Trio of Greats Inducted Into Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame
4/23/2017 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, Softball, Special Events
Tara Oltman Higgins, Vernon Moore and Bret Simon are part of the 50th induction class
2017 Hall of Fame Banquet Photo Gallery
OMAHA, Neb. -- Tara (Oltman) Higgins, Vernon Moore and Bret Simon were inducted into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame during a Sunday evening banquet at D.J. Sokol Arena. The trio represent the 50th class to be honored in a tradition that dates back to the 1968 induction of all-time Bluejay great Bob Gibson.
Simon served as head coach with the Creighton men's soccer program from 1995-2000, compiling a 96-26-8 record in six seasons. He led Creighton to its first College Cup in 1996, then brought the Bluejays back in 2000, when it advanced to the only national title game appearance in school history in any sport. Simon's teams reached the NCAA Tournament in all six years, combining for two Missouri Valley Conference regular-season (1995, 1996) and four MVC Tournament (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000) titles. Simon coached future US National Team players Richard Mulrooney and Brian Mullan, as well as 1996 Soccer America and 1997 Hermann Trophy and Missouri Athletic Club National Player of the Year Johnny Torres. Simon remains Creighton's all-time leader in winning percentage (.769) and ranks second with 96 wins. The 22 victories by the 2000 club is a program-record, as well. Simon served as a Creighton assistant in 1993 and 1994 before his promotion to head coach. He and his wife, 1999 Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Pam (Gradoville) Simon, are the only husband/wife duo in the Hall of Fame.
Moore was a standout men's basketball player from 1981-85 and still ranks 10th in program history with 1,654 career points. Creighton's first recruit under Willis Reed, Moore averaged 21.0 points per game as a senior when the 6-foot-2 guard shot an MVC-record 67.4 percent to also shatter the Creighton mark of 59.5 percent that he set as a junior. Moore also set a single-season mark with 52 steals as a junior, and led the team in assists per game three times. He was a Second Team All-MVC pick as a junior, then earned First Team honors as a senior in 1984-85. Moore still ranks in Creighton's top 10 in career field goal percentage (5th), field goals (7th), free throws made (8th), steals (8th) and assists (8th). Moore was drafted in the third round of the NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets in 1985 after earning Associated Press honorable-mention All-American acclaim.
Oltman is the only female student-athlete in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors all four years of her career and the only three-time Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in league history. She still holds Missouri Valley Conference career records for wins (118), strikeouts (1,086), appearances (187), starts (143), complete games (128) and innings pitched (1,064), as well as the single-season mark with 32 wins in 2010. She helped the Bluejay softball program to a record of 155-70-1 from 2007-10, including MVC Tournament championships in 2007 and 2010, and NCAA Tournament bids in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Oltman was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American for her efforts in the classroom and community, as well as a three-time Easton All-American for her work on the diamond.
In addition to the induction of Oltman, Moore and Simon, numerous other honors were bestowed.
Mike Fahey and Kathy Merwald were honored as Joseph J. Vinardi "Jaybackers of the Year."
The prestigious Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were handed out to Lauren Smith (volleyball), and Harrison Lang (tennis)
For the seventh year in a row, Creighton honored its top teams in each gender. The volleyball team earned the top women's honor for the fifth consecutive year, while soccer took home the top men's award for the third consecutive year.
Individually, Lydia Dimke (volleyball) and Marcus Foster (men's basketball) were recognized as CU's Athletes of the Year.
Below is a list of each team's "Most Inspirational Award" winner:
Softball (2016): Tash Coffiel
Baseball (2016): Reagan Fowler
Women's Golf: Kelsey Petersen
Men's Golf: Kade Brown
Rowing: Isabelle Buhr
Volleyball: Jess Bird
Women's Tennis: Katherine Nelsen
Men's Tennis: Aaron Chalstrom
Women's Soccer: Taryn Jakubowski
Men's Soccer: Connor Ramlo
Women's Cross Country: Vanessa Miller
Men's Cross Country: Eric Klein
Women's Basketball: Lauren Works
Men's Basketball: Zach Hanson
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Welcoming remarks and invocation by Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, SJ, PhD (@creightonpres) at tonight's Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet pic.twitter.com/MqILtlDjmQ
— Creighton Bluejays (@gocreighton) April 24, 2017
Creighton University Director of Athletics Bruce Rasmussen (@rasmussen_bruce) presents the Male & Female Athlete & Teams of the Year Awards pic.twitter.com/5iv5D9tJ0A
— Creighton Bluejays (@gocreighton) April 24, 2017
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Remarks by Bruce Rasmussen (@rasmussen_bruce), Creighton University Athletic Director, at tonight's Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet pic.twitter.com/5WCwHgqvnl
— Creighton Bluejays (@gocreighton) April 24, 2017
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Congratulations to Lauren Smith of @CreightonVB – the 2017 Rev. Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Female Athlete of the Year! #CUHoF17 #GoJays pic.twitter.com/BEx6DVBn88
— Creighton Bluejays (@gocreighton) April 24, 2017
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Congratulations to Harrison Lang of @creightontennis – the 2017 Rev. Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Male Athlete of the Year! #CUHoF17 #GoJays pic.twitter.com/KzhmyVy86y
— Creighton Bluejays (@gocreighton) April 24, 2017
