WKU announces 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees

Published 9:40 am Monday, August 26, 2024

WKU volleyball coach Travis Hudson shouts instructions from the sidelines during last season’s win over Belmont at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Three great names in the history of Western Kentucky athletics will be inducted as the 33rd class into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies set for Homecoming (Nov. 16) this fall. In addition, the members of the 1974 NCAA runner-up men’s cross country team will be recognized for its selection as a member of the inaugural class of WKU Athletic Hall of Fame Teams at the event.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class includes Travis Hudson (volleyball coach), Beth Lane (basketball) and Mel Mitchell (football). The 1974 WKU men’s cross country team is also part of the induction class.

The induction of the 2024 class will bring the number of former WKU athletes and coaches to earn berths in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame to 173 since its founding in 1991.

The 2024 class will be inducted in a ceremony highlighting the annual W-Club Homecoming event, moved from a breakfast to a post-game dinner this year due to the early kickoff of the Homecoming Game (11 a.m. vs. Louisiana Tech). Things will get underway after the game with a 4 p.m. (CT) social hour on the John Oldham Court in E.A. Diddle Arena with a reception featuring a cash bar. The induction dinner will begin at 5 p.m.

More about the members of the 2024 WKU Athletic Hall of Fame class:

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Travis Hudson / Volleyball Head Coach (1995-present)

One of the most successful coaches in WKU history, Hudson is entering his 30th season as the head coach of the Hilltopper volleyball program with a 752-227 (76.8%) overall record and a 353-65 (84.4%) mark in conference competition. His 29 Hilltopper teams have won 10 Sun Belt Conference regular season championships (plus five SBC tournaments) and nine Conference USA regular season crowns (plus eight CUSA tourney titles), making 16 NCAA tournament appearances – 14 of those in the last 17 seasons – and winning 82% (325-58) of their contests at E.A. Diddle Arena. For his efforts, he has earned conference Coach of the Year recognition 11 times (six in CUSA and five in the SBC). He has been a finalist for American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year and the AVCA South Region Coach of the Year nine times. Hudson’s teams have posted 27 winning seasons, 25 with 20-plus wins and 10 with 30-or-more victories. Since WKU joined CUSA in 2014, he has coached six Players of the Year, 41 all-conference selections (including 29 first-team picks), four league Setter of the Year winners, four Freshman of the Year honorees, 11 all-freshman team picks and 15 conference All-Academic Team athletes. Six of his student-athletes earned AVCA All-South Region Player of the Year awards. Hudson’s SBC teams produced five Players of the Year, six Defensive Players of the Year, one Setter of the Year, two Freshmen of the Year, two Newcomers of the Year and 59 all-conference picks (including 35 first team selections). And, his Topper teams have enjoyed a very impressive 100% graduation rate. A 1994 WKU alumnus, he was inducted into the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2020.

Beth Lane (Jeffers) / Women’s Basketball, 4 letters (1976-79)

The 1979 WKU Female Athlete of the Year as a senior, Lane served as Lady Topper basketball team captain both her junior and senior seasons, completing her career as the program’s leading scorer with 1,446 points, a number that here 45 years later, still ranks 18th on the elite list of Topper point producers. She was a key factor leading the Lady Toppers to the program’s first post-season appearance, earning a berth in the 1977 AIAW regional in Memphis. All-OVC as a senior, she still holds school records for free throws made (19) and attempted (23) in a game (in a 33-point outing vs. Murray State as a junior). She also set school standards for both career free throws made (458) and attempted (644) — numbers that still rank fifth and fourth, respectively. Her four Topper teams were 78-39 (66.7%), posting the first two 20-win seasons (22-9 in both ‘77 and ‘78) in program history, after narrowly missing that mark (19-7) in ’76. She was also honored with the WKU Physical Education Majors Award as a senior.

Mel Mitchell / Football, 3 letters (1999-01)

A member of the WKU Football All-Century Team (2018), Mitchell was an All-America defensive back in 2000 and in 2001 when he was a consensus selection. He was an All-Gateway Football Conference first team honoree in 2001 and earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference laurels in 1999 and ’00. Mitchell was sixth in the balloting for the 2001 Buck Buchanan Award (for the top defensive player in I-AA football). He still holds the school record (5) for career blocked kicks and is tied for the season best (3). And, he posted impressive performances as a KO return specialist, returning one for 99 yards, and two for TDs, the second best total in the WKU books. He ranks second for career KO return average (28.5 ypr) and ranks sixth in season return average (29.5). Mitchell started every game in the defensive backfield in his three seasons on The Hill and captained the ‘01 club. In the 2002 NFL Draft, he went in the fifth round to New Orleans, where he was active from 2002-05; and then he spent two years with New England (‘06-07).

1974 Hilltopper Cross Country Team

The 1974 Hilltopper cross country team – the runner-up in the NCAA National Championship Meet – ranks as the most successful cross country team in the history of the sport at WKU. All-American Nick Rose was the individual national champion and the Hilltoppers claimed team second place honors, capping a season that saw WKU fail to cross the finish line in first place only once in nine events – behind Oregon in the NCAA meet. In five of those nine races, more than one Topper finished tied for first place. Participating in the NCAA meet were Rose (first), Chris Ridler (eighth), Dave Long (13th), Tony Staynings (18th), Ross Munro (104th), Swag Hartel (109th) and Joe Tinius (126th). Rose, Ridler, Long and Staynings each earned All-America honors during their careers on The Hill; and Rose, Ridler and Staynings have already been honored as WKU Athletic Hall of Famers. Others on the 1974 team were Gerry Centrowitz, Tom Condit, Bill Hedger, Dave Jaggers, Stevie Smith, James Willoughby and John Zickel. The ’74 Toppers were coached by Jerry Bean.

Tickets for the event, which is open to the general public, are $50 each and can be purchased and/or reserved:

• online at alumni.wku.edu/wclubdinner24 (then click on “Registration” and fill out the reservation form);

• by calling the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation (HAF) Office at 270-745-5321;

• or, by contacting Paul Just (270-792-4247) (paul.just@wku.edu).

Each active W-Club member who has paid his/her 2024-25 dues (or is a Lifetime member) may purchase up to two seats at the member discount rate of $25 each (additional seats will be at the general public rate – $50 each). However, seating is limited and reservations must be made – either online, by phone with the HAF, or with Just – to ensure seating is available. Non-members and the general public are welcome, but must purchase seats. Letterwinners who have not yet paid their ‘24-25 dues may do so online with a credit card (at alumni.wku.edu/joinwclub) or at the door (exact cash or check only) with a prior reservation for the event.

The inductees will also be honored in ceremonies on Jimmy Feix Field at halftime of the annual Homecoming football game, set to kickoff at 11 a.m. against Louisiana Tech.