TU Honors Five Individuals and One Team at Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday

TULSA, Okla. –– Olympic rower Michelle Sechser, National Champion miler Chris O'Hare, All-America soccer player Ryan Pore, MVC Football Offensive Player of the Year Jeb Blount, legendary basketball coach Tubby Smith and the 1971 College World Series Baseball Team will be the newest University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame Class on Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on the TU campus.

Following an impressive collegiate career, Michelle Sechser (Rowing, 2004-08) has gone on to become one of the World's top rowers in the lightweight division. Sechser is coming off a fifth-place performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the Lightweight Double Sculls.

At Tulsa, Sechser was a three-time CRCA National Scholar Athlete (2006, 2007, 2008) and earned CRCA all-region honors in 2007. She was the Team MVP her sophomore season and twice helped lead Tulsa to the Midwest Collegiate Championship. She had multiple top-10 performances, while placing 4^th overall with the second-best college mark in the World Indoor Rowing Championships CRASH B Sprints.

After graduation, Sechser has been on the US National Team three times competing in the Lightweight 2X. She placed seventh at the World competition in the Lightweight 1x in 2013 and fourth at the World's in the Lightweight 4x in 2012.

Quarterbacking two Missouri Valley Conference Championship teams was Jeb Blount (Football 1972-75) in 1974 and 1975. A two-time Honorable Mention All-American, Blount threw for a career 4,343 yards and 35 touchdowns. As a junior, Blount passed for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading the Golden Hurricane to an overall 8-3 record, 6-0 conference record and final national ranking of No. 19 in the UPI poll.

For his performance, Blount not only earned all-conference accolades in 1974 but was also named the 1974 MVC Offensive Player of the Year.

Blount returned for his senior season and completed passes for 1,663 yards and 13 TDs en route to leading Tulsa to a 7-4 mark and first-place 4-0 MVC record, while earning all-conference honors for the second straight year.

In the post-season, Blount was named to the 1976 College All-Star Team that faced the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the final College All-Star Game. He was a second-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1976 and was a member of Super Bowl XI Champions.

Orlando "Tubby" Smith (Basketball Coach, 1991-95) led Tulsa basketball to where the program had never been before when the Hurricane advanced to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet Sixteen" in 1994.

In his tenure, Smith posted a 74-43 record, won two conference titles and made two NCAA tournament appearances in his four years.

Smith took over the Tulsa basketball program in 1991 and led his first team to an overall 17-13 mark and a season later finished 15-14, as both teams placed fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. In years three and four, Smith's teams combined for a 47-16 record, won two Valley titles, advanced to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen twice, ending with a 4-2 NCAA Tournament record.

In the 1993-94 regular season, Tulsa took #1-ranked Arkansas to overtime (minus one of its top players, Shea Seals) before falling 93-91. Tulsa captured the hearts of Americans as the darlings of the 1994 NCAA tournament when the Hurricane defeated #17 UCLA in dominating fashion 112-102 in the first round. Tulsa then handed #19 Oklahoma State an 82-80 defeat in second round action, before falling to #1 Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Hurricane returned to the 1995 NCAA Tournament handing losses to Illinois and Old Dominion before falling to #7 UMass in the Sweet Sixteen. Smith went on to coach at Georgia and later Kentucky, where his Wildcat team won the 1998 national championship.

In an era that saw Tulsa soccer put itself on the national map, Ryan Pore (Soccer, 2002-04) was one of the integral parts of Tulsa's success. Pore was named the 2004 Soccer America National Player of the Year and was a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy (the equivalent to Tulsa's Heisman Trophy) that year.

He earned first-team All-America honors in 2004 and was a second-team selection in the 2003 season, becoming the only two-time All-American in school history for soccer.

Pore completed his career as the school's second-leading scorer in just three years with 123 points on 51 goal and 21 assists. He totaled three hat-tricks in his career. In his final season, Pore set Tulsa's single season record for goals (22) and points (55). He earned all-MVC honors in 2002as a second team selection and earned first-team honors in 2003 and 2004, while also earning Midwest Region accolades in his final two seasons.

Pore left school following his junior season and was drafted by Kansas City in the MLS Draft as the 16^th overall pick.

Chris O'Hare (Men's Track & Field, 2009-13) was a cross country and track & field star for the Golden Hurricane. He later returned to Tulsa as an assistant coach.

O'Hare became Tulsa's first track & field national champion when he won the Mile Run at the 2012 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track & Field Championships. He won the race in a time of 4:01.66, thus earning USTFCCCA first-team All-America honors.

He ended his collegiate career as a six-time All-American, twice was named the Conference USA Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and three times earned the Midwest Region Athlete of the Year, twice in cross country and once in track. O'Hare was a 14-time all-conference selection, including three times in cross country, a league record seven times for indoor track and was a four-time outdoor track selection.

O'Hare helped lead Tulsa to three conference cross country titles and to the school's first indoor track & field championship in 2012. He was selected as the C-USA Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2011 and 2012 after posting wins in both the 800-meters and mile run.

At the 106^th Millrose Games in 2013, O'Hare shattered the collegiate mile record with a time of 3:52.98 in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile, running against some of the World's top athletes.

Following his collegiate career, O'Hare qualified in the 1,500-meter run for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 1971 College World Series Baseball Team is this year's Athletic Hall of Fame Honor Team. The 1971 team compiled a 35-13 overall record, won its third of seven straight Missouri Valley Conference Championships, won the NCAA District 5 Championship and finished third at the NCAA College World Series.

Tulsa had a team batting average of .313 with 476 hits, 36 HRs and 267 RBI, while Golden Hurricane pitchers had a 2.69 Team ERA. Tulsa also had a .952 fielding percentage.

The Hurricane had four players hit over .300 for the season, including two over .400 –– Jerry Tabb (.413) and Phil Honeycutt (.411). On the mound, Steve Rogers had a 12-2 record and 1.48 ERA, while Cliff Butcher turned in an overall 10-6 record and 2.60 ERA

TU Honors Five Individuals and One Team at Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday

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