TU Announces 2015 Athletic Hall Of Fame Class

Basketball stars Michael Ruffin and Jillian Robbins, 1991 Freedom Bowl quarterback T.J. Rubley and legendary football coach Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson were announced today as The University of Tulsa’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class for 2015.

The Hall of Fame Weekend is set for October 2-3, as the induction ceremony will take place on Friday night, Oct. 2, at the Lorton Performance Center on the TU campus. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Tulsa-Houston football game on Saturday, Oct. 3.

“Gloomy Gus” Henderson still ranks as the Tulsa football coach with the most victories in school history. He had an 11-year record of 70-25-5 with 10 straight winning seasons from 1925 to 1935. Henderson led his teams to five conference titles, including one in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference, three in the Big 4 Conference and one in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The 1991 Tulsa football team put together the school’s first 10-win season in 10 years, as quarterback T.J. Rubley (1987-91) led that Hurricane team to a 10-3 record and a victory in the 1991 Freedom Bowl over the Marshall Faulk-led San Diego State Aztecs.

A four-year starter, Rubley completed his career with seven school records, while becoming the school’s all-time passing and total offense leader until the mark was eclipsed in 2007. He threw for 9,324 yards, 73 TDs and a .510 completion percentage in his career. In his first game as a true freshman in 1987, Rubley completed 27-of-36 passes for 386 yards, a mark that remained his career best.

Michael Ruffin (1995-99) led Tulsa to three NCAA Tournament appearances, while becoming the school’s all-time rebounding (1,211) and blocked shots (266) leader. Ruffin was a three-time all-Western Athletic Conference defensive team selection, and earned first-team all-WAC honors in 1997-98, and second-team all-WAC in 1998-99. He was the WAC’s leading rebounder in 1989-99 with a 10.4 average, and ranked eighth nationally.

A three-time all-WAC Academic selection, Ruffin earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in 1999 and was a recipient of the NCAA Top VIII award in Jan. 2000.

Ruffin played in the NBA for 10+ years.

The first-ever women’s basketball Hall of Fame inductee is Jillian Robbins (2003-07), who became the school’s leader for points (2,108), field goals made (747), free throws made (602), rebounds (1,313), blocked shots (251) and double-doubles (66). Robbins led Tulsa to the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 2006.

Robbins was the Western Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2003-04, while grabbing first-team all-WAC honors and all-defensive team honors twice. She was the 2005-06 Conference USA Player of the Year, while leading Tulsa to C-USA regular season and tournament titles that season. Robbins was also named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-league selection in both 2005-06 and 2006-07.   

Robbins was a two-time (2005-06 and 2006-07) Kodak/WBCA and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection.

The University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame Awards Reception & Induction Ceremony is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Lorton Performance Center. Tickets for the Hall of Fame reception are $35 per person. Reservations only accepted and must be made by calling the Golden Hurricane Club office at 918-631-2342.  The deadline to make reservations is Friday, September 18.