{"id":247383,"date":"2026-04-26T16:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247383\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T16:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:02:10","slug":"from-dreams-to-legacy-miami-athletics-honors-2026-hall-of-fame-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247383\/","title":{"rendered":"From dreams to legacy: Miami Athletics honors 2026 Hall of Fame class"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: @MiamiHurricanes via X \/\/ Former Miami Hurricanes players and coaches are inducted into the Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum as the Class of 2026 on Thursday, April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

The University of Miami welcomed\u00a010\u00a0new members to\u00a0its\u00a0Sports\u00a0Hall of\u00a0Fame\u00a0Thursday night, as roughly 300 family\u00a0members,\u00a0friends,\u00a0teammates\u00a0and\u00a0supporters\u00a0gathered\u00a0at the\u00a0Watsco Center\u00a0to celebrate some of\u00a0the most accomplished athletes and coaches in program history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This\u00a0event\u00a0marked the\u00a056th\u00a0UM\u00a0Sports\u00a0Hall of\u00a0Fame\u00a0induction banquet. The\u00a0Hall of\u00a0Fame, a\u00a0nonprofit organization founded in 1966, now\u00a0includes\u00a0382 members.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s induction class featured\u00a0representatives\u00a0from a variety of\u00a0sports:\u00a0Sam Dorman (diving),\u00a0the late\u00a0Wendy Foote (basketball),\u00a0Bryan Garcia (baseball), Duke Johnson (football), Savanah Leaf (volleyball), Mike Rumph (football),\u00a0Duane Starks (football), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (soccer), Shakima Wimbley (track and\u00a0field) and Mark Richt (football coach).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0event began with\u00a0a cocktail reception\u00a0at 6 p.m.,\u00a0followed by\u00a0dinner and\u00a0an introduction led by former\u00a0Miami\u00a0football player Don Bailey Jr.\u00a0Current\u00a0Hall of\u00a0Fame members,\u00a0including\u00a0former\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Gino Torretta and\u00a0former\u00a0men\u2019s\u00a0basketball coach Jim\u00a0Larra\u0144aga,\u00a0filled the\u00a030 tables, wearing their signature gold jackets as they welcomed the new class. Members presented each inductee with\u00a0a gold\u00a0jacket, with Richt receiving a standing ovation as he took the stage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each\u00a0inductee\u00a0was\u00a0introduced with\u00a0a video highlighting their most\u00a0notable\u00a0accomplishments\u00a0before delivering a speech.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One theme echoed throughout the night: gratitude.\u00a0Inductees used their time at the podium to recognize the people who helped shape their journeys.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: @MiamiHurricanes via X \/\/ The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum welcomes its Class of 2026 on Thursday, April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

Starks thanked\u00a0former teammate and friend Fred Taylor\u00a0for taking him in. <\/p>\n

\u201cLook at me now.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0because of you,\u201d Starks said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dorman\u00a0reflected on his time at Miami, saying,\u00a0\u201cUM gave me a foundation, a family and memories that will last forever.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Garcia\u00a0shared a similar\u00a0sentiment.\u00a0\u201cThis is my home,\u00a0and Mark Light\u00a0Field is my sanctuary,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Johnson\u00a0approached the podium, chants of\u00a0\u201cDuuuuuke\u201d\u00a0rang out across the room. He challenged his fellow inductees to\u00a0\u201cbe there and show up for your people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond gratitude, many inductees reflected on the personal growth that defined their careers. While countless athletes dream of one day being enshrined in the university\u2019s prestigious honor, only a select few achieve it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, I didn\u2019t know where or how, I just knew I wanted to be somebody,\u201d Wimbley said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A decorated sprinter, Wimbley earned a world championship in the 4\u00d7400-meter\u00a0relay and multiple NCAA titles, cementing her place among Miami\u2019s all-time greats.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leaf\u00a0described a more personal journey, recalling how she passed the Hall of Fame daily on her way to practice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always dreamed of being in there and this legacy,\u00a0so it\u2019s crazy to be standing here right now,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tullis-Joyce was unable to attend,\u00a0as her\u00a0professional\u00a0team is currently competing\u00a0in the European playoffs, but\u00a0she\u00a0accepted her honor through a recorded video message.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foote, a standout in\u00a0Miami\u00a0women\u2019s basketball history, was inducted posthumously, with her legacy honored during the ceremony.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Rumph,\u00a0the moment\u00a0represented\u00a0a full-circle journey. A former Hurricane standout, he now serves as a coach, helping develop the next generation of players.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That future was on display during the banquet, when offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa was selected No. 10 overall in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants, with the announcement made live during the event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As one\u00a0group\u00a0cements\u00a0its\u00a0legacy in Miami history, the next generation\u00a0continues to chase the same dreams,\u00a0one step at a time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Credit: @MiamiHurricanes via X \/\/ Former Miami Hurricanes players and coaches are inducted into the Miami Sports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-247383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}