Indiana University Athletics
2015 Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame Class Inducted
11/6/2015 11:38:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Golf, Track and Field
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University's Athletics Hall of Fame added six new members Friday night.
Tom Abernethy, Sam Carmichael, John J. Murphy, Herm Schaefer, Adriane Diamond Travis and Bobby Wilkerson were officially inducted into the now-213 member hall of fame. The five living athletes and Herm Schaefer's son Scott gave acceptance speeches as their portraits were unveiled and they accepted their rings and certificates.
Summarizing the two hours of speeches would be nearly impossible, but we've picked out an anecdote from each of the speeches to share. The full speeches will be made available on video to be watched in full.
Abernethy: "I can remember (my mother) grilling coach (Bob) Knight in our living room during the recruiting process. She said are you sure you really want my boy? Purdue sure wants him. He offered me a scholarship as he walked out of the room."
Abernethy drew laughs sharing the story of how his mother, Martha, tested Knight during his recruitment. He called his mother "the true hall of famer" in the family because of her commitment to raising three boys, of which Tom was the youngest.
Abernethy was an intricate part of Indiana basketball's 1973-1976 seasons. He played on Big Ten championship teams in each of his four seasons as a Hoosier and was a starter on the undefeated team his senior year. He ended up playing six years in the NBA after graduating from Indiana.
Carmichael: "After three of four years, I would tell my wife Susan, 'We will leave after this particular player will graduate.' And then I would recruit another player and they would come in. And then I'd tell her, 'No, I've got to stay until this person graduates.' Well, that went on for 23 years."
Carmichael's wife Susan and he were a true one-two punch. While he was coaching both teams, she would help him out by staying with whichever team he was unable to be with because of scheduling conflicts and coach them herself. It was a process that seemed to work just fine.
Carmichael was the men's golf coach from 1990-98 and the women's golf coach from 1981-2004. He won Big Ten' titles with the men in 1991 and 1998 and was the Big Ten coach of the year in both seasons. As the women's coach, he led Indiana to seven Big Ten titles and nine NCAA Tournament invites. He mentored 14 All-Americans and seven Big Ten Players of the Year during his tenure and was the 1987 NCAA Coach of the Year.
Diamond Travis: "This is really an honor. When they called me and they said, 'Adriane Diamond? Adriane Diamond Travis? You have been inducted into the IU Hall of Fame.' (I said) 'You sure you have the right number? No way.' Because I know my fellow track athletes that were inducted…Nope. Not my turn."
Diamond Travis could hardly believe she was being inducted into the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame. Her speech was filled with stories of how she used track and field as her escape as a child. She found out she was a strong runner when she tried to play basketball and she never stopped. Though she herself couldn't believe she was being inducted, her accomplishments spoke for themselves.
Diamond Travis competed from 1984-87, winning six Big Ten titles indoors and three Big Ten titles outdoors. She was a member of four winning relay teams, giving her a total of 13 Big Ten championships and used track and field to help her fit in wherever she went.
Murphy: "My head hurt. My body hurt. Everything. So I went into the bathroom at the place that I was staying and I looked in the mirror and I opened up my mouth. And I'm not a doctor, but I had strep throat the night before the trial. Almost a decade of work. I just prayed. I went to bed and I woke up the next morning. I felt fantastic. I made the team."
Murphy's Olympic dreams were nearly never realized, had it not been for a nearly miraculous recovery the night before his Olympic trials in Chicago. As Murphy shared, he was able to recovery in a matter of hours and managed to make the team.
Murphy won swimming letters from 1972-75 for Indiana. He swam on three NCAA championship relay teams and won Big Ten titles in 1974 and 1975 in the 100 meter freestyle and also swam on five Big Ten championship relay teams in those years. In 1972, he won an Olympic Gold Medal as a member of the 400 meter freestyle relay team and a Bronze Medal in the 100 meter backstroke.
Scott Schaefer: "My earliest memories with him are going to IU games. The first song I ever learned wasn't "Baa Baa Black Sheep" or "Mary Had A Little Lamb." It was the IU fight song."
Speaking on behalf of his father, Scott Schaefer shared stories of Herm's passion for Indiana. A coach and player throughout almost all his life, Herm had to reinvent himself at a number of different stops along his professional career. Along the way, success always seemed to follow.
The oldest inductee on Friday, Herm Schaefer won basketball letters from 1939-1941 for Indiana. He was a member of the 1940 NCAA Championship team and later became the first player and coach in history of the NBA Pistons franchise. He played on six world championship teams and was the first player to win both an NCAA and NBA championship.
Wilkerson: "I wanted to do something special…My mother, she only told me three things growing up. Shut up. Be quiet. And go play. And she told me in that order. So from that time on, I didn't talk. So I refused to talk. I would just work out."
Maybe it's a good thing Wilkerson didn't talk much as it gave him more time to focus on basketball. Wilkerson was the fifth and final starting member of the 1976 undefeated Indiana team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He shared stories of growing up in a family of 13 and facing poverty, racism and learning about his cultural heritage.
Nicknamed "Spider Man" by Don Fischer, Wilkerson won basketball letters from 1974-76. A defensive specialist, he was often tasked with guarding an opposing team's best player for the Hoosiers. After his college career, Wilkerson played for seven years in the NBA.
Tom Abernethy, Sam Carmichael, John J. Murphy, Herm Schaefer, Adriane Diamond Travis and Bobby Wilkerson were officially inducted into the now-213 member hall of fame. The five living athletes and Herm Schaefer's son Scott gave acceptance speeches as their portraits were unveiled and they accepted their rings and certificates.
Summarizing the two hours of speeches would be nearly impossible, but we've picked out an anecdote from each of the speeches to share. The full speeches will be made available on video to be watched in full.
Abernethy: "I can remember (my mother) grilling coach (Bob) Knight in our living room during the recruiting process. She said are you sure you really want my boy? Purdue sure wants him. He offered me a scholarship as he walked out of the room."
Abernethy drew laughs sharing the story of how his mother, Martha, tested Knight during his recruitment. He called his mother "the true hall of famer" in the family because of her commitment to raising three boys, of which Tom was the youngest.
Abernethy was an intricate part of Indiana basketball's 1973-1976 seasons. He played on Big Ten championship teams in each of his four seasons as a Hoosier and was a starter on the undefeated team his senior year. He ended up playing six years in the NBA after graduating from Indiana.
Carmichael: "After three of four years, I would tell my wife Susan, 'We will leave after this particular player will graduate.' And then I would recruit another player and they would come in. And then I'd tell her, 'No, I've got to stay until this person graduates.' Well, that went on for 23 years."
Carmichael's wife Susan and he were a true one-two punch. While he was coaching both teams, she would help him out by staying with whichever team he was unable to be with because of scheduling conflicts and coach them herself. It was a process that seemed to work just fine.
Carmichael was the men's golf coach from 1990-98 and the women's golf coach from 1981-2004. He won Big Ten' titles with the men in 1991 and 1998 and was the Big Ten coach of the year in both seasons. As the women's coach, he led Indiana to seven Big Ten titles and nine NCAA Tournament invites. He mentored 14 All-Americans and seven Big Ten Players of the Year during his tenure and was the 1987 NCAA Coach of the Year.
Diamond Travis: "This is really an honor. When they called me and they said, 'Adriane Diamond? Adriane Diamond Travis? You have been inducted into the IU Hall of Fame.' (I said) 'You sure you have the right number? No way.' Because I know my fellow track athletes that were inducted…Nope. Not my turn."
Diamond Travis could hardly believe she was being inducted into the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame. Her speech was filled with stories of how she used track and field as her escape as a child. She found out she was a strong runner when she tried to play basketball and she never stopped. Though she herself couldn't believe she was being inducted, her accomplishments spoke for themselves.
Diamond Travis competed from 1984-87, winning six Big Ten titles indoors and three Big Ten titles outdoors. She was a member of four winning relay teams, giving her a total of 13 Big Ten championships and used track and field to help her fit in wherever she went.
Murphy: "My head hurt. My body hurt. Everything. So I went into the bathroom at the place that I was staying and I looked in the mirror and I opened up my mouth. And I'm not a doctor, but I had strep throat the night before the trial. Almost a decade of work. I just prayed. I went to bed and I woke up the next morning. I felt fantastic. I made the team."
Murphy's Olympic dreams were nearly never realized, had it not been for a nearly miraculous recovery the night before his Olympic trials in Chicago. As Murphy shared, he was able to recovery in a matter of hours and managed to make the team.
Murphy won swimming letters from 1972-75 for Indiana. He swam on three NCAA championship relay teams and won Big Ten titles in 1974 and 1975 in the 100 meter freestyle and also swam on five Big Ten championship relay teams in those years. In 1972, he won an Olympic Gold Medal as a member of the 400 meter freestyle relay team and a Bronze Medal in the 100 meter backstroke.
Scott Schaefer: "My earliest memories with him are going to IU games. The first song I ever learned wasn't "Baa Baa Black Sheep" or "Mary Had A Little Lamb." It was the IU fight song."
Speaking on behalf of his father, Scott Schaefer shared stories of Herm's passion for Indiana. A coach and player throughout almost all his life, Herm had to reinvent himself at a number of different stops along his professional career. Along the way, success always seemed to follow.
The oldest inductee on Friday, Herm Schaefer won basketball letters from 1939-1941 for Indiana. He was a member of the 1940 NCAA Championship team and later became the first player and coach in history of the NBA Pistons franchise. He played on six world championship teams and was the first player to win both an NCAA and NBA championship.
Wilkerson: "I wanted to do something special…My mother, she only told me three things growing up. Shut up. Be quiet. And go play. And she told me in that order. So from that time on, I didn't talk. So I refused to talk. I would just work out."
Maybe it's a good thing Wilkerson didn't talk much as it gave him more time to focus on basketball. Wilkerson was the fifth and final starting member of the 1976 undefeated Indiana team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He shared stories of growing up in a family of 13 and facing poverty, racism and learning about his cultural heritage.
Nicknamed "Spider Man" by Don Fischer, Wilkerson won basketball letters from 1974-76. A defensive specialist, he was often tasked with guarding an opposing team's best player for the Hoosiers. After his college career, Wilkerson played for seven years in the NBA.
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