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Seven Added to Marquette M Club Hall of Fame
May 12, 2011 Complete Release (PDF) | Marquette M Club Hall of Fame | MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the inclusion of Brianna Dahm (cross country/track and field), Travis Diener (men's basketball), LaVern Dilweg (football/men's basketball/track and field), Rhegan Hyypio (women's soccer), Tony Miller (men's basketball), Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J. (administration), and the 1937 Cotton Bowl football team to the the Marquette M Club Hall of Fame. "We are pleased to announce the induction of such a deserving and distinguished group of individuals to the M Club Hall of Fame," Marquette Director of Athletics Steve Cottingham said. "This unique group represents individuals across a broad spectrum of time and competition, but all contributed greatly to the proud tradition of Marquette Athletics." The class will be inducted in a ceremony at the Alumni Memorial Union on Saturday, August 20, 2011 and will join 72 other honorees enshrined in the Al McGuire Center's Walk of Champions. "The rigorous selection process evaluated the achievements and leadership of our student-athletes over the past century," said Marquette M Club President Brian Brewer. "The Hall of Fame is the highest honor awarded by the M Club to former Marquette student-athletes, so I am proud of these inductees who are truly deserving of this honor as well as the selection committee for their diligence in this important endeavor." Marquette M Club Hall of Fame, Class of 2011
In addition to earning the Conference USA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year honors in 2002 and 2003, the Two Rivers, Wis., native earned six individual conference titles and one relay championship during her career. Dahm also earned freshman of the year honors in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field during the 2000-01 school year. The All-American competed in three NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the steeplechase and three NCAA Cross Country Championships, where she led the Golden Eagles to their highest finish (15th) in school history in 2001. She also helped Marquette to three C-USA women's team championships in cross country, while earning a total of 11 all-conference honors in cross country and track and field. Dahm's legacy remains in the Marquette record book, where she currently holds the top all-time marks in the steeplechase, indoor 3,000-meter run, and indoor distance medley relay. She also ranks among the top five at Marquette in five other individual events.
As a sophomore in 2002-03, Diener led the Marquette to the Final Four for the first time since 1977 and helped the Golden Eagles to the first Conference USA regular season championship in program history. Diener was a team captain in both 2003-04 and 2004-05 and earned All-Conference USA First Team honors for each campaign. He also garnered national recognition as a finalist for the John R. Wooden and the Bob Cousy Awards in 2004, in addition to being named to the NABC District XI and USBWA District V First Teams. As a senior in 2004-05, Diener led the Golden Eagles with 19.7 points per game and earned honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press. Following his MU career, he was named to the Conference USA All-Decade Team, honoring his accomplishments in the league by including him among the best players in conference history. Diener became the 51st player in school history to be selected in the NBA Draft when he was picked in 2005 by the Orlando Magic with the eighth pick in the second round. Diener played five seasons for three teams in the NBA before heading to play in Italy for the 2010-11 season.
Dilweg participated in the first East-West Shrine Game as one of the top ends in college football and was the first Marquette football player to earn All-America mention when Walter Eckersall bestowed the honor upon him following his senior season. While at MU, Dilweg led the Golden Avalanche to two undefeated seasons and an overall record of 28-4-1. The Milwaukee native also started at center on the 1924-25 basketball team and threw shot put for the track and field team. Dilweg earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Marquette, the latter while playing professionally for the Milwaukee Badgers of the National Football League. Once the Badgers folded, Dilweg moved to Green Bay where he played with the Packers from 1927-34 and earned all-NFL recognition all but one season while helping the Packers to three consecutive NFL Championships (1929-31). He is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and was included on the NFL's 17-member All-Decade Team for the 1920s with early professional football icons Curly Lambeau, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Ernie Nevers and George Halas. Dilweg also served as a United States Congressman from Wisconsin's 8th District and was appointed to the U.S. Foreign Claims commission by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
During her senior season in which she led the Golden Eagles to a 20-3-1 record, the best in program history, Hyypio anchored an MU defense that limited opponents to 28 goals in 24 contests and recorded 10 shutouts. Hyypio was named to the Conference USA All-Decade team in 2005, listing her as one of the best players in conference history. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native was honored in 2010 as the first recipient of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' Young Alumna of the Year Award for her missionary and volunteer work in North and South America.
Miller averaged 7.8 assists per game over his career and led MU to two NCAA Championship appearances, including the 1994 Sweet 16, and a National Invitation Tournament runner-up finish in 1995. Marquette amassed a record of 81-42 during his tenure and Miller remains one of only two players in NCAA history to have accumulated 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 900 assists. The Cleveland, Ohio native helped Marquette to its first league championship as a member of the Great Midwest Conference in 1993-94 and dished out a single-season record 274 assists while leading MU to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1978-79. Miller earned All-Great Midwest Second Team honors three times and was named to the all-newcomer team as a freshman in 1992, while also earning all-freshman fifth team honors from Basketball Weekly.
The Golden Eagles had just entered Conference USA when Wild began his presidency and the successful decade-long stay in the league ended with an invitation to join the BIG EAST Conference in 2005. That move boosted the University's national visibility and helped drive significant increases in student applications, alumni engagement and fundraising. Over 40 endowed athletic scholarships have been added added since 1996, while both the men's and women's soccer teams and men's golf became fully-funded sports. Wild also helped MU strengthen its athletic offerings with the addition of men's and women's lacrosse as NCAA Division I sports, both of which will begin competition in the spring of 2013. Wild played a key role in the fundraising for athletics facilities upgrades, including the Al McGuire Center, which finished construction in 2003. Improvements were also made under Wild's guidance to Valley Fields and the Melvin "Bus" Shimek Track and Field Facilities. During Wild's tenure, Marquette's athletic teams have won 21 team conference championships and 49 individual titles. Student-athletes have also earned 29 All-America honors and have maintained a graduation rate of 81 percent.
The squad was led by head coach Frank Murray, the longest tenured football coach in program history and a member of both the M Club and College Football Halls of Fame. All-American left halfback Raymond "Buzz" Buivid led a high-powered Marquette offense and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting. Buivid was joined in the backfield by the Guepe twins, Al and Art, of whom Art earned all-Catholic recognition at quarterback. Fullback Ward Cuff was also a key cog in the Marquette offense before he went on to star with the New York Football Giants in a hall of fame career. Cuff, along with Ray Sonnenberg, anchored the Golden Avalanche defense. The Golden Avalanche ended its campaign at the Texas State Fair Grounds on Jan. 1, 1937 against Sammy Baugh and TCU in a game billed as a duel between the nation's two premiere passers. Art Guepe scored the lone touchdown for Marquette on a 60-yard punt return in a 16-6 loss.
1936 Marquette Football Roster BOLD indicates current M Club Hall of Fame members |
LaVern Dilweg (Football/Men's Basketball/Track & Field, 1922-26) is the first M Club Hall of Fame member to posthumously earn induction.
Tony Miller (Men's Basketball, 1992-95) started all 123 games in his Marquette career and ranked fifth in NCAA history with 956 career assists at the time of his graduation. His assists mark is currently first in Marquette history and seventh in the NCAA annuls.
Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J. (Administration, 1996-2011) began his tenure as Marquette University's 22nd Jesuit president in 1996 and oversaw tremendous growth in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, including Marquette's jump to the prestigious BIG EAST Conference.
The 1936 Marquette football team began the season with seven straight victories and was ranked as high as fourth in the Associated Press poll before competing in the inaugural Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day of 1937.
