UK’s athletics Hall of Fame has 162 members. Meet the six who will join them Friday.
Anthony Davis of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans leads a class of six former University of Kentucky coaches and players into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame during class of 2018 induction ceremonies this weekend.
Davis, who was the consensus national player of the year in leading Kentucky to the NCAA basketball championship in 2012, is joined in the class by Russ Cochran (golf), Victory Dunlap (basketball), Dennis Emery (men’s tennis coach), Eric Quigley (tennis) and Jacob Tamme (football).
Hall of Famers will be inducted during a private ceremony Friday then recognized during Saturday’s UK-Mississippi State football game on Saturday.
UK launched its Hall in 2005 by inducting an 88-member charter class of individuals who had previously had their jerseys retired. Since then, 80 individuals have joined the Hall, including this year’s class.
UK requires a five-year waiting period after leaving the school to be eligible for inclusion into the Hall of Fame, and a 10-year waiting period to have a jersey retired. An individual must be a member of the Hall of Fame to be eligible for jersey retirement.
Cochran played golf at UK from 1975-78, earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in 1978 after leading UK to top-five finishes at the SEC Championships three years in a row. He’s played professionally since 1979 and is still active on the PGA Champions Tour.
Dunlap, who played basketball at UK from 2008-11, was a first-team All-American as a junior and a third-team All-American as a senior and was named SEC Player of the Year twice. She went on to play two seasons in the WNBA.
Emery was UK’s men’s tennis coach from 1983 to 2012. His teams won 568 matches and never lost to an in-state opponent. His teams made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances in his 30 seasons, including 11 trips to the Sweet 16 and four to the Elite Eight.
Quigley played tennis at UK from 2009-12 and remains the winningest player in school history with 172 career victories. He earned All-America honors three times in singles and twice in doubles and was named 2012 SEC Player of the Year, the same year he finished as NCAA singles runner-up.
Tamme played football from 2004-07, earning first-team All-SEC accolades as a junior and senior. He totaled 133 career catches for 1,417 yards, the most ever by a UK tight end. He also caught 11 touchdown passes. Tamme went on to play nine seasons in the NFL with Indianapolis, Denver and Atlanta.