University of Iowa Athletics announces its 2021 Hall of Fame Class

The 10-person class will be inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame on Sept. 3, 2021—the evening before Iowa football’s season opener against Indiana.

The+Iowa+football+team+is+introduced+during+a+football+game+between+Iowa+and+Rutgers+at+Kinnick+Stadium+on+Saturday%2C+September+7%2C+2019.+The+Hawkeyes+defeated+the+Scarlet+Knights%2C+30-0.

Shivansh Ahuja

The Iowa football team is introduced during a football game between Iowa and Rutgers at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, September 7, 2019. The Hawkeyes defeated the Scarlet Knights, 30-0.

Will Fineman, Sports Reporter


The University of Iowa Athletics Department and the National Iowa Varsity Club have announced the 2021 Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame Class.

According to a Tuesday release, the 10-person class includes Roy Marble Jr., Ed Podolak, Frank “Kinney” Holbrook, Dan Bachman, Brad Penrith, Kari Hamel, Kristen Holmes, Kristi Hanks, Diane Nukuri, and Fred Mims.

The group will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 3 – one day prior to Iowa football’s season opener against Indiana.

Roy Marble Jr.

Roy Marble Jr. ranks second in Iowa men’s basketball history in career points, scoring 2,116 during his four-year career from 1986-98. He is one of 27 players in Big Ten history to score more than 2,000 career points.

Marble held the top mark in career points until the 2020-21 men’s basketball season, when former Hawkeye and 2020-21 consensus National Player of the Year Luka Garza broke the record on Feb. 22. Garza finished his career as a Hawkeye with 2,306 points.

Marble is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

As a Hawkeye, Marble ranks in the top-10 in career points, field goals, steals, free throw attempts, field goal attempts, and games played.

Ed Podolak

Ed Podolak competed for Iowa football from 1966-68 and ranks in the top 20 in school history in career rushing yards, passing yards, and total offense. In 1968, Podolak received first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named the Hawkeye team MVP after he rushed for 937 yards and eight touchdowns and threw for 261 yards.

Podolak was selected in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, won a Super Bowl with the team in 1970, and is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Honor.

He has been a radio commentator for Hawkeye football since 1982 and is a member of the University of Iowa Media Hall of Fame.

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Frank “Kinney” Holbrook

Fellow Iowa football player Frank “Kinney” Holbrook was the first Black athlete to compete for the UI and the first black college athlete in the history of the state of Iowa. Holbrook played football for Iowa in 1895 and 1896 and competed in track and field from 1896-97.

He led the Hawkeyes with 12 touchdowns during the 1896 season and helped Iowa clinch a share of the Western Interstate University Football Association Championship — the first conference title in school history.

Dan Bachman

Dan Bachman was a seven-time Big Ten champion and three-time All-American for Iowa men’s gymnastics from 1982-86. He was a four-time conference champion in floor and earned All-American honors in all-around, floor exercise, and parallel bars in 1986 — he led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten team title that year.

Brad Penrith

Brad Penrith competed for Iowa wrestling from 1984-88 and won the 126-pound NCAA championship in 1986. He was a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion.

In 1986 he received Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors and helped lead Iowa to its record-tying ninth straight NCAA team title.

Penrith made two United States World Championship Teams and won a silver medal in 1991.

Kari Hamel

Iowa volleyball’s Kari Hamel led Iowa to its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance in 1989 and was named to the Big Ten 1980s All-Decade Team. During her Hawkeye career from 1985-89, she was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree and earned all-conference honorable mention honors in 1987.

Hamel is second all-time in blocks, third in program history in kills, ranks in the top 10 in career service aces and digs, and holds the program’s single-match record for kills with 37.

Kristen Holmes

From 1992-96 for Iowa field hockey, Kristen Holmes was a two-time first-team All-American and four-time All-Big Ten honoree.

After helping Iowa win its second straight Big Ten regular-season title and advance to its second-straight NCAA Elite Eight, Holmes was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 1996.

Holmes was a member of two Final Four teams and went on to be an alternate on the 1996 United States Olympic Team and a member of the U.S. National Team for a total of eight years.

Kristi Hanks

During her Iowa softball career from 1999-2002, Kristi Hanks was a three-time All-American.

Hanks is a two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, three-time All-Big Ten honoree, and graduated as the program’s all-time leader in strikeouts. She also led Iowa to a College World Series appearance in 2001.

Diane Nukuri

Diane Nukuri won the 2007 Big Ten cross country title and 2008 track and field 5,000 meters during her Hawkeye career from 2006-08.

Nukuri received All-America honors three times and was named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2007 and University of Iowa Female Athlete of the Year in 2008.

She set school records in eight events and competed in the 2000 Sydney, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Fred Mims

Fred Mims worked as a University of Iowa athletics administrator for 38 years.

He led Iowa’s student services and compliance departments for more than two decades and held the title of Associate Athletics Director for 25 years before retiring in 2015.