Mizzou Athletics announces 2024 Hall of Fame class
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou Athletics announced that it will induct six former student-athletes and coaches into the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.
The 2024 induction class has representation from four sports. You can find a full list of inductees below.
- Wayne and Susan Kreklow - volleyball
- Krishna Lee - track and field
- Amelia Moses - golf
- Chris Rohr - track and field
- Martin Rucker - football
- Bill Whitaker - football
The Kreklow's induction into the hall of fame has been a long time coming. The pair tag-teamed coaching the Tiger volleyball team from 2000-18, taking the program to never-before-seen heights. Susan actually started out as the head coach and Wayne was the associate head coach, but the duo decided to reverse roles in 2005. Overall, the Wayne and Susan posted a 413-194 overall record, produced 12 20-plus win seasons, 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament, four Sweet 16 appearances, one Elite Eight appearances, two SEC Championships and 102 weeks ranked in the national top-25.
There are two inductee from the Tiger track and field teams.
Lee was a three-time All-American thrower for MU, in the hammer throw (2009) and indoor shot put (2007-08). She was a 12-time all-Big 12 honoree and captured the conference championship in the hammer in 2009. Lee actually still holds the school record in hammer throw, as well.
The Kansas City native qualified for the NCAA Championships in five events - shot put, discus, hammer throw and indoors in the shot and 20-pound weight throw. After college, Lee competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials for shot put, the 2009 USATF Championships for hammer and shot and was the assistant track coach from 2012-15.
Rohr was the most decorated thrower in MU track and field history from 2006-09. He earned All-American honors six times and capped off his senior year with a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Overall, he won all-conference honors six times, won USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Indoor Athlete of the Year in 2009, won an individual Big 12 title, qualified for the NCAA Championships five times and competed at the 2008 Olympic Trials. To this day, Rohr still holds the Mizzou record in the weight throw and hammer throw.
There are also two honorees from the MU football team.
Tight end Martin Rucker was a star under former head coach Gary Pinkel. As a senior, he caught 84 passes for 834 yards and eight touchdowns, which earned him consensus All-American honors. He was also a finalist for the Mackey Award, which goes to the nation's best tight end, in that 2007 season.
Rucker was a key member of Mizzou's first team to win a Big 12 North Division title, posting a 12-2 overall record and finishing fourth in the final nation polls. He was All-Big 12 in both 2006 and 2007 and ended his career with 203 receptions, 2,175 yards and 18 touchdowns. The St. Joseph native went on to be a fourth round draft pick in 2008, by the Cleveland Browns.
Whitaker played defensive back for the Tigers from 1997-80, competing in three bowl games. In his senior year, he led the Big Eight with six pass interceptions and was All-Big Eight and a first-team All-American, making him Mizzou's last defensive back to do so.
In his MU career, he intercepted 14 passes which was tied for the school record when he graduated. He set Mizzou's single-game record twice with three picks. Interestingly enough, he was also the Tigers' top punt returner.
In 1981, Whitaker was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and played six years in the NFL. Sadly, Whitaker passed away in Oct. of 2022.
Last but not least, Moses is the lone golf representative, as she made Mizzou golf history. During her 2000 junior season, she shot a final-round 77 at the Lubbock Country Club and hung on to win the Big 12 Conference championship by one stroke. She's the only Mizzou golfer, male or female, to win an individual conference title and was the program's first All-American.
Moses was also the first African-American female golfer to win a conference championship in the combined history of the Big Eight, Big 12 and Southwest Conferences. She graduated holding MU's single-season and career stroke-average records.
The 2024 class was officially be inducted in a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. It will all be free and open to the public.
