Jordan Taylor, Hilary Knight highlight 2022 UW Athletic Hall of Fame class

On Friday, the Wisconsin athletic department announced the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class. Predictably, with a long history of success in multiple sports, the 11 new honorees are a who’s who of legendary Badgers.

“The UW Athletic Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors we can bestow upon our athletes, staff and supporters and this announcement is worthy of celebration,” athletic director Chris McIntosh said. “Having been a recipient of this honor myself, it was even more gratifying to make the calls and notify these individuals as the athletic director. These 11 represent the best of the Badgers and their contributions go far beyond their athletic successes. I’m thrilled for the inductees and their families.”

In case you can’t read the embedded tweet, here is the full class of 2022:

• Laura Abbinante, volleyball, 1993-1996

• Cheryl Bailey, associate AD for Sports Administration, 1990-2005

• Travis Beckum, football, 2005-2008

• Monsignor Michael Burke, special service, football

• Hilary Knight, women’s hockey, 2008-2012

• Jim Lemon, men’s golf, 1998-2001

• Erica Palmer, women’s cross country/track and field, 1998-2001

• Carl Silvestri, heritage era, football, 1962-1964

• Gary Suter, men’s hockey, 1983-1985

• Jordan Taylor, men’s basketball, 2009-2012

• Reggie Torian, football, 1994-1995; men’s track and field, 1994-1997

These Hall of Fame classes are great for fans, especially younger ones, as they highlight feats from athletes that you may not know much about. For instance, I knew who Laura Abbinante was, but I didn’t know that she was the second ever All-American in UW volleyball history and that she led the Badgers to the 1995 NIVC National Championship. Last year’s national title winning team stands on her shoulders.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Here are a few other notable exploits from this year’s class:

• Beckum led the nation in receiving yards for a tight end as a junior and his 75 catches were the most by a tight end in school history
• Knight is the all-time leading scorer at UW with 262 career points and 143 career goals and won two national titles in Madison.
• Palmer was the 1999 NCAA Cross Country Champion and the 1999 and 2000 Big Ten Cross Country Champion. She was also a four-time All-American and Big Ten Champion in track.
• Taylor was the second Badger to earn multiple AP All-America honors and he set NCAA record for career assist-to-turnover ratio (3.01; 464 assists to 154 turnovers).
• Torian was the 1997 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the 110-meter high hurdles and a five-time All-American and nine-time Big Ten Champion.
• Silvestri was a two-way starter for the Badgers, leading the 1964 team in both rushing yards and interceptions.