Rodgers, Metcalf Share Their Hall of Fame Thoughts

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Nebraska’s first Heisman Trophy winner and a three-time first-team All-American and NCAA Top Ten Award winner delivered the keynote speeches Friday night in the second annual University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.

Johnny Rodgers (football, 1970-72) and Nancy (Meendering) Metcalf (volleyball, 1997-99) had different styles and diverse messages in representing the seven-member 2016 Hall of Fame class that also includes Heather (Brink) Rennerfeldt (women’s gymnastics, 1997-2000), Phil Cahoy Jr. (men’s gymnastics, 1980-83), Nicola Martial Dietz (track and field, 1993-96), Janet (Kruse) Sellon (volleyball, 1988-91) and Will Shields (football, 1989-92).   

Rodgers revisited his recruitment from Bob Devaney and explained how the legendary coach changed the football program and the overall mindset of the state of Nebraska.

Metcalf chose more of a commencement approach to define and describe her collegiate athletic experience before becoming a doctor, coach, pro athlete and mother.

Harkening back to the days when the late Bob Devaney coached at Nebraska, Rodgers said when he was recruited in 1969, the Huskers’ Hall of Fame football coach promised to produce more All-Americans and focus on conference and national championships.

Rodgers said Devaney told him that the program needed a change in attitude and from now on, the new mantra was Every Day is Game Day to create a path to an unbeaten season and college football's summit. 

Bob Devaney: Your Attitude, Not Aptitude, Determines Your Altitude

Rodgers said Devaney's winning attitude was the catalyst to back-to-back national championships in 1970 and '71 and set the stage for three more national titles in 1994, '95 and '97 under Tom Osborne. Football's productivity, in turn, influenced Nebraska's overall department of athletics and triggered multiple conference championships and additional national titles in men's and women's programs across the board.

Indicating that a changed outlook can elevate destiny, Rodgers asked the outdoor audience near the Devaney statue on the east side of Memorial Stadium to embrace and remember that Every Day truly was Game Day. So he launched a chant and the crowd gratefully obliged. Since that worked, Rodgers closed his speech with an abbreviated version of Husker Power.

Metcalf extended special thanks to all parents who sacrificed to give Hall of Fame student-athletes opportunities with “constant encouragement, belief in us, pushing us to be our best, never-ending support and building the foundation for us to achieve success,” she said. “I truly believe without everything you did, none of this would be possible.”

On behalf of all inductees, Metcalf thanked families and friends for sharing the honor to celebrate and thanked coaches and teammates “who made our time at Nebraska so special.” She described the experience as “lifetime memories that we will treasure forever because you helped prepare us for success during our time here and in life.

“We thank the University and the Athletic Department for the opportunity to get an education, earn a degree, compete in a sport we love and represent Husker Nation,” Metcalf said. “The support system prepared us for life after college in the paths that we chose.”

A Five-Person Selection Committee Analyzes, Then Votes on an Annual Basis

The 2015 inaugural Hall of Fame class included one inductee from every current Nebraska sport. The 2016 class of seven was carefully selected by the Hall of Fame Committee that includes former Husker letterwinners Frosty Anderson (football), Charlie Green (track and field), Karen Jennings (basketball), Albert Maxey Sr. (basketball) and Nicole Ali Simon (track and field).

The University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Plaza honors high achieving individuals who have combined to win 27 national team championships all time, plus 157 individual national champions, 294 team conference titles, 1,391 individual conference championships and nation-leading totals of 325 Academic All-Americans and 17 NCAA Top Ten Award Winners.

The 2016 Hall of Fame Class represents nine individual national titles, seven NCAA team championships, 33 All-America honors, three Olympians (Cahoy Jr., Martial and Metcalf), two members of the College Football Hall of Fame (Rodgers and Shields), one Pro Football Hall of Fame member (Shields), one member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame (Cahoy) and two NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award recipients (Kruse Sellon and Meendering Metcalf).

Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst pointed out that the seven-member 2016 class also combined to earn three postgraduate degrees, two academic All-Americans of the Year, two Top 10 Awards, one USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee and one NFL Man of the Year for his contributions to the community.

“Those are all truly amazing honors,” Eichorst said. The University of Nebraska has an outstanding history and tradition of excellence in athletics, and our talented students have played a huge role in forging this reputation.”

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