Four individuals and the 1957–58 hockey team will be inducted to the DU Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008. The 12th annual celebration for the Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Oct. 23 at the Westin Tabor Center in downtown Denver.
With these additions, the Athletic Hall of Fame now includes 106 individuals and seven DU teams.
HERITAGE ERA INDUCTEE
James “Jimmy” Bowen, football, 1953–55, posthumous induction.
A staple of one of the finest three-year stretches in the history of the DU football program, 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 INDUCTEE
Mike Law, lacrosse, 1998–2001.
A four-year letterwinner, Law is the standard bearer for which 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, 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 Umbro Division II Player of the Year.
FORMER COACHES INDUCTEE
Dan Garcia, gymnastics, 1981–98.
Serving as head gymnastics coach for 18 seasons, 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
First NCAA Championship hockey team in school history, hockey team, 1957–58.
The 1958–59 hockey team holds the distinction of the first hockey team to win an NCAA championship at DU, which it did with a 6-2 win over North Dakota, 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.