Nitschke, Gardner, Hardy And Harper Highlight 2020 Illini Hall of Fame Class

Pro Football Hall of Fame selection Ray Nitschke, former All-America DT Moe Gardner, former Butkus Award winner Kevin Hardy and 16-year NBA veteran Derek Harper highlight the 2020 Illinois Hall of Fame class.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Pro Football Hall of Fame selection Ray Nitschke, former All-America selection Moe Gardner, former Butkus Award winner Kevin Hardy and 16-year NBA veteran Derek Harper highlight the 2020 Illinois Hall of Fame class.

Pro Football Hall of Fame selection Ray Nitschke is part of a 15-person University of Illinois athletics hall of fame class :: University of Illinois athletics archive photo/Sports Illustrated file cover

Nitschke helped lead the Green Bay Packers to five world championships, including victories in Super Bowls I and II. Hardy earned consensus All-America honors in addition to the Butkus Award his senior season at Illinois, and Gardner is arguably the greatest defensive tackle in Fighting Illini history after earning first-team All-Big Ten honors three times and consensus All-America recognition twice.

Former Illinois guard Derek Harper ranks 10th all-time in Illini history in assists and ranks 50th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 977 career points / University of Illinois athletics file photo

Harper, who ranks 10th all-time in Illini history in assists and ranks 50th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 977 career points, joins the hall of fame class along Illinois’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder for the women’s program, Jenna Smith.

Illinois volleyball star Michelle Bartsch was a three-time All-American and was one of the great all-around players in program history. Vanessa DiBernardo was one of Illinois’ most heralded soccer players, earning Second-Team All-America honors three times. Gia Lewis-Smallwood is the most accomplished field-event competitor in Illini women’s track and field history after winning multiple U.S. championships and setting the American record in the discus.

Illinois track and field coach Leo Johnson is on the list after he led Illinois to three NCAA and 17 Big Ten team titles, while coaching athletes who won 27 NCAA individual titles. One of those athletes was vaulter Bob Richards, who, in addition to his NCAA title, won two Olympic Gold Medals and one Silver Medal from 1948-56.

Art Schankin was Illinois’ greatest fencer while also coaching the Illini to seven Big Ten titles in his 21 seasons in leading the team, on top of winning an individual national title in the sabre in 1958. Gymnast Don Tonry was a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team, competing in eight events. He was the NCAA Champion in all-around in 1956j and floor exercise in 1959. Wrestler Adam Tirapelle won All-America recognition three times and led the Illini to a fifth-place national finish when he won an NCAA Championship in 2001.

The oldest member of the class is baseball and football legend Garland “Jake” Stahl, who was an All-American football lineman and superb catcher for the baseball squad. Stahl earned his legendary status with a monstrous grand slam home run to help defeat Michigan in 1903 that cleared a giant tree behind the right-center field fence. He later went on to help the Boston Red Sox win two World Series, one as a player and the second as a manager.

Former Illinois linebacker Kevin Hardy (left) accepting the 1995 Butkus Award from NFL Hall of Fame selection and former Illini great Dick Butkus.  / University of Illinois athletics file photo

The 2020 Hall of Fame class brings the total of UI Athletics Hall of Fame members to 80, covering 20 sports.

The official Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18, at State Farm Center when the incoming class will be honored in an event that is free and open to the public. In a change to the annual Fighting Illini schedule, the induction ceremony will fall on Varsity I Weekend when all former Illini are invited back to campus.