (shot put), the 2009 USATF Championships (shot and hammer) and the 2010 USATF Championship in the hammer. After graduation, she was a volunteer track coach in 2009-10, a compliance office graduate assistant from 2010-12, and assistant track coach from 2012-15. She went on to play professional football for the Kansas City Glory of the Women’s National Football Conference where she was a two-time WNFC all-pro selection and the Glory’s 2022 defensive player of the year. She’s currently the Glory’s general manager.

AMELIA MOSES — GOLF

• Amelia Moses followed her sister Letitia from Coronationville, South Africa, to Missouri and made school history on the women’s golf team. As a junior in 2000, she shot a final-round 77 at the Lubbock (Texas) Country Club and hung on to win the Big 12 Conference championship by one stroke over Oklahoma’s Jennifer James. She’s the only Mizzou golfer, male or female, to win an individual conference title and was the program’s first all-American. She also became the first African-American female golfer to win a conference championship in the combined history of the Big Eight, Big 12 and Southwest Conferences. Both golfers shot 73 in the first round, and James also carded a 77 on day three, but Moses’ round of even-par 72 in round two to James’ 73 proved to be the difference. The next year she very nearly repeated at The Harvester in Harvester, Iowa, when she tied for first place with Oklahoma State’s Maria Boden but lost in a one-hole playoff. Moses won six medalist honors in six tournaments during her career and led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons. She graduated holding the MU single-season (74.97) and career (76.69) stroke-average records.

CHRIS ROHR — TRACK & FIELD

• Chris Rohr was won of the most decorated throwers in Mizzou track and field history from 2006-09, earning all-America honors six times and capped off his senior season with a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Lee’s Summit native was the 2009 USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Indoor Athlete of the Year when he led the nation in the weight throw for weeks on his way to winning his first individual Big 12 title and placing third at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Later that year he won the league title in the outdoor hammer throw. Rohr won all-conference honors six times, qualified for the NCAA Championships five times and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. Rohr still holds the Mizzou record in the weight throw (22.71m/76-6) and hammer throw (71.92m/236-0) – both marks set in 2009.

MARTIN RUCKER — FOOTBALL

• Tight end Martin Rucker was a central figure in Mizzou’s rise to prominence under Coach Gary Pinkel. As a senior in 2007, he caught 84 passes (then a MU season record) for 834 yards and eight touchdowns and was a consensus all-American – Mizzou’s first at the tight end position since Kellen Winslow in 1978. He was also a finalist that season for the Mackey Award that goes to the nation’s top TE. He was a team captain on the 2007 team that won Mizzou’s first Big 12 North Division title, posted a 12-2 record and finished fourth in the final national polls. All-Big 12 in both 2006 and ’07, Rucker ended his career with a then-record 203 receptions, 2,175 yards and 18 touchdowns. The St. Joseph product started 50 consecutive games from 2004-07, which was a record at the time. He was a fourth-round draft choice in 2008 by the Cleveland Browns.

BILL WHITAKER — FOOTBALL

• Bill Whitaker was a standout in a star-studded defensive backfield for the Tigers from 1977-80, playing on three bowl teams. As a senior, he led the Big Eight Conference with six pass interceptions and was all-Big Eight and a first-team all-American – Mizzou’s last defensive back to be a first-teamer. For his career, he intercepted 14 passes which was tied for the school record at the time of his graduation. Twice he set an MU single-game record with three picks – both coming against San Diego State in 1979 and again in 1980. Whitaker was also Mizzou’s top punt returner. He was drafted in 1981 by the Green Bay Packers and played six years in the NFL – three each with the Packers and the St. Louis Cardinals. His older brother Jim also played defensive back for the Tigers and was inducted into the MU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. The Whitakers are one of five sets of brothers in the hall. Bill Whitaker passed away in October 2022.

The Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame's constitution and bylaws express its purpose – "…to recognize and honor those individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the achievements and prestige of the University of Missouri in the field of athletics, and who have continued to demonstrate in their lives, the values imparted by intercollegiate athletics."

 

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