USC to Honor 19 Athletes in 1st Hall of Fame Class Since 2018

USC selected 19 former athletes, which include Olympic medalists, NCAA champions, All-Americans, and world record setters, for the 13th class of USC's Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Inductees are as follows: Damon Bame (football), Anna Maria Fernandez (tennis) Steve Furniss (swimming), Jack Gardner (basketball), Dwayne Jarrett (football), Balazs Kiss (track and field), Paul McDonald (football), Marvin Powell (football), Pat Powers (volleyball), Janice-Lee York Romary (fencing), Kaitline Sandeno (swimming), Dennis Thurman (football), Moriah Van Norman (water polo), Robert Van't Hof (tennis), Patty Van Wolvelaere (track and field), Mike Williams (football), Randy Williams (track and field) and Rhonda Windham (basketball).

Expand to read USC's provided biographies for each athlete

BAME —Damon Bame was a two-time All-American and member of USC's 1962 national championship football team. A transfer from Glendale (Calif.) Junior College, he lettered at guard and linebacker for the Trojans in 1962 and 1963. USC was 11-0 in 1962 en route to the national title. With Bame intercepting four passes that season, the 1962 Trojan defense allowed just 92 total points (8.4 per game) and posted three shutouts. He also was a two-time All-Conference performer and earned USC's Lineman of the Year Award both seasons. He played in the 1964 Hula Bowl. After USC, Bame was an assistant football coach at San Jose State, Long Beach State, and New Mexico, with Hawai'i of the World Football League and at Corona del Mar High School, and he was the head coach at El Segundo High School. He also worked in the precious metals recycling industry. He died in 2020 at age 77.

BORDLEY —Bill Bordley, a left-handed pitcher with a blazing fastball and a nasty curveball, posted a 26-2 record in his two-year (1977-78) USC career for a school-record .929 winning percentage. The two-time All-American, All-District, and All-Conference first teamer was the winning pitcher in the 1978 College World Series championship game. He was 14-0 as a freshman and 12-2 as a sophomore (he won 20 consecutive games before losing). He led USC in strikeouts in 1977 (108) when he was the Conference Player of the Year and in 1978 (110). He then pitched with the San Francisco Giants in 1980. He was named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. After his baseball career, he was in the Secret Service (assigned to the White House and then to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow) and then was vice president of security and facility operations for Major League Baseball before founding an international financial security company.

FERNANDEZ —Anna Maria Fernandez-Ruffels, a three-time (1979-81) All-American tennis player, helped lead the Women of Troy to back-to-back AIAW national team championships in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, she won the AIAW singles title and the Honda-Broderick Award as the nation's best collegiate women's tennis player and was the Tennis Magazine College Player of the Year. She played in the Junior Federation Cup for three years and was named to the ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 2021. Professionally, she won five WTA doubles titles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 in singles and No. 44 in doubles. Her twin sister, Anna Lucia, and younger sister, Cecilia, were All-American tennis players at USC. Her husband, Ray Ruffels, was a world-ranked Australian tennis pro (he won 13 singles titles and the 1977 Australian Open doubles crown). Their daughter, Gabriela, was a junior tennis standout who then played golf at USC (she won the 2019 U.S. Women's Amateur) and is on the LPGA Tour, and their son, Ryan, is a professional golfer.

FURNISS —Two-time Olympian Steve Furniss, a member of three NCAA championship teams at USC, won four NCAA individual swim titles (the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley in 1973 and 1974). The four-year (1972-74, 1976) All-American also won Pac-8 individual titles in the 200 and 400 IM in 1973. He was on USC's 1974-75-76 NCAA champion teams and captained the 1975 squad while redshirting with an injury. He won a bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley at the 1972 Olympics and competed in the 1976 Olympics, where he placed sixth in the 400 IM while co-captaining the U.S. swim team. He won the 200 and 400 IM at the 1971 and 1975 Pan American Games and set the 200 IM world record in 1974. He also was twice (1973-74) an All-American on USC's water polo team. He won a prestigious NCAA Today's Top VI Award in 1976 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Swim Team in 2016. He is one of four brothers who competed in aquatics at USC, along with All-American swimmer Chip, Olympic gold medal swimmer and USC Athletic Hall of Famer Bruce and water polo player and USC valedictorian Craig. He was inducted into the Aquatic Capital of America Hall of Fame in 2019, along with Bruce. He co-founded TYR Sport, a manufacturer of competitive swimming, triathlon and related athletic apparel and gear.

GARDNER —Jack Gardner, a member of both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 1984) and the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006), was a three-year (1930-32) letterman at USC and then became a successful head coach. He was USC's leading scorer in 1930, its team MVP in 1931 and the Trojan captain in 1932. He then had a 486-235 record in 28 years of coaching at the major college level and became the first coach to lead two different schools to the NCAA Final Four twice each (Kansas State in 1948 and 1951 and Utah in 1961 and 1966). A leading proponent of fast-break basketball, he also coached 10 years of AAU, high school, junior college and military ball, bringing his overall record to 649-278. He is in nine other halls of fame: Kansas Sports, Southern Utah, Utah All-Sports, State of Utah Basketball, Helms Foundation, Kansas State University, University of Utah Crimson Club, Modesto Junior College, and Redlands High School. He died in 2000 at age 90.

JARRETT —Long remembered as the recipient of USC's famous "fourth-and-nine" pass in the historic 2005 Notre Dame football victory, Dwayne Jarrett was USC's first-ever two-time first-team All-American wide receiver. The three-year (2004-06) letterman set the since-broken USC career receptions record (216) and the Pac-10 career touchdown receptions record (41). He had 3,138 career receiving yards, including 13 career 100-yard receiving games, and caught a pass in all 38 games he played (with touchdowns in 25 of them). He was a finalist for the 2005 Biletnikoff Award, was ninth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy voting, was Offensive MVP of the 2007 Rose Bowl and made the All-Pac-10 first team in 2005 and 2006. He was a Freshman All-American first teamer in 2004 when he had a USC-best 55 receptions on USC's national championship team, then had a team-high 91 catches and a school season record-tying 16 TD catches in 2005 and added 70 catches in 2006. He was the Carolina Panthers' second-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and played for the Panthers from 2007 to 2010.

KISS —Olympic gold medalist Balazs Kiss was USC's first-ever NCAA hammer throw champion and the school's first-ever four-time NCAA track and field champion in any event, winning the hammer each year from 1993 to 1996 (twice setting meet records). His meet record mark of 265-3 in 1996 was more than 36 feet better than the runner-up, then the largest margin in any field event at the NCAA meet. He was just the second-ever male to win the NCAA hammer four times and the fourth athlete in meet history to win any event four consecutive times. USC's 1996 captain never lost a hammer competition in his four years as a Trojan, and he still owns both the school (270-10, set outside the collegiate spring season) and collegiate (268-10) records. In fact, he still has the top eight college hammer performances of all time (the next best performer is more than 12 feet behind him). Soon after his USC senior season, he won the gold medal in the hammer at the 1996 Olympics while competing for Hungary. He was ranked in the world's top five for five years and was the silver medalist at the 1998 European Championships and twice placed fourth at the World Championships. He set his personal best of 272-3 in 1998 and was Hungary's Athlete of the Year in 1995-96-97. He was inducted into the USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.

McDONALD —Paul McDonald made his mark on the football field, in the classroom and in the radio booth for the Trojans. The 1979 All-American, who quarterbacked USC's 1978 national champions and was 23-1-1 as a starter (including a pair of Rose Bowl wins), not only threw for 4,138 yards with 37 touchdowns in his career but also handed the ball off to future Heisman Trophy winners Charles White and Marcus Allen. He himself was sixth in the Heisman voting in 1979 when he made the All-Pac-10 first team and was USC's MVP. Also in 1979, he threw 143 passes without an interception and passed for 380 yards versus Arizona (both since-broken USC records). The three-year (1977-79) letterman led the Pac-10 in passing in 1978. An outstanding student, in 1979 McDonald won an NCAA Today's Top VI Award, received an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, and was a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-American first teamer. He was an NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipient in 2005. He played eight seasons in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns (1980-85) and Dallas Cowboys (1986-87) where he passed for 5,269 yards and 24 TDs, with 21 starts. After his playing career, he became an investment banker, business marketing company owner, title insurance executive and personal empowerment educator. He also was the radio analyst on USC football games for 15 years (1998-2012) and was honored four times as Best Radio Analyst by the Southern California Sportscasters Association. His sons played quarterback in college: Michael at USC (2005-07), Andrew at New Mexico State, and Matt at Boston College and Bowling Green.

POWELL —Marvin Powell, one of the top collegiate and professional offensive tackles of his era, was a two-time (1975-76) All-American first teamer at USC and was a member of the Trojans' 1974 national championship team. He also was a three-time (1974-76) All-Pac-8 first teamer. His USC teams earned berths in the 1975 and 1977 Rose Bowls and 1975 Liberty Bowl, and he was selected to play in the 1977 Hula Bowl and Japan Bowl. In 1994, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. The fourth pick of the 1977 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, he played 11 years in the NFL with the Jets (1977-85) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1986-87), starting 130 games. He played in five Pro Bowls, made All-Pro first team three times and was the Jets' MVP in 1979. He served as president of the NFL Players Association during his career. After his playing days, he became an attorney. His son, Marvin III, also played football at USC (1995-98) and in the NFL. He died in 2022 at age 67.

POWERS —Pat Powers, a dominant volleyball hitter and blocker, was a champion both indoors and on the beach. The two-time All-American first teamer (1979-80) helped USC to the 1980 NCAA championship after the Trojans were runners-up in 1979, making the NCAA All-Tournament team both seasons. He represented the U.S. in the 1979 Pan American Games. The three-year (1978-80) letterman came to USC from state titlist Santa Monica Community College. After USC, he competed with the U.S. National Team, helping the squad to gold medals at the 1984 Olympics, 1985 World Cup, and 1986 World Championships. He twice was the USA National Player of the Year. He also played for an Italian pro indoor team. During 12 years on the beach, he posted 12 victories and won more than half a million dollars domestically and internationally. He was a member of USA Volleyball's 75th Anniversary Team and the Pac-12 and Volleyball Magazine All-Century teams. He is in the USA Volleyball, Southern California Indoor Volleyball, and California Beach Volleyball halls of fame. He served as head coach of the USC men's volleyball team for six seasons (1997-2002), posting 106 victories and garnering a league championship. He now conducts nationwide volleyball clinics and camps.

ROMARY —Janice-Lee York Romary appeared in more Olympics than any other Trojan. She competed in six consecutive Olympics in fencing, from the 1948 Games (while a student at USC) through 1968. She was the first woman from any country to appear in six Olympics. In 1968, she became the first woman to carry the United States flag in the Olympic opening ceremonies. She finished fourth in the foil in the 1952 and 1956 Games. She was a 10-time U.S. foil champion (collecting more wins than any other male or female U.S. fencer). She also won a gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games. She was commissioner of fencing at the 1984 Olympics and is a member of the U.S. Fencing Association Hall of Fame. She died in 2007 at age 79.

SANDENO —Kaitlin Sandeno Hogan is an Olympic, World, U.S., and NCAA multi-champion swimmer. After winning a bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2000 Olympics as a high schooler, she won three medals at the 2004 Games as a USC junior (gold in the 800 free relay, silver in the 400 individual medley and bronze in the 400 free). She also won four gold medals at the 2004 World Championships, another gold at the 2005 World Championships and two more golds at the 2007 World University Games, as well as three golds at the U.S. Nationals and two golds at the 1999 Pan American Games. The three-year (2002-04) All-American won a pair of NCAA titles (200 and 400 IM, both in 2004) and five Pac-10 titles. She turned pro prior to her 2005 senior season but remained a USC student. During her career, she set world and U.S. records, plus 17 USC records. In 2016, she was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Swim Team. After her competitive career, she became a broadcaster, podcaster, emcee, motivational speaker, spokesperson, endorser, and author. She also was the general manager of the DC Trident of the International Swimming League and coached at the high school level. In early 2026, she had a cancerous tumor removed from her small intestine and is now cancer-free.

THURMAN —Dennis Thurman was a two-time All-American safety at USC who later coached at his alma mater. The four-year (1974-77) letterman helped the Trojans to the 1974 national championship and four bowl victories (including a pair of Rose Bowls). In his career, he had 169 tackles and 13 interceptions, including a league-leading eight in 1976. He also saw action at wide receiver and as a punt and kick returner. He was USC's team MVP as a 1977 senior and was selected to play in the 1978 Senior Bowl. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025. Despite being considered too small and slow to play in the pros, he spent nine years in the NFL as a cornerback and safety with the Dallas Cowboys (1978-85), including in Super Bowl XIII, and the St. Louis Cardinals (1986). He had 36 interceptions (four for TDs) and seven fumble recoveries in his 137-game NFL regular-season career (he added seven more picks in the playoffs). After his playing days, he became an assistant football coach with the NFL's Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, World League's Ohio Glory, AAF's Memphis Express and at USC (1993-2000, helping Troy to a pair of league titles and four bowl appearances, including a Rose Bowl win), Jackson State (the Tigers won a pair of SWAC championships), Colorado and currently Hawai'i, where he is the defensive coordinator. His brother, Junior, was a defensive back for USC (1985-86) and in the NFL.

VAN NORMAN —Moriah Van Norman, who dominated intercollegiate women's water polo in the early 2000s from her 2-meter position, was the 2004 Cutino Award winner as the nation's top female college water polo player. The four-year (2003-06) letterwinner led USC to the 2004 NCAA championship and was named the MPSF Player of the Year. The Women of Troy were NCAA runners-up in 2006. She was a three-time All-American (2004-06) and made a trio of All-NCAA Tournament teams. She was USC's team MVP three times and scored 215 career goals for the Women of Troy. She then helped the U.S. win a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and gold at the 2007 and 2009 FINA World Championships. She also was on U.S. gold medal-winning teams at the 2006 FINA World League, 2007 Pan American Games, and 2007 FINA World League Super Final. She played professionally in Greece and helped her team win the 2009 European Championship. She earned a doctorate in education (with an emphasis on student-athlete mental health) and has taught English at the junior college level. She has also coached youth and high school water polo teams. Her sister, Sarah, and brother, Jordan, also played water polo at USC.

VAN'T HOF —Robert Van't Hof won the 1980 NCAA tennis singles championship and then, after a pro playing career, went on to an illustrious pro coaching career. He was a three-year All-American (1978-80) at USC and was the 1980 Pac-10 Athlete of the Year. In addition to his singles title, he made it to the NCAA doubles semifinals in 1980 and the singles and doubles quarterfinals in 1979. He was elected into the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003. As a pro player in the 1980s, he won a pair of singles titles and six doubles titles, collecting nearly half a million dollars in prize money. He made it as high as No. 25 in the world singles rankings (and No. 20 in doubles). He advanced to the singles quarterfinals at both the U.S. and Australian Opens and the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. He then coached several notable pros, including Lindsay Davenport when she was No. 1 in the world in singles and doubles and won Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and Australian Open singles titles as well as doubles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the French Open (she also won the 1996 Olympic singles gold medal). He also tutored such highly ranked players as Todd Martin (when he got to the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinal) and Coco Vandeweghe. He then ran a tennis academy locally. His brother, Erik, played college and pro tennis. His son, Kaes, was an All-American at USC who won the 2008 NCAA and Pac-10 doubles titles and the 2008 Pac-10 singles crown.

VAN WOLVELAERE —Two-time Olympian Patty Van Wolvelaere-Weirich was USC's first women's track and field collegiate individual champion, winning the 100-meter hurdles at the 1977 and 1978 AIAW meets. She competed in the high hurdles in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, placing fourth in 1968 in the 80-meter hurdles in a U.S. record time of 10.5 as just a high schooler. She set the U.S. record in the 100-meter hurdles seven times, including 13.26 in the semis at the 1972 Games and a best of 13.14 in 1978. She also set an indoor world record in the 60-meter hurdles in 1968. She won a gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games, four U.S. outdoor titles, and six U.S. indoor crowns (including four in a row from 1971 to 1974). She represented the U.S. at the World University Games and 1977 IAAF World Cup. The two-year (1977-78) letterwinner came to USC in 1975 at age 25 after transferring from Mira Costa Community College. She was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2017. After retiring from competition, she was a firefighter and a high school coach.

M. WILLIAMS —Mike Williams was one of the most physical and accomplished pass catchers in USC history. A consensus first-team All-American wide receiver as a sophomore on USC's 2003 national championship team, he was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award and finished in the top 10 in the Heisman Trophy voting. The two-year (2002-03) letterman set USC records for touchdown receptions in a career (30, since broken), season (16 in 2003) and game (3) and he had 176 career catches with a dozen 100-yard receiving games. He had a team-best 95 catches in 2003 when he was the CBS SportsLine.com National Player of the Year and an All-Pac-10 first teamer. In 2002, when he caught a USC-high 81 passes, he was a Freshman All-American first teamer and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as he set NCAA freshman season records for receiving yards (1,265) and TD catches (14), the Pac-10 freshman mark for catches (81) and the USC freshman game record for catches (13). He sat out the 2004 season, then was a first-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played with the Lions (2005-06), Oakland Raiders (2007), Tennessee Titans (2007) and Seattle Seahawks (2010-11), as well as in Canada. He then became a successful high school football coach in California and Florida. He now is USC football's assistant director of player development.

R. WILLIAMS —As just a 5-10, 150-pound freshman long jumper at USC in 1972, Randy Williams won both the NCAA individual title and an Olympic gold medal (at 19, the youngest ever to win the Olympic long jump). His 27-4¼ leap in the Olympic qualifying round is a still-standing USC record and was a world junior record that stood for nearly 40 years. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1972. The four-year (1972-76) letterman was also part of USC's 1972 NCAA Indoor championship team, won the NCAA indoor long jump as a 1973 sophomore, and captained the 1975 Trojans. He won a silver medal in the long jump at the 1976 Olympics and made the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, which did not compete because of the U.S. boycott. He was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009. After his jumping career, he was a Marine, a firefighter, a cattle rancher and a long jump coach.

WINDHAM —Rhonda Windham, the career, season and game assists leader of the USC women's basketball program, was the engine that sparked the Women of Troy's 1980s NCAA championship runs. The four-year (1983, 1985-87) starting point guard still owns the school assists records for a career (735, 302 more than the next Trojan), season (197 in 1983 and she has four of the top five spots on that chart) and game (17 versus Pepperdine in 1983). She was part of USC's 1983 and 1984 NCAA championship teams (although a knee injury sidelined her in 1984) and the 1986 NCAA runners-up, playing alongside Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper, and Pam and Paula McGee. She won the 1987 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation's top player under 5-6 (she is 5-5) and made the All-Pac-10 first team that season. She averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 assists in her 122-game Trojan career. She played in the 1987 World University Games. After her playing days, she founded the Say No Classic, a local NCAA-sanctioned women's summer league that ran for more than 20 years starting in 1991. She worked in public relations and promotions for the Los Angeles Lakers (1990-96), then was the first general manager of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks (1997-99). In 2025, she was inducted into the Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame in her hometown. She holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from USC and is a licensed occupational therapist, working at a local nonprofit mental health agency.

"This class is a reflection of everything it means to be a Trojan—champions in competition and leaders long after they left campus," Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics Jen Cohen said . "Bringing back the Hall of Fame is about recognizing the people who built the incredible legacies we still celebrate today, and I want to thank the Hall of Fame Committee for their time, effort, and enthusiasm toward preserving the unmatched history of USC Athletics. We can't wait to honor these 19 legends with the entire Trojan Family in April."

USC hasn't had a Hall of Fame induction class since 2018, when they inducted Wayne Black, Chris Claiborne, Sam Clancy, Kim Clark Jennings, Mike Gillespie, J.K. McKay, Ous Mellouli, Mikaela Parmlid, Troy Polamalu, April Ross, Felix Sanchez, Rod Sherman, Kevin Stadler, Tim Tessalone, Traveler, Charlie Weaver, Lauren Wenger Trapani, Barry Zito

An 11-member committee selected the 13th class of USC's Athletic Hall of Fame, whittling down a list of 290 candidates to their selections. To be eligible for a spot in USC's Hall of Fame, an athlete must be 20 years removed from completing their final season of eligibility at USC.

USC will introduce the class Nov. 21, when USC football takes on Maryland at the LA Memorial Coliseum, and will honor them at an induction dinner on April 24, 2027.