UNI announces 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame class

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Conference champions, national qualifiers, program leaders and longtime contributors to Panther athletics highlight the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame induction class of 2024.

Representing four different programs, the Panthers will recognize five individuals, as well as one team, who's contributions to UNI Athletics span the past 60 years.

This year's class includes a pair of football players in former NFL running back David Johnson and record breaking placekicker Brian Mitchell, softball standout Deena Chipp and breakout multi-event athlete Dani Stipe. Decorated track and field student-athlete Mat Clark will be honored with the Merlin Taylor Academic Award, while UNI former professor and author Dr. James Kelly will be recognized with the Dr. Jitu Kothari Meritorious Service Award. The Panthers will also celebrate the 1964 men's cross country team, which captured a conference championship and finished in the top-three in the nation.

The 2024 class will formally be inducted on Friday, August 30 in a ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls.

5:30 p.m. social hour | 6:30 p.m. dinner | 7:20 p.m. program
Hilton Garden Inn | 7213 Nordic Drive, Cedar Falls, Iowa

Tickets to the event are available to the public and can be purchased by contacting Ann Arns at 319-273-2470, or by email at ann.arns@uni.edu. The cost of an adult meal is $42 and $15 for children under 3-11. Youths 2 years old and younger without a meal are free. A cash bar will be available.

This year's induction class will also be recognized at halftime of UNI's season opening football game on August 31 against Valparaiso that kicks off at 4 p.m. CT.

Established in 1985, the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame has recognized 234 individuals and teams to date. Click HERE to view the full list of inductees.

DAVID JOHNSON | Football
Agile and known for his strong running ability, David Johnson carved out space on the gridiron on his way to becoming one of UNI's all-time great running backs. His speed and power immediately translated from the college playing fields to the professional stadiums in the NFL.

A native of Clinton, Iowa, Johnson arrived at UNI in 2010 and worked to become a dominant back in the Panthers' potent running game. After redshirting his freshman year, Johnson recorded 822 rushing yards in his first season on the field, helping fuel a balanced running attack in UNI's 2011 co-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) championship season and a trip to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs.

Johnson took the reins as the Panthers' lead back starting in 2012, recording the first of three straight seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards, gradually improving each season. His speed and power flourished by his senior year in 2014, where he rewrote the record books with a historic season. Kicking off his senior campaign with 203 receiving yards in the season-opener at Iowa, Johnson set new single-season school records for rushing yards (1,553), total touchdowns scored (20) and all-purpose yards (2,527), where he led the MVFC and ranked third nationally. He also tied a UNI single-game postseason record with four touchdowns against Stephen F. Austin in the 2014 playoff opener.

Johnson held 15 school records at the time of his graduation, finishing his collegiate career as UNI's all-time leading rusher (4,687 yards) and scorer (384 points), as well as its career rushing touchdown (49) all-purpose yards leader (6,859).

Selected 86th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2015 NFL Draft, Johnson made an immediate impact to begin his professional career, becoming the first player in league history to score a rushing, receiving and kickoff return touchdown in each of his first two games, a feat that earned him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With over 500 rushing yards as a rookie, Johnson helped the Cardinals tie a franchise record with 13 wins and reach the doorstep of the Super Bowl with an NFC Championship Game appearance.

In his second season in Arizona, Johnson continued to make his mark, starting all 16 games in 2016 and leading the NFL with 2,118 all-purpose yards. Tying a league record held by Barry Sanders with 100+ all-purpose yards in 15 straight games to begin the season, Johnson finished third in voting for the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Johnson joined the Houston Texans during the 2020 offseason, and later the New Orleans Saints before retiring from football in May 2024. He currently resides in Houston, Texas with his wife Meghan and their three children.

BRIAN MITCHELL | Football
With an impressive leg that rewrote the record books at the institutional, conference and national levels, Brian Mitchell set himself apart as one of college football's best placekickers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A three-year player for the Panthers from 1989 to 1991, Mitchell came to Cedar Falls after one season at Marshall and made an immediate impact for the UNI football team, recording notable benchmark moments along the way. Mitchell scored a then-program and conference record 297 points in his three years at Northern Iowa with 63 made field goals and 108 made PATs. His 322 career points from his combined time at UNI and Marshall made him the second-highest scoring kicker in all of Division I-AA football by the end of his collegiate career. He also led UNI and the Gateway Football Conference (now the Missouri Valley Football Conference) in scoring twice (1990, 1991).

Known for his accuracy, Mitchell converted on a then-school record 84% of his field goal attempts and became just the third kicker in UNI history to finish his career perfect in PATs, setting program and conference records in the process. Mitchell broke the all-time NCAA single season field goal record for all divisions by going 26 for 27 in 1990 that stands to this day. He made 21 straight field goals during the 1990 season, as well as 26 in a row during his junior and senior campaigns, which are both UNI, conference and FCS records that stand to this day. Notably, Mitchell was also the first kicker in Panther history to make five field goals in a single game, a feat he accomplished in 1991 against Idaho. His career-long field goal of 57 yards in 1991 against Illinois State is currently tied for the third-longest kick in conference history.

Mitchell's kicking ability helped the Panthers to a pair of Gateway Football Conference championships in 1990 and 1991 as well as subsequent postseason berths, including an appearance in the 1991 quarterfinal round. He was named First Team All-Gateway in all three of his seasons on the UNI roster and became a two-time First Team All-American as named by the Associated Press in 1990 and 1991. In 2009, he was selected to the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Silver Anniversary Team as one of the top-four kickers in the league's first 25 years of play.

After graduating from UNI in 1992, Mitchell played two years of professional football in the Arena Football League with the Cleveland Thunderbolts (1994) and St. Louis Stampede (1995). Mitchell holds every drop kicking record in the AFL including most four-point dropkicks in a season and career (6) and most two-point dropkicks in a season (18) and career (28).

He currently resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland with his wife Tathiana and two kids, Thomas and Grace.

DEENA (CHIPP) SWYERS | Softball
A powerful bat in the Panther lineup in the early 1990s, Deena Chipp left her mark on the Northern Iowa softball program as a key player that helped UNI reach its first NCAA Division I regional tournament.

An outfielder on the diamond from 1990 to 1993, Chipp led the Panther lineup in multiple offensive categories over the course of multiple seasons, including home runs in all four of her years in Cedar Falls, three times in batting average, runs batted in and runs scored, and twice in total hits, doubles and stolen bases. Her 27 runs scored and ten stolen bases as a freshman in 1990 were a catalyst in the Panthers winning the 1990 Gateway Conference Tournament title and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history as a Division I program.

Chipp led the conference with eight home runs in 1991 and 39 runs scored in 1992 and notably recorded a .500 batting average in league play in 1993. During her senior season in 1993, Chipp posted a .413 batting average, the second-best single-season mark in program history and a top-20 average in the conference at the time, while also recording four home runs and a league-high 18 RBIs in MVC action. She also set the program record for consecutive games with a hit as a senior.

Chipp earned All-Gateway Conference at-large honors in 1991 and 1992, as well as first team recognition in 1993 from the MVC. She finished her career ranked third in program history in batting average (.348), fourth in slugging percentage (.555), fifth in stolen base percentage (.943), fifth in games started (207) and tied for fifth in total hits (205). She also recorded 33 stolen bases in her career.

Chipp currently resides in Cuba, Missouri.

DANI STIPE | Women's Track & Field
A decorated athlete for the Panther track and field team, Dani Stipe became one of UNI's best multi-event competitors who achieved success not just at the conference level, but on the national stage as well.

Stipe racked up six All-MVC Team selections between indoor and outdoor competition as a part of a Panther team that captured both the conference indoor and outdoor team championships in 2008. In 2007, she earned her first conference title in the indoor 4x400 meter relay and her first individual conference win in the MVC outdoor heptathlon with 5,322 points, qualifying her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the 2008 season, Stipe qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the pentathlon where she placed 16th with 3,806 points. Stipe's MVC outdoor performance in the heptathlon earned her the conference title, a provisional qualification for the Olympic Trials and a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships where she placed 18th with 5,368 points.

Stipe became the first UNI athlete to be named the Most Outstanding Female Track Athlete of the MVC Outdoor Championships in 2008, a season where she earned the first of her three MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selections. She captured her first MVC individual indoor title in the pentathlon in 2009 with a 3,805-point performance while also contributing to the success of the Panthers in additional events, including the long jump and sprint relays.

Stipe currently holds school records as a part of UNI's outdoor 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams, and is part of the three fastest outdoor 4x400-meter relay teams in program history.

She remains second in the Panther record books in the indoor long jump (5.93m), while her indoor 4x400-meter relay time currently ranks third in UNI history. Stipe set the school record in the outdoor heptathlon in 2008 with 5,550 points and currently ranks third all-time. She also remains tied for second in the record books in the outdoor long jump (6.05m).

In 2012, Stipe was inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union's (IGHSAU) Track & Field Hall of Fame for her contributions while an athlete at Kuemper Catholic High School. Stipe currently resides in Carroll, Iowa.

1964 MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
Six decades after capturing a conference championship and recording the program's best finish at the NCAA Championships, the 13 athletes of the 1964 State College of Iowa (SCI) men's cross country team will be recognized and inducted into the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame.

Led by Hall of Fame head coach Jack Jennett, the 1964 Panthers were a force on the course in the North Central Conference, capturing the conference team title with 36 points and all seven runners finishing in the top-20, including top-ten finishes by Bill Bergan, Mark Messersmith, Al Kniep and Ron Brinkent.

Weeks later at the NCAA College Division (now NCAA Division II) Championships, SCI saw all seven varsity athletes finish the four-mile race in under 23 minutes to take third-place with 164 points behind champion Kentucky State and runner-up Northeast Missouri State (now Truman State). Five Panthers finished individually in the top-80, led by Kniep in 25th place, Bill Taylor in 33rd and Rich Engel in 44th. The highest national championship team finish in program history, 1964 was the second of 17 consecutive seasons that the Panthers would run at the NCAA College Division Championships before making the jump to Division I in 1980. 1964 XC Team

Two members of the 1964 squad were previously inducted into the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame, including Bergan in 1997 and Coach Jennett in 1998. Meanwhile, UNI's outdoor track and field facility is named in honor of Messersmith, who also recorded a breakout track career with the Panthers.

ROSTER: Ron Brinkert, Rich Engel, Bill Bergan, Bill Taylor, Wayne Silka, Mark Messersmith, Lynn Jenison, John Sonka, Wes Barnett, Al Kneip, Head Coach Jack Jennett, Assistant Coach Don Hart.

MAT CLARK | Men's Track & Field - Merlin Taylor Academic Award
Known for both his prowess on the track as well as in the classroom, Mat Clark is the 2024 recipient of the Merlin Taylor Academic Award.

An Ames, Iowa native, Clark spent four years on UNI's track and field roster from 2006 to 2009, quickly becoming one of the program's most successful multi-event athletes. A seven-time All-MVC Team selection between indoor and outdoor competition, Clark burst onto the scene by qualifying for the World Junior Championships in Beijing, China after his freshman year in 2006 by placing second at the US Junior Championships. During the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships, Clark's first NCAA championship appearance, he earned All-American honors in the heptathlon with 5,613 points, the second-highest score in school history at the time.

In outdoor action, he reached the NCAA Championships twice, placing tenth in 2008 and ninth in 2009 in the decathlon. After winning the 2009 Drake Relays decathlon, Clark went on to win the event at the MVC Outdoor Championships and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Athlete after posting a 7,785-point performance – a score that was ranked third in the NCAA, a facility record and currently ranks third all-time in UNI history. During the summer of 2008, he competed in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon with a 17th place finish.

Clark was selected to the MVC's Scholar-Athlete Team three times during his Panther career (2007, 2008, 2009) and earned First Team Academic All-American honors from the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in 2008 and 2009. He was also named a CoSIDA (now College Sports Communicators) First Team Academic All-American in 2008 and 2009 and is one of three Panther track and field athletes to earn multiple First-Team honors. He graduated from UNI with a bachelor's degree in biology in 2009.

After winning an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 2009, Clark moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas and began his coaching career with the University of Arkansas, first as a volunteer assistant track coach with the Razorbacks and later the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the men's track and field/cross country teams. Clark earned his master's degree in physical education in 2019 from Arkansas and currently serves as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Razorbacks' men's and women's track and field/cross country teams. Clark currently resides in Fayetteville with his wife Abby, and his three children, Adeline, Ford, and Beau.

DR. JAMES KELLY | Dr. Jitu D. Kothari Meritorious Service Award
A longtime proponent of higher education and a loyal Panther supporter, Dr. James Kelly will be recognized as the 2024 winner of the Dr. Jitu Kothari Meritorious Service Award for his contributions in documenting and publishing the history of UNI Athletics.

An Estherville, Iowa native and 1984 doctoral graduate from the University of Nebraska, Kelly spent 45 years in education, including 40 years at UNI and at the Malcolm Price Laboratory School (also known as Northern University High School), where he helped develop individualized project-centered instructional materials in both chemistry and biology, providing an outlet for his innovative science curriculum. The latter half of his tenure at UNI was as the faculty coordinator of the Cedar Falls Student Teaching Center.

After retiring from teaching in 2009 and being named an Emeritus Professor of Teaching, Kelly, a passionate UNI sports fan, embarked on a years-long challenge that had not been attempted before; to document and publish a book based on the history of Panther Athletics. With the help of several former coaches, administrators and athletes, Kelly wrote "Tutors to Panthers: A Brief History of UNI Athletics" in 2012, summarizing Northern Iowa's athletic accomplishments and records from the early days of the university through 2011.

In 2017, Kelly published his second book on Panther Athletics entitled "Harwood Journey: A History of UNI Basketball," which highlighted the accolades of the Panther men's basketball program from the onset of the team in the late 1800s through the 2015-16 season. His third book focusing on UNI football, "Gridiron: The Story of Panther Football," was published in 2020. Kelly is currently at work researching and writing a fourth book on Panther Athletics, "Purple Jazz and Golden Moments." A longtime season ticket holder, Panther Scholarship Club (PSC) member and volunteer, all the financial benefits of his first three UNI Athletics books have gone to help the PSC.

Kelly was recognized for his contributions to the university in 2018 with an Honorary Alumni Award in 2018. Continuing to share his passion for teaching, he has also been responsible for organizing the Jean Kelly Early Childhood Student Teaching Award, an annual teaching scholarship being given to a UNI early childhood education student in honor of his late wife Jean. Kelly currently resides in Cedar Falls.

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