Hall of Fame to Induct Illustrious 2005 Class

Lincoln - The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will induct a distinguished class that includes seven former Huskers, three state college standouts and one coach in 2005, while also honoring several key people to the history-rich tradition of Nebraska football, during a special reception at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 2. The 2005 Hall of Fame class will be officially introduced during Nebraska’s season-opening football game with Maine on Saturday, Sept. 3.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the induction ceremony, which will be held on Memorial Stadium’s Club Level. The reception begins at 6 p.m., with a dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the Hall of Frame program begins at 7 p.m. To reserve tickets ($25 per person) for the event, please contact Vicki Cartwright in the Nebraska Media Relations Office by Monday, Aug. 29, at 5 p.m. by calling (402) 472-2263.

Aaron Graham, Pat Tyrance, Scott Strasburger, Travis Hill, Barron Miles and Dick Rupert lead the list of former Huskers being inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with former Husker Ted Connor from the Veteran’s Division. Former Nebraska assistant coach and athletic administrator Jim Ross will also make history in 2005 as the first-ever assistant coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. State college stars Gerald Allen (Omaha University), Tom Emel (Hastings College) and Alan Pogue (Dana College) join the list of former Husker stars.

Along with the induction class, the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will also honor former NU assistant coach Milt Tenopir with its Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award, while recognizing Russell and E. Louise Brehm with the Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award in 2005.

The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will also present its 2005 Postgraduate Scholarships to former Husker tight end Dusty Keiser from Norfolk and Nebraska-Omaha wide receiver Randall Hopkins. Keiser and Hopkins will each receive $2,000 scholarships to continue their educations.

The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. The College Hall of Fame opened in South Bend, Ind., in 1995.

Aaron Grahahm, the starting center on Nebraska’s national championship teams in 1994 and 1995, headlines the list of the newest Husker Hall of Famers. Along with his All-America play on the field, Graham earned the NCAA’s most prestigious honor for a student-athlete by winning the Top Eight Award. He went on to a solid seven-year career in the NFL.

Graham will be joined by two other standouts in the classroom, as Scott Strasburger and Pat Tyrance add to one of the most academically successful Hall of Fame classes in history.

Tyrance, a two-time All-Big Eight linebacker from Omaha, earned nearly every major national academic award available during his career. Tyrance joined Graham as an NCAA Top Eight Award winner and also captured first-team academic All-America honors in 1990. An NCAA Postgraduate Scholar, an NFF/College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete and the Woody Hayes Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Tyrance went on to graduate from Harvard Medical School and is now an orthopaedic surgeon in Omaha.

Strasbuger was a two-time academic All-American and an All-Big Eight defensive end for the Huskers. In 1984, the walk-on from Holdrege earned NFF/College Hall of Fame and NCAA Postgraduate scholarships, before graduating from medical school. He now serves as one of Nebraska’s team doctors.

Travis Hill, a three-year starter and All-America outside linebacker for the Huskers in 1992, adds to the excellence of the 2005 class. Hill was one of the most dominant pass rushers in school history, as the Pearland, Texas native ranks sixth on NU’s career sack chart with 16.5, and sixth on the school career tackles for loss list with 37.5 from 1989 to 1992. An All-Big Eight pick and co-captain as a senior, Hill ranks in the top 20 on the Nebraska career tackle chart with 221. He went on to play three seasons in the NFL.

One of the top cornerbacks and special teams players in school history, Barron Miles joined Graham on Nebraska’s 1994 national championship team. The Roselle, N.J., native earned All-Big Eight honors in 1993 and 1994 and ranks among NU’s all-time top 10 in pass breakups. He also blocked a school-record seven punts during his career. Miles spent one season in the NFL, two in the WLAF and is in his eighth season in the CFL, playing the 2005 season for the British Columbia Lions.

Dick Rupert gives the 2005 class a third player with national championship experiences as a Husker. Rupert was the starting left guard on Nebraska’s national championship teams in 1970 and 1971. Playing for Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney, Rupert earned All-Big Eight honors as a senior in 1971.

Ted Connor was an All-Big Seven tackle as a senior in 1953, and a third-round NFL pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1954. He spent two years in the CFL. An All-State high school player in Hastings, Connor served in the military during the Korean War before joining the Cornhuskers under Coach Bill Glassford. Connor earned his first letter as an end in 1952, before moving to tackle as a senior.

The first assistant coach to ever be inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame’s coaching wing, Jim Ross served on the Husker coaching staff from Bob Devaney’s first year in 1962 through the 1976. During Ross’ 15 seasons as an assistant on the NU sideline, the Huskers won a pair of national championships and finished with a 138-30-4 record. He also served as an assistant athletic director at Nebraska from 1966 to 1986. He celebrated his 90th birthday in July of 2005.