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Ohio State to induct 10 new members into Athletics Hall of Fame
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Ohio State is set to induct 10 new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2019 class, the school announced on Wednesday.
The university announced that the Class of 2019 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame inductees will officially be inducted on Friday, Sept. 6 during a special dinner in Ohio Union. They will then be introduced at halftime of the Buckeyes’ Sept. 7 football game against Cincinnati.
The 2019 class is headlined by former Ohio State football stars AJ Hawk (2002-05) and Mike Nugent (2001-04) and former head basketball coach Thad Matta (2005-17).
Hawk was a two-time All-American while at Ohio State and is considered to be one of the best linebackers to ever play for the Buckeyes. He totaled 394 tackles, 41 tackles for loss and 15 sacks during his career in Columbus. He was the named the B1G Defensive Player of the Year in 2005.
Nugent is one of the best kickers in Ohio State history, owning or sharing 22 school records in the kicking category when his career came to a close. He scored 356 career points and made 24 consecutive field goals at one point in his career. In 2004, Nugent was the winner of the Lou Groza Award.
On the basketball court, Matta led the Buckeyes to 337 wins in 12 seasons as the head coach. He guided his teams to two Final Four appearances, won five B1G regular season titles and four B1G Tournament titles. Ohio State had three 30-win seasons under Matta.
Along with the three headliners, seven other Ohio State greats will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Here’s the full list:
- Boyd Cherry — Football (1912-14)
- Jim Foster — Women’s Basketball Coach (2002-13)
- Justin Fry — Baseball (1996-99)
- AJ Hawk — Football (2002-05)
- Stan Lyons — Track and Field (1956-58)
- Thad Matta — Men’s Basketball Coach (2005-17)
- Mike Nugent — Football (2001-04)
- Andrew Pierce — Track and Field (1998-2001)
- Natalie Spooner — Women’s Ice Hockey (2009-12)
- RJ Umberger — Men’s Hockey (2001-03)
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB