Jenny Simpson to be Inducted Into Pac-12 Hall of Honor
Inaugural Bowerman Award winner, 4-time NCAA champion, 2011 World Champion, 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist and more
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pac-12 Conference has announced the 2022 class to be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, the Conference's most prestigious recognition of the greatest on and off-field contributors to Pac-12 athletics.
Colorado's Jenny Simpson, formerly Barringer, is the Buffaloes' representative in the 12-person class. A member of the cross country / track & field teams from 2005-09, Simpson is one of the most decorated athletes in CU history.
Simpson won four NCAA titles, three in the 3000 meter steeplechase and one in the indoor 3000, during her collegiate career. She broke six NCAA records and seven school records in 2009 alone, several of which still stand today, including the 5000m record. Simpson is still the only woman to post under 4 minutes (3:59.89) in the 1500 in NCAA history, which she ran at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic, finishing second to Ethiopia's Gelete Burka by 0.01 seconds. She was the only collegiate athlete in the race.
While competing collegiately, the Florida native also enjoyed success on the international stage, mostly in the steeplechase, making two world teams and competing at the Olympic Games in 2008. Following graduation, she was named the inaugural winner of the Bowerman Award and was later named the recipient of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award.
She won the 2011 World Championship crown in the 1500 and was the silver medalist in 2013 and 2017. Simpson captured an Olympic medal in 2016 when she won the bronze medal in the 1500 in Rio. Simpson has won a total of nine USA track championships.
The other members of the 2022 Pac-12 Hall of Honor class are: Tanya Hughes (Arizona), Curley Culp (Arizona State), Layshia Clarendon (California), English Gardner (Oregon), Steven Jackson (Oregon State), Tony Azevedo (Stanford), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (UCLA), John Naber (USC), Tom Chambers (Utah), Tina Frimpong Ellertson (Washington) and Drew Bledsoe (Washington State).
Formal induction to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor will take place on Friday, March 11 during a private ceremony prior to the semifinals of the 2022 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament, presented by New York Life. Following induction, the class will be honored during a special halftime ceremony of the day's first semifinal matchup at T-Mobile Arena.
Tickets for the 2022 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament are available at Pac-12.com/tickets.
The 2022 Hall of Honor class will be the 20th since its creation in 2002, and the fourth to feature legendary figures from an array of sports after the Pac-12 expanded the field to be inclusive of the broad-based athletics success across the Conference of Champions® history. Following a hiatus in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 class returns the annual recognition as a new inductee from each Pac-12 university is welcome into the Hall of Honor.
"The Pac-12 is honored to recognize the accomplishments of 12 incredible women and men who represent the very best of the Conference of Champions, on and off the fields of play," said Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff. "From Olympic gold medalists to Super Bowl champions to NBA All-Stars to WNBA veterans to, of course, collegiate champions, our honorees continue a showcase of our league's rich tradition of champions."
Since Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference, the following former Buffs have been added to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor:
►Burdette Haldorson, 2012 (basketball)
►Cliff Meely, 2013 (basketball)
►Ken Charlton, 2014 (basketball)
►Jim Davis, 2015 (basketball)
►Scott Wedman, 2016 (basketball)
►Chauncey Billups, 2017 (basketball)
►Bill Toomey, 2018 (track & field)
►Lisa Van Goor, 2019 (basketball)
►Bill Marolt, 2020 (skiing; administrator)
