FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Seven former University of Arkansas student athletes, a legendary coach and a pioneering administrator have been selected as members of the 2022 class of the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.
Joe Adams (football), Bill Bakewell (baseball), Coach Gary Blair (women’s basketball), Ruth Cohoon (women’s athletics), Ray Doakes (men’s athletics), Katherine Grable (gym), Ron Huery (men’s basketball), Andy Skeels (baseball), and Dale White (football) will be formally inaugurated at a ceremony to be held on Friday, September 16, 2022 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. The ceremony takes place the night before the Arkansas-Missouri State football game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Inductees are elected to the UA Sports Hall of Honor based on a vote by former Razorback letter winners in conjunction with the A Club.
“We look forward to celebrating the amazing achievements of these outstanding Razorbacks as part of the UA Sports Hall of Honor,” said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek. “This year’s class includes NCAA and conference champions, a hall of fame coach, and an administrator who laid the foundation for women’s varsity sports at the University of Arkansas. These men and women represent the very best our program has to offer.”
Additional information, including how to get tickets to this free event, will be released in the coming weeks. Sponsorship for the banquet is available by contacting the Razorback Foundation at (479) 443-9000.
2022 UA Sports Hall of Honor Inductees
Adams was the only point returnee in the program’s history to earn All-America honors. The 2011 Adams All-American senior season started with a pair of touchdown point wins against Missouri State, which equaled an SEC record, while his 174 return yards set a new program record. That season opening set the tone for a senior campaign in which he finished with an SEC-record four point returns for touchdowns, while his average of 16.9 point returns led to the conference and placed second nationally. Adams was named the inaugural winner of the Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers Award, which recognizes the best return specialist in college football, while also being named a consensus first-team All-American with accolades coming from the FWAA, Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly . He also earned second-team All-America honors from Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Water Camp and Phil Steele and was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, his point return magnificence has come with 164 career receptions for 2,410 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven 100-yard receiving games, all of which rank in the top six in program history. After helping Arkansas win 10 consecutive seasons as a junior and senior, Adams was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
Bakewell, a right-handed pitcher for the Razorbacks from 1977-79, was instrumental in helping coach Norm DeBriyn and his squad reach new heights, including as part of Arkansas’ first-ever team to make the College World Series in 1979. Used primarily as a closer, Bakewell accumulated 15 saves over his collegiate career, a then-school record that now ranks third in the Arkansas record books. He compiled the team’s best ERA twice with a clip of 1.16 in 1977 and a 1.37 in 1978. He was the first of four Razorback pitchers to record the lowest ERA in consecutive years since 1967. Bakewell still holds the record for fewest hits per 30.0 innings of work, allowing just 12 hits in 1977 over 31 innings pitched. In 1978, Bakewell was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 28th round, but decided to return to school. In doing so, he helped Arkansas to second in the Southwest Conference in 1979 and second in the College World Series with an overall record of 49-15.
Gary Blair, Women’s Basketball
Gary Blair, the head coach of women’s basketball in Arkansas for 10 seasons (1993-2003), led the Razorbacks to five NCAA tournaments, including a run to the 1998 NCAA Women’s Final Four. The finish is the best in the history of the program and Arkansas remains the lowest run (No. 9) to ever make a Women’s Final Four. Additionally, Blair led the Hogs to three WNIT appearances, including the 1999 WNIT Championship. Overall, Blair coached Arkansas to a record of 198-120 (0.623). Five Razorbacks who played or coached during Blair’s time in Arkansas are members of the UA Sports Hall of Honor (Shameka Christon, Sytia Messer, Amber Shirey, Christy Smith and Amy Wright). After the 2021-22 season, Blair retired after 42 years of coaching. In 37 years as a collegiate head coach, including with Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M, Blair had 35 winning seasons, 30 seasons with 20 wins, 41 post-season wins, 26 NCAA tournaments, 18 conference titles, 13 Sweet Sixteens, four Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one National Championship (Texas A&M). His career record as a collegiate head coach was 852-348.
Ruth Cohoon, Women’s Athletics
Ruth Cohoon, the first director of Women’s Athletics, was instrumental in laying the foundation for the growth and success of female student athletes at the University of Arkansas. Cohoon joined the University of Arkansas in 1965 as a swimming instructor. In 1971, Cohoon volunteered to do additional administrative work, and the following year he was appointed director of the Women’s Intercollegiate Sports program. Elevated to Women’s AD after Title IX was adopted in June 1972, Cohoon led the creation of the Women’s Athletics Department, integrating intramural and club teams. Cohoon consistently fought for better funding, better equipment, and better scholarships, resulting in better opportunities for female athletes. She repeatedly asked for better salaries for female teachers and coaches to build a quality program. Cohoon’s vision helped shape the future of the university, leading to competitive success and creating opportunities for thousands of future Razorbacks.
Ray Doakes, Men’s Running Track
A standout field athlete at the University of Arkansas, Doakes was part of Razorback teams that dominated collegiate athletics. During his time at Fayetteville, Arkansas won all 16 indoor and outdoor SEC and NCAA championships, including four SEC Triple Crowns and three NCAA Triple Crowns from 1991-95. A Razorback high jumper, he achieved 7-7¼ (2.32 meters) indoors in 1994. Doakes’ brand remains the school record and is tied for 11th on the all-time student list. He also set the Arkansas after school record at 7-6 (2.29 meters) in 1995, which was matched by only three other Razorbacks. He was a six-time first-team NCAA All-American who scored in all four NCAA Outdoor team titles for Arkansas. Doakes won the 1995 NCAA Outdoor High Jump after placing second once and fourth twice. Indoors, he was a two-time silver medalist in the NCAA high jump on Razorback national championship teams in 1994 and 1995. Doakes became the first person to earn four consecutive SEC Outdoor titles in the high jump with winning heights of 7-1 (1992), 7 -4 (1993), 7-5 (1994) and 7-4 (1995). He also won three consecutive SEC Indoor High Jump titles with figures of 7-2 (1993), 7-7¼ (1994), and 7-4 (1995). His winning jump of 7-7¼ in 1994 remains the SEC Indoor Championship record. Doakes finished fifth at the USATF Championships twice.
In 2014, Grable completed a storybook ending her career as a Razorback by claiming the first two National Championships in program history and collecting a share of the program record at four of the five events. The native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, won the national vault title after placing a career-best 9,975 in second position (the 9,975 is the highest winning vault score in NCAA history. Grable claimed three scores of a perfect 10.0 from half of the judges at the event.) Grable completed her routine with a 9.9625 beat, claiming her second national title of the day. She did this by scoring two perfect 10.0’s from the judges to count one and earn the edge she needed to claim the outright title. She was a two-time SEC Gymnast of the Week (2012), All-SEC Gymnast in 2011, 2013, 2014 and was the SEC Gymnast of the Year in 2014. Grable was a six-time regional champion and helped Arkansas advance to NCAA regional all four years of her career and helped the Razorbacks to a regional title at the 2011 Denver Regional. She was also part of an Arkansas squad that reached the 2012 NCAA Super Six Finals, where she claimed the Individual Balance Beam title. She was a nine-time WCGA All-American and three-time regular-season All-American.
Huery, one of Hall of Fame Coach Nolan Richardson’s early stars in Arkansas, played on the 1990 Razorbacks’ Final Four team and the Elite Eight team the following season. He played four seasons with the Razorbacks (1986-88 and 1989-91), playing in 134 games and scoring 1,550 points, 13th on the school’s all-time list. Huery averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in his Razorback career. He earned All-Southwest Conference honors in 1998 averaging 13.4 points per game and led the Razorbacks in assists (89) and steals (59) in 1987. His 351 career assists sixth on the all-time list of the school, while his 207 career steals ninth place. Huery was a fixture at the free-throw line in his career, finishing ninth on the record free throw attempts (494) and seventh in free throws made (388). Huery averaged 10 points and three rebounds for the 1990 Razorbacks, the first Arkansas team to advance to the Richardson-era Final Four. Overall, he helped Arkansas win two SWC Championships (1990, 1991) and earn four postseason berths, including three NCAA appearances (1989, 1990, 1991). In 2005, Huery graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.
Skeels, an All-American and All-SWC catcher, led the 1987 Hogs (57-16-1) to the College World Series, with a .763 slugging percentage, 70 runs scored, 76 RBI, 25 doubles, seven triples and 18 HRs, which broke the single-season HR record. His 50 extra hits remain a school record. His pass rate of 0.681, his batting average of 0.358, ranks second and fourth in school history, respectively. Skeels, a seventh-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres, played professionally from 1987-2001, including stints with the Padres, Yankees, and Dodgers organizations. Skeels spent 34 years in professional baseball – as a player, coach, manager and scout. In 14 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, he set a minor league management record of 497-342 (.592) (the best in professional baseball at that time). He also served as the Giants’ organizational Hitting Coordinator for two years, spent part of 2017 as a Major League hit coach, and spent two years as a Major League scout. During his tenure, Skeels was part of three World Series Championships with the Giants (2010, 2012, and 2014). He was the first-ever New Zealand-born player to appear in uniform, either as a player or coach, in a major league game. Skeels also led the New Zealand national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.
White was a four-year letter winner for the Razorbacks from 1975-78. White played nose guard for the Hogs alongside Hall of Famer Dan Hampton. White produced 230 tackles, including 156 solo stops, during his career. He saved his best for last during the 1978 season, racking up 82 tackles, 57 of which were recorded as solo stops. He recovered a remarkable 10 fumbles and made 27 loss tackles in his career. Arkansas went 35-10-2 during White’s tenure on The Hill, appearing in three bowl games. The Razorbacks beat Georgia 31-10 in the 1976 Cotton Bowl. White was also part of one of the Hogs’ biggest wins on the roster, when No. 6 Arkansas defeated No. 2 Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. Arkansas tied UCLA in the 1978 Fiesta Bowl in White’s final game.
