Spring 2019
University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor Inductees
MIKE BENDER - Over Mike Bender’s two seasons on the offensive line from 1964-65, Arkansas put together a 21-1 record, including a 14-0 mark in the Southwest Conference, and captured the 1964 National Championship. After redshirting in 1963, Bender became a starter on Arkansas’ offensive line in 1964 as a junior and helped the Razorbacks put together their only national championship season with an 11-0 record that was capped by a win over No. 6 Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. Mike quickly became one of Arkansas’ elite offensive linemen and entered his senior season in 1965 as a team captain. He was an All-SWC 1st team selection following his senior season and went on to be selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1966 NFL Draft. He also served as an offensive line graduate assistant for Frank Broyles and Lou Holtz before returning to Arkansas in 1995 as a full-time offensive line coach for Danny Ford, a position he held for three seasons while Brandon Burlsworth established his name amongst the Razorback greats. Mike’s other coaching stops included high schools, the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe. He retired as the El Dorado HS athletics director after serving in the same role at Forrest City HS.
TONY CHERICO – Four-year letter winner (1984-87), starting nose guard and captain of the 1987 team, Cherico was named an American Football Coaches Association 1st-Team All-America following his senior season in addition to being named SWC Newcomer of the Year and a three-time All-SWC performer. The ‘87 Hogs led the Southwest Conference in rush defense, allowing only 99.8 yards per game on their way to a1 9-4 season. He earned 67 tackles, including four tackles for loss (-19) and two sacks, in his senior campaign and racked up 66 tackles and seven tackles for loss (-18) as a junior. In his Razorback career, Tony tallied 219 tackles including 26 tackles for a loss (-87). He played on teams that went to four consecutive bowl games (the ’84 and ’87 Liberty, ’85 Holiday and the ’87 Orange). In addition, in 1987, Cherico received the Ft. Worth Kiwanis Sportsmanship, Chism Reed and Gordon Campbell Senior Spirit Awards. He also played in the 1988 Hula Bowl and Japan Bowl.
BILL DOROTHY – Dorothy was a two-year letter winner in 1969-70 for the University of Arkansas baseball team. In his first season with the Razorbacks, Dorothy led the team with 40 hits and a .417 batting average. His batting average during the 1969 season stood atop Arkansas’ single-season list for 28 years and now sits at No. 2 all-time. In 1970, Dorothy tied for the team lead with three home runs. During his two-season career in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks totaled a record of 37-23 (.617). He was a member of the first team coached by legendary head coach Norm DeBriyn in 1970, and after one season of professional baseball with the Chicago Cubs, Dorothy returned to the Razorbacks in 1972 as the team’s pitching coach.
GREG KOLENDA - A four-year letter winner at offensive tackle from 1976-79, Kolenda earned Consensus All-America honors in 1979, All-Southwest Conference accolades in each of his final two seasons and was named to the Arkansas All-Decade team for the 1970s. He helped lead the Razorbacks to 35 victories during his career, including a share of the SWC championship in 1979. In his final three seasons as a Razorback, Arkansas finished in the top 10 of the national rankings including No. 3 in 1977. Greg’s pass blocking helped Arkansas complete a school-record 63.9 percent of its passes in 1979. Arkansas appeared in three bowl games over the course of his career, highlighted by a 31-6 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. Kolenda also played in the 1980 Senior Bowl and Hula Bowl.
JIM MABRY – A four-year football letterman from 1986-89, Mabry was a Consensus 1st Team All-America selection as an offensive tackle in 1989. He was a unanimous two-time All-SWC performer in 1988-89 and a member of the Razorback All-Decade Team for the 1980’s. Jim played on teams that earned a combined 38-11 record and helped pave the way for two of the top three single season rushing totals in Arkansas history that holds the school record for total offense in 1989. In addition, Mabry was a two-time member of the All-SWC Academic Squad, team captain his senior season and played in the 1990 Japan Bowl.
RUTHIE MILLER - A four-year member of the Razorback Soccer team from 1989-92, Miller recorded 38 goals, 16 assists and 92 points during her collegiate career at Arkansas. Her achievements on the field have stood the test of time, by ranking in the top five in several career, season and single-game statistical categories. She is the school’s shots-on-goal leader with 232 career shots as well as owning the school’s career game-tying goals record with seven. Ruthie ranks second in Arkansas history with 38 career goals, second in career points with 92, second in shots on goal made during a season with 72 in 1989, fourth in goals with 14 made in 1991 and fifth in points with 32 recorded in 1991. She also scored the fourth-most points in Razorback history in a single game with seven tallied against Creighton on Oct. 30, 1992. In addition, her four goals scored against Missouri-Rolla in 1991 is tied for most goals scored in a game. Miller was selected as a NSCAA All-South Region Third Team honoree in 1991.
KRYSTAL OSBORNE – As part of the University of Arkansas’ first-ever volleyball team in 1994, Osborne was part of establishing a championship tradition from 1994-96. In that span, Arkansas compiled a 70-43 overall record, advanced to two SEC championship matches and made its first trip to the NCAA Tournament during the 1996 season. She tallied a program-best 2,185 career kills ranking first at Arkansas, second all-time in the SEC and, upon graduation, she was in the top 20 in the nation for career kills. Krystal is one of five players to have more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs and ranks second for career digs with 1,659 digs to her credit. She was the first Razorback volleyball player to earn All-SEC 1st-Team honors and was selected to the AVCA All-District team. She went on to earn three All-SEC honors and added SEC Tournament MVP to her resume in 1997, leading the Razorbacks to a three-set upset win over fourth-ranked Florida in the SEC Championship.
MARIA PAVLIDOU – The All-American tennis star ended her career as Arkansas’ all-time leader with 107 wins in singles play. She led the Lady’Backs to their highest finishes in the SEC, NCAA and ITA rankings, highlighted by a tie for ninth in the nation at the 1998 NCAA Championships. Along with four straight NCAA team bids, Pavildou was the first Lady’Backs individual participant at the NCAA singles championship. She made three consecutive NCAA singles appearances and earned the first All-America honors at Arkansas for her impressive run during the 1999 championship. Maria holds several degrees, including her PhD, and is an accomplished presenter and author in the field of Sports Psychology and Human Performance.
DEAN PRYOR - Pryor lettered at Arkansas from 1950-52 and was a team captain as a senior. In 1950, he averaged 14.27 yards per punt return, collecting 214 yards on 15 returns, the third-best single-season punt average in school history at the time and still 11th on Arkansas’ single-season list. His career punt return average of 12.92 yards per return was second in school history when he graduated and still ranks seventh on the school’s all-time list. Pryor also competed on the Razorbacks’ track and field team. He won the decathlon at the Kansas Relays and finished eighth in the event at the 1952 Olympic Trials. Following his Arkansas career, he became a coach and directed the Coffeyville Junior College cross country and track and field teams to national titles in 1960. He left Coffeyville for an assistant coach position at Wichita State and later became athletic director at Arkansas State.
TAG RIDINGS – A four-year letterman from 1994-97, Ridings earned 1997 honorable mention All-America honors and was also a three-time second-team All-SEC selection. Tag was a member of the Razorback team that recorded the school’s best showing at the NCAA Championships when they finished in fourth in the nation in 1994. He earned his PGA tour card after finishing in the top 15 finishers on the Buy.com tour and has been a member of the PGA tour since 2003. Ridings graduated in 1997 with his degree in Marketing and has been a proud member of the PGA and Web.com tours since 2002 and is currently playing on the Web.com tour.
JAMES “DOC” SEXTON – One of the early pioneers in program history, James “Doc” Sexton helped lay the early foundation for Razorback Basketball. Sexton was a two-time All-American, earning third-team recognition from College Humor Magazine, a noted college basketball surveyor of the day, in both 1931 and 1932. A three-year letter winner from 1931-33, Sexton led the Razorbacks in scoring his junior season, averaging 10.1 points per game (243 points in 24 games). In that same season, the Razorback center earned All-Southwest Conference first-team honors for his play on the hardwood. During his three years in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks went a combined 48-21, finishing in the top three of the Southwest Conference twice.
TIM SIEGEL – A four-time letterman from 1983-86, Siegel was also a two-time All-American in doubles in 1985-86 for the Razorback men’s tennis team. He teamed with Richard Schmidt to dominate the college tennis scene and was also a three-time SWC singles champion. Siegel won 89 singles matches in his career and ranks ninth-all-time in school history. His 75 doubles victories are also one of the top in the Arkansas rankings as he is eighth all-time. His .717 career singles winning percentage still stands as the fourth best mark in program history. During his tenure with the Razorbacks, Arkansas recorded a combined record of 94-32 and advanced to four-straight NCAA Championships, including advancing to the round of eight twice. A three-year Team Captain (19884-85-86), Siegel and Schmidt reached the semi-final of the 1986 NCAA Championships.
GERALD SKINNER - A four-year letter winner from 1973-76, Skinner was a major part of one of the most dominant offensive lines in Arkansas history. A two-time All-SWC 1st-Team choice at offensive tackle as a junior and senior, he helped pave the way for a potent rushing attack in the 1975 season in which the Razorbacks averaged a program record 320.3 rushing yards per game. During the 1975 season, Arkansas scored 30 or more points five times during its six-game win streak to end the year en route to a 10-1 season, a SWC Co-Championship, a 31-10 win over No. 19 Georgia in the 1976 Cotton Bowl including a final national ranking of No. 6. All five members of Arkansas’ offensive line in 1975 earned All-SWC accolades at some point in their career and were selected in the NFL Draft. In addition to his All-SWC honor following his senior season in 1976, Skinner earned the Gordon Campbell Senior Spirit Award. Gerald was also was selected in the fourth round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the Patriots and played in 1978 for the Green Bay Packers.
SHELLY WALLACE – The only Lady’Back to go over 1,000 rebounds in a career, Wallace was one of only two in SWC history. Her career follows Arkansas’ early rise on the national scene, playing as a freshman on the Lady’Backs’ first NCAA team in 1986. She was part of the 1987 NWIT Championship and a senior on the 1988 NCAA team. More than a rebounder, the Kodak All-America honorable mention holds the school record for points in a game with 44 and the most games over 30 points in a career.
