Willard “Dutch” Witte coached as many as four sports while at Wyoming during the 1930’s. A legendary basketball coach, Witte was known for his shy personality off the court, but as a fierce competitor on it. He coached the Cowboys to five Rocky Mountain Conference East Division titles and two outright conference titles. He compiled an outstanding career record of 134 wins and 51 losses over nine seasons. Witte’s most brilliant year came in 1934 when his Cowboys reeled off 20 straight wins– an accomplishment that has not been repeated — and finished the season with a conference championship, and a 26-3 record. The Cowboys were named the 1934 National Champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation, the only collegiate voting poll of the era. Witte produced Wyoming’s first All-Americans, as his starting five on the 1934 squad were named AAU All-Americans; Ed McGinty, Art Haman, John Kimball, Haskell Leuty and Les Witte. Under “Dutch”, the Cowboys won 52 consecutive games against Rocky Mountain East Division opponents in the Half Acre Gym. He also coached football for six seasons and compiled a record of 16-30-3. After coaching, Witte served as Director of Wyoming Athletics for many years and was a member of the National Basketball Association Rules Committee.
Inducted September 12, 2003
Considered Wyoming’s best women’s swimmer of all-time, Norma Hughes was the Cowgirls’ first All-American swimmer and their first NCAA qualifier. She currently owns six all-time swimming records; the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 500-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and 200 meter individual medley. Her dominance began as a freshman when she broke five school records and placed in the top three in three events at the 1990 High Country Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. Her sophomore season would be her break out year as she qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke. Her most decorated year was in 1992 when she won three Western Athletic Conference titles, set WAC records in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke and was named 1992 WAC Female Swimmer of the Year. She placed 16th at the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter backstroke earning her All-American honors. Injuries to her shoulder would force Hughes to redshirt the 1993 season but in 1994 she proved she still was one of the best in the WAC as she took home the conference crown in the 100-meter backstroke. To this day she overwhelms the UW swimming record book, ranking in the top ten in all thirteen swimming events.
Inducted September 12, 2003
One of Wyoming’s greatest impact defensive players of all time. As a freshman in 1975, Ken Fantetti was impressive enough to start for the Cowboys in the third game of the season. He would become one of the most devastating linebackers in Cowboy history. He was named to the Football Writers of America 35th annual All-American team following a spectacular senior season. He finished with 124 tackles that year including 73 unassisted stops. In his best game of that senior season, against Utah, he posted 15 unassisted tackles and nine assists, including two tackles for losses and a caused fumble, and was named Associated Press national lineman of the week. A ferocious hitter, Fantetti is fourth on Wyoming’s all-time career tackles list with 352. A two-time All-Western Athletic Conference first-team performer, Fantetti was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. During his junior season of 1978, he totaled twice as many defensive points as any other defender on the team with 261, including 86 unassisted tackles, eight tackles for losses, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. He was one of the fastest middle linebackers ever to play for the Cowboys. He was elected team captain for his senior season. Fantetti was drafted in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played with the Lions from 1979 through 1985.
Inducted September 12, 2003
Still holds all of Wyoming’s diving records, with the exception of platform events, which were not contested when he competed. A dominant diver, he won three WAC championships from 1983-85. In 1983, he placed 22nd in the three-meter springboard event as a sophomore at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. During his junior year, he won all-America honors by placing 10th on the 3-meter springboard and 23rd on the one-meter springboard. He single-handedly led UW to a 29th place finish at the 1984 NCAA championships. An injury suffered at the 1985 WAC Championships prevented him from competing in the 1985 NCAA Diving Championships. He also served as Wyoming’s diving coach from 1985-1987 and coached three divers to the NCAA championships.
Inducted September 24, 2004
A four-year letterwinner and one of Wyoming’s greatest defensive tackles, Rabold had 23 tackles as a freshman defensive tackle in 1984, sat out the 1985 season after undergoing a spinal fusion, and moved to the offensive line in 1986. He was moved back to defensive tackle in 1987 and responded with an outstanding year, tallying 100 total tackles, 14 quarterback sacks, four tackles for lost yardage, nine quarterback hurries, and forced two fumbles while earning second-team all-conference honors. He had seven tackles and two sacks in the 1987 Holiday Bowl. He followed that up with an even more dominant senior year. In 1988, he started all 13 games for the Cowboys, compiling 85 total tackles, 16 sacks, two tackles for lost yards, two forced fumbles, and 18 quarterback hurries. For his efforts, he earned AP All-America honors and was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-conference. A team captain as a senior, he had 11 tackles, including three for lost yards, in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. The Cowboys were 21-3 during his junior and senior years, never losing a conference game and winning back-to-back Western Athletic Conference championships He was drafted in the 9th round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Inducted September 24, 2004
A standout in several rodeo events, Ripsam won the 1990 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Finals Team Championship for UW by herself by finishing 2nd in goat-tying, and scoring in all three rounds of breakaway roping, while earning all-around champion honors. This was the first and only time an athlete scored all of her team’s points to win a national championship in rodeo. She qualified for the National finals in each of her three years at Wyoming, and graduated from UW in 1991. She went on to compete on the Pro Women’s Rodeo Association circuit from 1991-96, earning numerous championships.
Inducted September 24, 2004
A dominating two-way player, Levine was named first-team all-Skyline Conference on both offense and defense in 1961. After taking a redshirt year due to injury, Levine returned in 1963 to earn first-team all-WAC on defense, and was honored as lineman of the week. During his senior year of 1964, Levine was elected team captain, named first-team all-WAC, selected “All West” by Football Magazine and won the Humphrey Trophy as UW’s outstanding player. Coach Bob Devaney was quoted as saying “Bill Levine is probably the best all-around football player I ever coached.”
Inducted September 24, 2004
One of Wyoming’s most decorated football players, Harris was a consensus All-American, being honored by the Associated Press, Football Writers of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Football Foundation, and Football News. In 1996, he won the Biletnikoff Trophy as the nation’s top receiver. During his senior year, Harris became the NCAA’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 4,518 career yards and became the first receiver ever to have three consecutive 1,400-yard seasons. With his 1,650 yards in 1996, Harris led the nation in receiving yards for the second time in his career and was named first-team all-Western Athletic Conference for the third straight year as well as WAC co-offensive player of the year. Only Wyoming’s second two-time all-American, he was named to the AFCA First Team as a junior. He was selected in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
Inducted September 24, 2004
One of Wyoming’s greatest basketball players, Leon Clark was first-team all-Western Athletic Conference in 1965 and 1966. After thrilling crowds at his freshmen games, in which he averaged 21 points per game and led the Poke freshmen to a best ever 11-3 record, Clark moved into the varsity starting lineup as a sophomore and quickly became a force, scoring 33 points in his first game. Playing center at an undersized 6-6, Clark led the Western Athletic Conference in rebounding in 1965 and 1966. In his senior year, he led the Cowboys in scoring with a 22.4 points per game average. He set the Fieldhouse record for rebounds in a game with 24 vs. Arizona in 1966. He finished his career as Wyoming’s all-time leading rebounder and is now fourth on Wyoming’s all-time career rebounds list behind Reginald Slater, Fennis Dembo, and HL Coleman. He is still Wyoming’s all-time leader in career rebounding average with 11.4. He is 7th all-time in field goals made (581) and 7th in field goals attempted (1,224). He averaged a double-double for his career, with 19.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Clark was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.
Inducted September 24, 2004
One of Wyoming’s greatest wrestlers, Reese Andy was a three-time NCAA All American, only the second three-time All-American in Wyoming history (Hall of Famer Dick Ballinger, 1958-60, was the other). Wrestling at 177 pounds, he placed 2nd nationally in 1994 (defeating the top-ranked wrestler in the nation along the way), 6th in 1995 even after suffering a rib injury in the quarterfinals, and 2nd in 1996. He was a three-time Western Athletic Conference champion and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the conference three straight years (1994-95-96). He led Wyoming’s wrestling team to a 22nd-place finish in 1994 and a 15th-place finish in 1996 at the NCAA Wrestling National Championships. Along with Brent Voorhees and Brandon Alderman, Andy was part of a team that featured three All-Americans in 1996, a feat which had not been accomplished at UW since 1959. In 1995, Andy was selected to wrestle in the Collegiate Wrestling All-Star Match. Andy finished his career in seventh-place on the top-ten list in all-time victories at Wyoming with 110 and seventh on the single season victory list with 38. Andy’s overall record at Wyoming was 110-29, and he compiled a record of 38-4 in his senior season. A native of Billings, Montana, Andy began wrestling as a sixth-grader and was a three-time 4-A state champion at Skyview High School in Billings.
Inducted September 24, 2004
