Chambana Sun

The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the induction of eight new members into the UI Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024. This year's class, the eighth since its inception, includes one coach and representatives from various sports such as basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, and fencing.

Gary Winckler is the only non-athlete among this year's inductees. As a long-time women's track and field head coach from 1985 to 2008, Winckler led the Illini to 11 Big Ten team titles. Under his leadership, members of his teams won 266 individual Big Ten titles and 51 student-athletes earned 188 All-America honors.

Football players Robert Holcombe and Darrick Brownlow are part of this class. Holcombe was Illinois' all-time leading rusher with 4,105 yards during his collegiate career from 1994-97. He also played in the NFL for seven years and was part of the St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl-winning team in 1999. Brownlow was a three-time First-Team All-Big Ten pick as a linebacker and had a successful seven-year NFL career.

Soccer star Jannelle Flaws holds Illinois's career record with 54 goals. She led the nation with a school-record 23 goals in 2013 and earned All-America honors in both 2013 and 2014.

Laura DeBruler Santos represents volleyball in this class. She was named First-Team All-American in 2009 after earning Second Team recognition in 2008. Despite a knee injury that cut her senior season short, she finished her career at Illinois with the second-highest kills total (1,833).

Herman "Pete" Velasco is recognized for his achievements in fencing. He had an impressive dual meet record of 184-16 (.920) during his time at UI from 1954-56 and went on to represent the United States at two Olympic Games.

The men's basketball program sees Nick Weatherspoon and Frank Williams being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Weatherspoon was Illinois's all-time leading scorer with a career average of 20.9 points per game when he left college basketball for an NBA career that lasted seven years. Williams was honored as Big Ten Player of the Year in 2001 before moving on to play professionally after his junior year.

The induction ceremony will take place on October 11 at State Farm Center, followed by an honoring event during the home football game against Purdue on October 12.

Since its establishment in 2017, the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame now includes representatives from each current varsity sport offered by the university.