Five distinguished student-athletes and one legendary head coach are the members of the 2020 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class, as the full class was revealed on April 15.
The class includes distinguished student-athletes Amanda Burgoyne (bowling, 2004-07), Eric Crouch (football, 1997-2001), Sam Francis (football 1934-36; men's track and field, 1935-37), Maurtice Ivy (women's basketball, 1985-88) and Jordan Larson (volleyball, 2005-08), along with 23-year volleyball head coach Terry Pettit (1977-99). Crouch (Omaha), Ivy (Omaha) and Larson (Hooper) are all Nebraska natives, while Francis was born in Dunbar, Nebraska, before his family moved to Kansas.
The 2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class is a historic group of winners, each of whom posted impressive individual achievements on top of their team accomplishments. The class will be permanently enshrined with a granite plaque with the names of the six members added to the University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Plaza.
The Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Plaza is located on a renovated walkway, stretching from the columns outside of East Memorial Stadium and continuing to the historic NU Coliseum. The University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Plaza is accessible to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no charge and is lit for night viewing. The plaza recognizes each annual Hall of Fame class, along with columns dedicated to the history and successes of each of Nebraska's athletic programs.
A Class of Champions
Five of the six inductees won a national championship at Nebraska. Burgoyne was a two-time national champion, while Larson and Crouch were each a member of one national championship team. Francis was an NCAA shot put champion in addition to being a key member of both a top-10 football and track and field team. Ivy was the top player on the first conference championship and NCAA Tournament team in the history of Nebraska women's basketball, while Pettit coached his Nebraska volleyball team to the 1995 national championship.
Burgoyne helped the Huskers win back-to-back national titles in 2004 and 2005, the first two years bowling was an NCAA sport. Nebraska won 27 tournament titles in Burgoyne's four seasons while finishing in the top three at the NCAA Championships every year. The Nebraska football team finished with a 55-9 record in Crouch's five seasons on campus. He was a redshirt freshman on the Huskers' undefeated 1997 national championship team, and he led Nebraska back to the national championship game as a senior in 2001.
Francis helped the football and track and field teams win a combined six conference titles in his three seasons with each sport. Nebraska posted its first-ever top-10 ranking in football in Francis' senior season (No. 9 in final 1936 AP poll), after he played a key role in the track and field team's eighth-place finish at the 1936 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Ivy led Nebraska to the 1987-88 Big Eight regular-season title and a trip to the Huskers' first NCAA Tournament that season.
Larson helped the Nebraska volleyball team to a top-five NCAA Tournament finish in each of her four seasons, as the Huskers went 127-8 during her career with four Big 12 Conference titles and three trips to the NCAA Semifinals, including the 2006 national title and a runner-up finish in 2005. Pettit led Nebraska volleyball to its first national title in 1995. He boasts the seventh-best career winning percentage in NCAA Division I history (.820; 694-148-12), and he led Nebraska to 21 conference titles in 23 seasons.
Impressive Individual Achievements
The 2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class boasts impressive individual accomplishments. The class includes a Heisman Trophy winner (Crouch), a No. 1 NFL Draft pick who was also an NCAA shot put champion (Francis), a National Collegiate Bowler of the Year (Burgoyne), a two-time Olympic medalist (Larson), the 1988 Big Eight Women's Basketball Player of the Year (Ivy) and a two-time national coach of the year (Pettit). Crouch and Francis are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame, while Pettit is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Burgoyne was a four-time All-American and the Most Outstanding Player at the 2005 NCAA Bowling Championships. Crouch was the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Francis was the 1936 Heisman Trophy runner-up, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1937 NFL Draft and the 1937 NCAA shot put champion after he finished fourth in the event at the 1936 Olympics.
Ivy, the first 2,000-point scorer in the history of Nebraska women's basketball, was the first player in program history to be a three-time all-conference selection and was the first to be a conference player of the year. Larson was a three-time All-American and the 2008 Big 12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year before going on to be a two-time Olympic medalist with Team USA (silver in 2012; bronze in 2016). Pettit was a two-time national coach of the year and nine-time conference coach of the year.
2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Class
- Amanda Burgoyne, Bowling (2004-07)
- Eric Crouch, Football (1997-2001)
- Sam Francis, Football (1934-36); Men's Track & Field (1935-37)
- Maurtice Ivy, Women's Basketball (1985-88)
- Jordan Larson, Volleyball (2005-08)
- Terry Pettit, Volleyball Head Coach (1977-99)
2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Class Bios
Amanda Burgoyne, Bowling (2004-07), Newport, Minnesota
Amanda Burgoyne was a four-time All-American, two-time national champion, the 2005 NCAA Championships Most Outstanding Player and the 2007 National Collegiate Bowler of the Year. Burgoyne was a key member of Nebraska's back-to-back national championship teams in 2004 and 2005, the first two years bowling was an NCAA sport. Burgoyne led the Huskers to the 2005 title with a 251.75 average at the NCAA Championships, which still stands as the highest average in NCAA Championships history. Burgoyne helped Nebraska to third-place finishes in both 2006 and 2007 and as a senior, she was recognized as the national bowler of the year. In addition to earning All-America honors every season of her career, Burgoyne claimed six individual titles and ranks second in program history with 21 career top-five finishes and 27 career top-10 finishes. As a team, Nebraska won 27 of the 36 events in which it competed during Burgoyne's career. Burgoyne went on to become a four-time Team USA member. She earned her degree in sociology from the University of Nebraska in 2007.
Eric Crouch, Football (1997-2001), Omaha, Nebraska
One of the top option quarterbacks in the history of college football, Eric Crouch was a Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. In his career – including bowl games – Crouch passed for 4,975 yards and 34 touchdowns, while rushing for 3,730 yards and 61 touchdowns. He ended his career with the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NCAA history, and his 17 100-yard rushing games were also the most by a quarterback in NCAA history. Crouch is still Nebraska's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards by a quarterback and his 97 total touchdowns are the most by any player in school history. He finished his career as only the third quarterback in NCAA history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards, and Crouch held 32 school records at the conclusion of his career. Crouch redshirted in his first season in 1997, when Nebraska captured the national championship. After starting five games the next season, Crouch was the 1999 Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Year while leading Nebraska to a 12-1 record, a Big 12 championship and a No. 3 final ranking. Crouch helped Nebraska to a 10-2 mark as a junior before leading the Huskers to the national title game as a senior, when he won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award and was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Nebraska finished with a 55-9 record in Crouch's five seasons, and Crouch was 35-7 as the Huskers' starting quarterback. Following his Husker career, Crouch was drafted as a receiver in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft. His No. 7 jersey is retired, and Crouch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Crouch earned his degree in exercise science from the University of Nebraska in 2001.
Sam Francis, Football (1934-36) & Men's Track & Field (1935-37), Oberlin, Kansas
Sam Francis was a two-sport star with legendary accomplishments. He was an All-American, Heisman Trophy runner-up and No. 1 NFL Draft Pick on the football field and an NCAA Champion and Olympian in track and field. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Francis put together arguably the greatest individual athletic year in school history during the 1936-37 season. His remarkable run began in August, when he placed fourth in the shot put at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, becoming the first Husker athlete in any sport to place at the Olympics. In the fall, Francis was a first-team All-American for the No. 9 Nebraska football team – the first top-10 team in school history – and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was then selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1937 NFL Draft, which was held in December of 1936. Francis capped his remarkable run by winning the 1937 NCAA shot put title. Overall, Francis was a two-time All-American in the shot put and a four-time Big Six champion in the event. In addition to his individual accolades, Francis was a member of two football and four track and field conference championship teams in his three seasons, and he helped both the football and track and field teams to a top-10 national finish. He went on to play four seasons in the NFL and also served as Kansas State's head football coach in 1947 after a stint in the Army during World War II. Francis' No. 38 football jersey is retired, and he graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in education in 1938. Francis passed away on April 23, 2002, at the age of 88.
Maurtice Ivy, Women's Basketball (1985-88), Omaha, Nebraska
Maurtice Ivy set a slew of individual firsts for the Nebraska women's basketball team while leading the Huskers to their first conference championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance. Ivy was the first Husker to be the Big Eight Player of the Year when she took home the league's top honor in 1988, and she was a three-time first-team All-Big Eight selection, the program's first three-time all-conference honoree. As the 1988 Big Eight Player of the Year, Ivy led Nebraska to the Big Eight regular-season title and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. Ivy averaged 19.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game that season, one year after she became the first Husker to average 20 points per game when putting up 23.6 points per game in 1986-87. She averaged 19.7 points per game as a sophomore and 14.0 points per game as a freshman. Ivy had eight career 30-point games, including a 46-point effort against Illinois in 1986. The first 2,000-point scorer in program history, Ivy concluded her career as Nebraska's all-time leader in points (2,131) and points per game (19.2). Ivy was also a two-time Big Eight All-Tournament team selection, and her No. 30 jersey is retired. Ivy earned her degree in speech communication from the University of Nebraska in 1992.
Jordan Larson, Volleyball (2005-08), Hooper, Nebraska
Jordan Larson led Nebraska to an outstanding four-year run on the volleyball court before continuing on to a stellar international career. The Huskers went 127-8 (.941) during Larson's four-year career, winning the Big 12 Conference championship and posting a top-five NCAA finish in each of her four seasons. After an NCAA runner-up finish in her freshman year, Larson was a first-team All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore when the Huskers won the 2006 NCAA title in Omaha in front of what was then the largest volleyball crowd in NCAA history. After earning third-team All-America honors as Nebraska made a regional final in 2007, Larson was a first-team All-American again in 2008. As a captain that season, Larson helped Nebraska advance to its third NCAA Semifinal in four years, where the Huskers lost a 3-2 thriller to Penn State, handing the Nittany Lions their only two set losses of the entire season. Larson was also the 2008 Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team Academic All-American. Larson finished her career with 1,600 kills, 1,410 digs and a school-record 186 aces. Following her time as a Husker, Larson represented the United States in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She was a silver medalist in 2012 and bronze medalist in 2016, becoming the only Husker volleyball player to be a two-time Olympic medalist. Larson was named USA Volleyball's Indoor Female Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016. In 2014, she helped Team USA win the gold medal at the world championships, the first-ever major tournament gold medal for the U.S. women's national team. Her No. 10 jersey is retired, and Larson graduated with a degree in communication studies from the University of Nebraska in 2008.
Terry Pettit, Volleyball Head Coach (1977-99)
Terry Pettit is the fourth coach to be inducted into the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame. Pettit led the Nebraska volleyball program for 23 years from 1977 to 1999. During his tenure, Pettit not only laid the foundation for one of the most successful volleyball programs in NCAA history, he also grew Husker volleyball into one of the most popular female sports in collegiate athletics. Pettit posted a 694-148-12 record in his 23 seasons, ranking seventh in NCAA Division I history in career winning percentage (.820). He guided the Huskers to 21 conference titles, six NCAA Semifinal appearances and the 1995 national championship. Pettit also recruited and coached much of the 2000 roster that went a perfect 34-0 en route to winning the program's second national title one year after his retirement. A 2009 inductee into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Fame, Pettit was a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year (1986, 1994) and a nine-time conference coach of the year, winning the honor seven times in the Big Eight Conference and twice in the Big 12 Conference. Individually, Pettit coached two national players of the year and four CoSIDA Academic All-Americans of the Year, while his players combined to total 35 All-America awards, 19 Academic All-America certificates and 12 conference player-of-the-year honors.