Dwyane Wade was one of the most prolific scorers in Marquette history (AP/Morry Gash)
The late Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto, all 5’6” and 150 pounds of him, once stated that, “I’ll take anyway to get into the Hall of Fame. If they want a batboy, I’ll go in as a batboy.” While his 1950 MVP Award, five All-Star Game appearances and seven World Series rings earned the former Yankees shortstop entrance into Cooperstown in 1994, Rizzuto’s comments, while intended for nothing more than comedic relief, speak volumes to the prestige and esteem that individuals hold for the hallowed grounds that exemplify a Hall of Fame.
While most commonly affiliated with athletics, there are indeed Hall of Fames all around us. From science, furniture, fashion, paper (at his current rate, Dwight Schrute is a clear first-ballot candidate come 2020), technology and music, the lionization and preservation of excellence has no boundaries.
On Saturday, August 22, Jim Allen, Bill Cords, Kate (Gordon) McGeeney, Lisa (Oldenburg) Kanning, Dwyane Wade and the 2002-03 men’s basketball team will be forever woven in the MU athletic fabric as the newest members of the Marquette Hall of Fame.
Including former athletes, coaches, trainers, teams and administrators, the Marquette Hall of Fame is comprised of 66 of the most influential, impactful and history-making figures in MU athletic history.
So before the ceremonies commence at the Bradley Center in one week’s time, here is a look at the aforementioned inductees’ impact during their time in Milwaukee:
Jim Allen
A 1961 Marquette graduate, Allen—who, although enrolling at Marquette in 1954, began his student-athlete career in 1957 after three years of service to the United States Armed Forces during the Korean War—established the school record in the indoor mile, which stood for more than two decades.
Allen returned to Marquette in 1977 to oversee the cross country and track programs. During his 11-year tenure (1977-88), Allen helped revive the Marquette Track Club by being one of the instrumental figures in transitioning each program from non-scholarship club sports to recognized Division I programs and one of the key voices in the fundraising for the Melvin “Bus” Shimek Memorial Track and Field Facility.
With his induction, Allen will join his most accomplished pupil, Keith Hanson (Class of 1999) in the MU Hall of Fame. One of 11 All Americans during Allen’s coaching career, Hanson was the 1986 NCAA 10,000-meter champion and a third-place finisher at the 1985 NCAA Cross Country Championships—the only NCAA Championship ever hosted by Marquette.
In 1988, Allen, as a result of his years of dedicated service and loyalty to Marquette athletics, was the recipient of the Hy Popuch Award.
Bill Cords
Serving as Marquette’s Athletic Director for 20 years (1987-2007), Cords wasted little time in growing the MU brand.
One year into his tenure, Cords helped establish Marquette’s first conference affiliation as the Warriors became a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC). In turn, Cords was instrumental in Marquette’s transition to the Great Midwestern Conference (1990), Conference USA (1995) and the Big East (2005).
Named the 1999 Continental Regional 1-AA/1-AAA Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, Cords helped bring the men’s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship to Milwaukee as MU played host to the First and Second Rounds of Tournament action in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1999.
Perhaps Cords’ lasting impact within the community, however, lies within the creation of the National Youth Sports Program. Founded in 1993, the NYSP is designed to benefit Milwaukee area youth during the summer months.
Kate (Gordon) McGeeney
The 2001 Conference USA Player of the Year and second women’s soccer player to be ushered into the Marquette Hall of Fame, Gordon led the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years (1999-2002) as a member of the women’s soccer team.
Trailing only 2006 Marquette Hall of Fame inductee Kelly Roethe in career goals (48) and total points (114), Gordon helped lead MU to a 65-24-6 record (including an impressive 30-6-4 mark in Conference USA) during her career.
Gordon’s sophomore year (2000) was one of the most impressive individual and team seasons in MU women’s soccer history. Earning NSCAA All-American Second Team honors, a spot on the Conference USA First Team, Conference USA Tournament Most Valuable Forward and NSCAA All-Great Lakes recognition, Gordon set Marquette single-season records in goals scored (17) and points (40) while leading MU to a school-record 20 wins and an unblemished Conference USA record (10-0-1).
Over her final two years, Gordon was named to the All-Conference USA First Team and a consensus All-American in each season.
Lisa (Oldenburg) Kanning
Ranking in the top-10 in seven major statistical categories in Marquette women’s basketball history, Oldenburg helped guide the Golden Eagles to a birth in the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years in Milwaukee (1996-2000).
An All-Conference USA Second Team member in each of her final three years at MU, Oldenburg (who still holds the single-game women’s basketball scoring record with a 42-point explosion against Pacific University on Nov. 26, 1999) was a Basketball Times All-American in 1998 and a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1999 and 2000.
For her career, Oldenburg led MU to an 86-32 record (.730) and was one the primary catalysts in securing Marquette’s first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament in 1997 as the Golden Eagles defeated Clemson, 70-66.
Dwyane Wade
The main course of this year’s Hall of Fame class, Wade played two electrifying years for the Marquette men’s basketball team (2001-02 and 2002-03) and reignited MU men’s basketball in the process.
Ineligible to suit up for the Golden Eagles during his freshman year (2000-01) due to the NCAA’s Proposition 48 (which mandates student-athletes to reach certain academic eligibility requirements), Wade led the Golden Eagles in scoring during his sophomore year (17.8 ppg), was Conference USA’s steals per game leader (2.47), an All-Conference USA First Team selection and helped lead Marquette to a 26-7 mark—it’s best finish since the 1993-94 campaign—and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1997 (ultimately losing to 12th-seed Tulsa, 71-69, in the First Round).
Wade’s junior season, however, proved to be a foreshadowing of what was to come in for the Chicago, Ill. native. Averaging a team-leading 21.5 points per game (Wade’s 710 points during the 2002-03 season established the single-season Marquette scoring record), Wade led the Golden Eagles to a 27-6 record (including a school-record 14 victories in Conference USA) and MU’s first C-USA Regular Season Championship. At season’s end, Wade was a consensus First Team All-American and was named Conference USA’s Player of the Year as well as its Defensive Player of the Year.
As a three seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Wade helped will the Golden Eagles past Holy Cross, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Kentucky before losing to eventual National Runner-Up Kansas in the Final Four, 94-61.
Wade’s performance against the Kentucky Wildcats (the No. 1-overall seed in the Big Dance) in the Elite Eight, however, stands as perhaps the most dazzling individual performance in Marquette basketball history. Registering only the third triple-double in school history (as well as the tenth in NCAA Tournament history), the man now known as “Flash” registered 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Golden Eagles upended the heavily favored squad from Lexington in Minneapolis, Minn.
Upon being selected with the fifth overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, Wade has compiled a career (in six short seasons) this is more befitting of a 15-year veteran: NBA champion (2006), NBA Finals MVP (2006), five-time NBA All-Star (2005-09), All-NBA First Team (2009), Second Team (2005-06) and Third Team (2007) selection, All-NBA Defensive Team selection (2005, 2009), an NBA scoring title (2009), Olympic Gold (2008) and Bronze (2004) medalist and the 2006 NBA Sportsman of the Year.
For his Blue and Gold career, Wade’s career scoring average of 19.7 points per game stands as the second-highest in MU history, whereas his 1,281 career points rank 25th.
In February 2007, Wade’s #3 jersey was retired by Marquette (while the university requires student-athletes to graduate in order to have their uniform retired, a special exemption was made for Wade).
2002-03 Men’s Basketball Team
Comprised of three future NBA players (Travis Diener, Steve Novak and Wade), possessing the second-best winning percentage in school history (.818, behind only the 1977-78 squad) and the third Marquette team to punch a ticket to the NCAA Final Four, the 2002-03 Marquette Golden Eagles stand as one of the most accomplished basketball teams ever assembled in MU history.
While the season ended in bittersweet disappointment (see above), the Golden Eagles of 2002-03 were littered with individual and team accolades.
In only his fourth year as MU head coach, Tom Crean was named the Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year, the recipient of Coach Clair Bee Award and the USBWA District V and NABC District XI Coach of the Year.
From a player standpoint, aside from Wade’s Fist Team All-American selection and C-USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year selections, Diener and power forward Robert Jackson were named to the All-Conference USA Second Team while Novak walked away with the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Compiling a 27-6 record, the 2002-03 Golden Eagles—who defeated the conference champions of the ACC (Wake Forest), Big East (Pittsburgh), Big Ten (Wisconsin) and SEC (Kentucky) throughout the course of the season—earned a No. 6 ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and a No. 9 ranking in the Final USA Today Top 25 Poll.
With its induction, the 2002-03 men’s basketball squad joins the 1969-70 men’s basketball team, 1973-74 men’s basketball team, 1976-77 men’s basketball team and the 1982 women’s cross country team as the only non-individual members within the Marquette Hall of Fame.
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