Owls To Add Seven to Hall of Fame
6/23/2025 12:51:00 PM | Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Swimming & Diving, Women's Track & Field, Owl Club, R Association
Hadnott and Disch honored for their service to the Owls
Houston--Rice Athletics announced on Monday the members of its 41st Hall of Fame class, which will be formally inducted this fall.
Pam Brooks '94, Michael Downs '81 , Pennie Goff '85 , Brittany Massengale '09 , Jon Warren '88, Nicole (Aleskowitch) Wilkerson '93, and Mike Wilks '01 will take their place among Rice's greatest athletes and be inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, October 24. Former women's tennis co-captain Wanna Hadnott '84 will receive the Distinguished R Award for her lifetime of support to Rice Athletics and Dr. Jimmy Disch Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sport Management at Rice will receive the Honorary R for his more than 50 years of service to the Owls.
The 2025 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held at the Westin Medical Center on Friday evening on October 24, and activities continue the following day with a pregame tailgate prior to the Rice-UConn football game, and all honorees will also be recognized on the field during the game.
For additional information regarding the 2025 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact the R Association (713-348-3229 or by email), the Owl Club, or click here to be notified when registration opens.
Pam Brooks, '94 (Hall of Fame)
Brooks and fellow inductee Nicole Wilkerson combined with 2001 inductee Valerie Tulloch to give Rice its first top 10 team finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 1994. She finished fifth in her signature event, the 400 hurdles, to add to Rice's 19 points, which remain the second-most the Owls have scored at the outdoor championship. She was a four-time All-American, earning a pair of indoor honors while running a leg on relays and twice outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles. She was a two-time Southwest Conference Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, taking the title in 1993 and 1994, and her winning time of 57.39 in 1993 remains the fourth-fastest effort in school history.
Dr. Jimmy Disch (Honorary R)
Jimmy Disch came to Rice in 1973 as an assistant professor after earning his P.E.D. from Indiana University, where he focused on Physical Education with an emphasis on Biomechanics. However, his main concentration in graduate school was measurement and evaluation, statistics, and research methods. In the 70's, he served as the men's club volleyball coach and sponsor and coached the intercollegiate women's basketball and volleyball teams at Rice in the foundational years of women's athletics on South Main. Dr. Disch was a faculty associate at Sid Richardson College, where he also served as college master from 1986 to 1991. He was named the Outstanding Faculty Associate at Sid twice. He served as department chair for the Department of Kinesiology from 1995 until 2001 and later originated the sport analytics concentration curriculum. In the community, Dr. Disch serves as a board member for the Positive Coaching Alliance Houston, and he is a local committee member for the Joe Niekro Foundation for Brain Aneurysm Research. He is also a member of the scientific advisory board for Exact Sports. He also works with Champions Kids Camp. He is a dedicated supporter of Rice athletics through his donations, attendance, and giving of his time as a volunteer for countless events such as the NCAA Men's Final Four, which was hosted by Rice in 2011, 2016, and 2023.
Michael Downs '81 (Hall of Fame)
A product of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Michael Downs' wiry 6-3, 180-pound frame might not have seemed well suited to play safety in the Southwest Conference, but he quickly proved to be one of the top safeties in the conference. A four-year letterman and three-year starter, Downs was a co-captain as a senior and earned all-conference and honorable mention All-American honors. He is tied for eighth in school history with nine interceptions, and he became the seventh player in school history to intercept three passes in a game on October 14, 1978, vs. TCU. He signed with his hometown Dallas Cowboys after going undrafted in the 1981 NFL Draft, after missing time as a senior at Rice with a pinched nerve in his shoulder. He quickly repaid the Cowboys for their faith in him, not only making the team but also picking off a Washington's Joe Theismann in his first NFL game. He went on to be named to the NFL All-Rookie team and was named to the 1984 All-Pro team by the Pro Football Writers. He went on to play in 121 games with Dallas (eight years) and Phoenix (one year) and his 35 interceptions rank 132nd in NFL history. He is tied for fifth in Cowboys history with 34 interceptions during his time in Dallas.
Pennie Goff '85 (Hall of Fame)
Goff came to Rice from Dulles High in Missouri City in 1980 and quickly established herself as one of the best players in the early years of women's basketball on South Main as well as one of the most versatile, as she earned All-American honors in the high jump in 1982 to add to her accolades. She graduated from Rice as the school's second-leading scorer (1,564 points) and rebounder (855) and was the first three-time winner of the Gene Hackerman Award as the team's MVP. She was a second-team All-SWC selection as a junior when she led the conference in rebounding (9.7 per game) and her 21.2 scoring average was third in the conference and remains the school record. She set the SWC single-game scoring record for a conference game when she poured in 41 points at Texas A&M, and along with a 37-point game vs. Paul Quinn earlier the same season, she has two of the top four single-game scoring marks in school history. More than 40 years after her last game, she remains in the Owls' top ten in most categories, despite missing most of her final season due to injuries.
Wanna Hadnott '84 (Distinguished R)
A true trailblazer and lifelong champion of Rice University, Wanna Hadnott has been making history since the moment she stepped onto campus in 1980. As the first African American to receive a tennis scholarship at Rice, she shattered barriers and made her mark as a four-year letterwinner in the sport. Her pioneering spirit was honored again in 2016, when she was recognized as one of 15 student-athlete trailblazers at Rice. A standout in the classroom, Hadnott earned a B.A. in Managerial Studies, making the Dean's List in both 1983 and 1984, before going on to receive her MBA from the University of Texas. Her professional journey began in the oil and gas industry as an accountant, but her career quickly took flight—spanning the globe and evolving into a distinguished path in Human Resources. In 2001, she once again broke new ground by becoming the first woman and first African American to serve as President of the R Association. In 2004, she and her fellow board members launched the "Save Rice Athletics" initiative, forming Friends of Rice Athletics to rally support. Their passionate efforts led to a major victory: persuading the Rice Board of Trustees to reaffirm the university's commitment to Division I Athletics. She's a longtime member of the Rice Women's Athletic Advisory Board (WAAB), an Owl Club member, and a 20-year Community Associate for Martel College. Her energy and support are ever-present at Rice sporting events—often bringing guests along to share in the Owl spirit.
Brittany Massengale '09 (Hall of Fame)
Massengale was such a dominant force in distance swimming for the Owls throughout her career that three of her school records in the 500, 1,000, and 1,650 freestyle remain in place 17 years after her last competition. The Alma, Arkansas, became the second swimmer in school history to earn All-American honors in two events at the 2008 NCAA Championship when she finished 12th in the 1,650 freestyle and 13th in the 500 freestyle. As a freshman, she became the first Owl to break the 10-minute mark in the 1,000 freestyle, a barrier surpassed by only two other Rice swimmers through 2023. She qualified for the Olympic Trials in both 2004 and 2008 and was twice named the winner of the Catherine Hannah Award as the Owls' outstanding swimmer, sharing the award with Diane Gu in 2006 and then winning it after her All-American performance as a senior. After Massengale's sophomore season at Rice, she became the first Owls women's swimmer to earn selection to the US national team when she represented the United States at the 2006 World Open Water Championship and finished 12th out of 47 competitors.
Jon Warren '88 (Hall of Fame)
Jon Warren has been a part of Rice men's track & field for over 40 years. First, as a record-setting distance runner, and for the past 24 years as the head coach of the Rice Men's Track and Field squad. As an undergraduate at Rice, he set school records in the indoor mile (4:03.05, 1987) and in the 3000m (8:06.66) and qualified for the NCAA Championships twice in cross country and once in the indoor mile. He was a part of a Rice team that finished 19th as a team in the 1987 NCAA Cross Country meet. After graduating from Rice in 1988, he continued to compete and had personal bests of 3:59.30 in the mile, 8:30.66 in the 3000 steeplechase, 13:58 in the 5000, and 2:15 in the marathon. He is the only American to run a sub-4:00 mile and a sub-2:20 marathon in the same year, accomplishing both in 1994. Warren participated in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, and was a finalist in the steeplechase in '92 and finished eighth in the marathon in '96. He participated for the US in the World Championships in 1997. While competing, he returned to Rice as a coach and was named the sixth head men's track coach in school history in 2001. He has been named conference coach of the year four times and has overseen the development of many student-athletes, including 49 All-Americans and 17 Academic All-Americans during his tenure as head coach.
Nicole (Aleskowitch) Wilkerson '93 (Hall of Fame)
Wilkerson joins her former teammate Pam Brooks as an inductee in the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame. Nicole Aleskowitch came to Rice from Wading River, New York, and became a force in the distance events for the Owls no matter the season. She was a three-time SWC Champion in the 3,000 meters, winning the indoor title twice (and being edged at the wire in a quest for a third) and the outdoor gold once while also running on the 3,200 indoor relay championship squad in 1992. After graduating from Rice in 1993, she raced again in 1994 thanks to a redshirt due to an injury and made the most of the opportunity. She finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 3,000, combining with Brooks and 2001 inductee Valerie Tulloch to give Rice its first top 10 team finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in school history. Her finishing time of 9:27.89 remains the second-fastest in school history.
Mike Wilks '01 (Hall of Fame)
A first-team All-WAC selection as a senior, Wilks became a dominant player in his final two seasons at Rice, developing into a player who went on to play seven seasons in the NBA and was part of an NBA Championship squad with San Antonio in 2005. Wilks was recruited by Willis Wilson in 1997 out of Milwaukee to run the Owls' offense as the point guard and then took on a greater scoring role, scoring over 900 points in his final two seasons. He was named the WAC Player of the Year by College Insider after averaging 20.1 points per game and being named to the All-WAC team as well as the WAC All-Defensive team as a senior. He ranks second at Rice in career steals (186), eighth in career minutes played (3,481), ninth in career assists (348), and 19th in career scoring (1,300). He was also a standout in the classroom, earning WAC All-Academic team honors and was named the winner of the 2001 Bob Quin Award, presented annually to the male student-athlete at Rice. For the past six years, he has served as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he added a second NBA title to his resume on Sunday night when Oklahoma City defeated Indiana to capture its first NBA championship.
Pam Brooks '94, Michael Downs '81 , Pennie Goff '85 , Brittany Massengale '09 , Jon Warren '88, Nicole (Aleskowitch) Wilkerson '93, and Mike Wilks '01 will take their place among Rice's greatest athletes and be inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, October 24. Former women's tennis co-captain Wanna Hadnott '84 will receive the Distinguished R Award for her lifetime of support to Rice Athletics and Dr. Jimmy Disch Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sport Management at Rice will receive the Honorary R for his more than 50 years of service to the Owls.
The 2025 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held at the Westin Medical Center on Friday evening on October 24, and activities continue the following day with a pregame tailgate prior to the Rice-UConn football game, and all honorees will also be recognized on the field during the game.
For additional information regarding the 2025 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact the R Association (713-348-3229 or by email), the Owl Club, or click here to be notified when registration opens.
Pam Brooks, '94 (Hall of Fame)
Brooks and fellow inductee Nicole Wilkerson combined with 2001 inductee Valerie Tulloch to give Rice its first top 10 team finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 1994. She finished fifth in her signature event, the 400 hurdles, to add to Rice's 19 points, which remain the second-most the Owls have scored at the outdoor championship. She was a four-time All-American, earning a pair of indoor honors while running a leg on relays and twice outdoors in the 400-meter hurdles. She was a two-time Southwest Conference Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, taking the title in 1993 and 1994, and her winning time of 57.39 in 1993 remains the fourth-fastest effort in school history.
Dr. Jimmy Disch (Honorary R)
Jimmy Disch came to Rice in 1973 as an assistant professor after earning his P.E.D. from Indiana University, where he focused on Physical Education with an emphasis on Biomechanics. However, his main concentration in graduate school was measurement and evaluation, statistics, and research methods. In the 70's, he served as the men's club volleyball coach and sponsor and coached the intercollegiate women's basketball and volleyball teams at Rice in the foundational years of women's athletics on South Main. Dr. Disch was a faculty associate at Sid Richardson College, where he also served as college master from 1986 to 1991. He was named the Outstanding Faculty Associate at Sid twice. He served as department chair for the Department of Kinesiology from 1995 until 2001 and later originated the sport analytics concentration curriculum. In the community, Dr. Disch serves as a board member for the Positive Coaching Alliance Houston, and he is a local committee member for the Joe Niekro Foundation for Brain Aneurysm Research. He is also a member of the scientific advisory board for Exact Sports. He also works with Champions Kids Camp. He is a dedicated supporter of Rice athletics through his donations, attendance, and giving of his time as a volunteer for countless events such as the NCAA Men's Final Four, which was hosted by Rice in 2011, 2016, and 2023.
Michael Downs '81 (Hall of Fame)
A product of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Michael Downs' wiry 6-3, 180-pound frame might not have seemed well suited to play safety in the Southwest Conference, but he quickly proved to be one of the top safeties in the conference. A four-year letterman and three-year starter, Downs was a co-captain as a senior and earned all-conference and honorable mention All-American honors. He is tied for eighth in school history with nine interceptions, and he became the seventh player in school history to intercept three passes in a game on October 14, 1978, vs. TCU. He signed with his hometown Dallas Cowboys after going undrafted in the 1981 NFL Draft, after missing time as a senior at Rice with a pinched nerve in his shoulder. He quickly repaid the Cowboys for their faith in him, not only making the team but also picking off a Washington's Joe Theismann in his first NFL game. He went on to be named to the NFL All-Rookie team and was named to the 1984 All-Pro team by the Pro Football Writers. He went on to play in 121 games with Dallas (eight years) and Phoenix (one year) and his 35 interceptions rank 132nd in NFL history. He is tied for fifth in Cowboys history with 34 interceptions during his time in Dallas.
Pennie Goff '85 (Hall of Fame)
Goff came to Rice from Dulles High in Missouri City in 1980 and quickly established herself as one of the best players in the early years of women's basketball on South Main as well as one of the most versatile, as she earned All-American honors in the high jump in 1982 to add to her accolades. She graduated from Rice as the school's second-leading scorer (1,564 points) and rebounder (855) and was the first three-time winner of the Gene Hackerman Award as the team's MVP. She was a second-team All-SWC selection as a junior when she led the conference in rebounding (9.7 per game) and her 21.2 scoring average was third in the conference and remains the school record. She set the SWC single-game scoring record for a conference game when she poured in 41 points at Texas A&M, and along with a 37-point game vs. Paul Quinn earlier the same season, she has two of the top four single-game scoring marks in school history. More than 40 years after her last game, she remains in the Owls' top ten in most categories, despite missing most of her final season due to injuries.
Wanna Hadnott '84 (Distinguished R)
A true trailblazer and lifelong champion of Rice University, Wanna Hadnott has been making history since the moment she stepped onto campus in 1980. As the first African American to receive a tennis scholarship at Rice, she shattered barriers and made her mark as a four-year letterwinner in the sport. Her pioneering spirit was honored again in 2016, when she was recognized as one of 15 student-athlete trailblazers at Rice. A standout in the classroom, Hadnott earned a B.A. in Managerial Studies, making the Dean's List in both 1983 and 1984, before going on to receive her MBA from the University of Texas. Her professional journey began in the oil and gas industry as an accountant, but her career quickly took flight—spanning the globe and evolving into a distinguished path in Human Resources. In 2001, she once again broke new ground by becoming the first woman and first African American to serve as President of the R Association. In 2004, she and her fellow board members launched the "Save Rice Athletics" initiative, forming Friends of Rice Athletics to rally support. Their passionate efforts led to a major victory: persuading the Rice Board of Trustees to reaffirm the university's commitment to Division I Athletics. She's a longtime member of the Rice Women's Athletic Advisory Board (WAAB), an Owl Club member, and a 20-year Community Associate for Martel College. Her energy and support are ever-present at Rice sporting events—often bringing guests along to share in the Owl spirit.
Brittany Massengale '09 (Hall of Fame)
Massengale was such a dominant force in distance swimming for the Owls throughout her career that three of her school records in the 500, 1,000, and 1,650 freestyle remain in place 17 years after her last competition. The Alma, Arkansas, became the second swimmer in school history to earn All-American honors in two events at the 2008 NCAA Championship when she finished 12th in the 1,650 freestyle and 13th in the 500 freestyle. As a freshman, she became the first Owl to break the 10-minute mark in the 1,000 freestyle, a barrier surpassed by only two other Rice swimmers through 2023. She qualified for the Olympic Trials in both 2004 and 2008 and was twice named the winner of the Catherine Hannah Award as the Owls' outstanding swimmer, sharing the award with Diane Gu in 2006 and then winning it after her All-American performance as a senior. After Massengale's sophomore season at Rice, she became the first Owls women's swimmer to earn selection to the US national team when she represented the United States at the 2006 World Open Water Championship and finished 12th out of 47 competitors.
Jon Warren '88 (Hall of Fame)
Jon Warren has been a part of Rice men's track & field for over 40 years. First, as a record-setting distance runner, and for the past 24 years as the head coach of the Rice Men's Track and Field squad. As an undergraduate at Rice, he set school records in the indoor mile (4:03.05, 1987) and in the 3000m (8:06.66) and qualified for the NCAA Championships twice in cross country and once in the indoor mile. He was a part of a Rice team that finished 19th as a team in the 1987 NCAA Cross Country meet. After graduating from Rice in 1988, he continued to compete and had personal bests of 3:59.30 in the mile, 8:30.66 in the 3000 steeplechase, 13:58 in the 5000, and 2:15 in the marathon. He is the only American to run a sub-4:00 mile and a sub-2:20 marathon in the same year, accomplishing both in 1994. Warren participated in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, and was a finalist in the steeplechase in '92 and finished eighth in the marathon in '96. He participated for the US in the World Championships in 1997. While competing, he returned to Rice as a coach and was named the sixth head men's track coach in school history in 2001. He has been named conference coach of the year four times and has overseen the development of many student-athletes, including 49 All-Americans and 17 Academic All-Americans during his tenure as head coach.
Nicole (Aleskowitch) Wilkerson '93 (Hall of Fame)
Wilkerson joins her former teammate Pam Brooks as an inductee in the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame. Nicole Aleskowitch came to Rice from Wading River, New York, and became a force in the distance events for the Owls no matter the season. She was a three-time SWC Champion in the 3,000 meters, winning the indoor title twice (and being edged at the wire in a quest for a third) and the outdoor gold once while also running on the 3,200 indoor relay championship squad in 1992. After graduating from Rice in 1993, she raced again in 1994 thanks to a redshirt due to an injury and made the most of the opportunity. She finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 3,000, combining with Brooks and 2001 inductee Valerie Tulloch to give Rice its first top 10 team finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in school history. Her finishing time of 9:27.89 remains the second-fastest in school history.
Mike Wilks '01 (Hall of Fame)
A first-team All-WAC selection as a senior, Wilks became a dominant player in his final two seasons at Rice, developing into a player who went on to play seven seasons in the NBA and was part of an NBA Championship squad with San Antonio in 2005. Wilks was recruited by Willis Wilson in 1997 out of Milwaukee to run the Owls' offense as the point guard and then took on a greater scoring role, scoring over 900 points in his final two seasons. He was named the WAC Player of the Year by College Insider after averaging 20.1 points per game and being named to the All-WAC team as well as the WAC All-Defensive team as a senior. He ranks second at Rice in career steals (186), eighth in career minutes played (3,481), ninth in career assists (348), and 19th in career scoring (1,300). He was also a standout in the classroom, earning WAC All-Academic team honors and was named the winner of the 2001 Bob Quin Award, presented annually to the male student-athlete at Rice. For the past six years, he has served as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he added a second NBA title to his resume on Sunday night when Oklahoma City defeated Indiana to capture its first NBA championship.
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