Ward, Restrepo, Fletcher Claim 2025 UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami Hurricanes football student-athletes Cam Ward, Xavier Restrepo, and Mark Fletcher, Jr. have been named the winners of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards for the 2024-25 school year.
Ward, a first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist, won the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which is presented to the top all-around Hurricanes student-athlete of the year. Ward led the nation in touchdown passes (39) and finished second in passing yards (4,313) during the 2024 season, helping the Canes win 10 games for the first time since 2017. He was also the ACC Player of the Year and won the Davey O’Brien and Manning Awards. This past April, he became the third UM player in history to be selected with the top overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Restrepo, who earned first-team All-America honors as a wide receiver in 2024, won the Ron Fraser Award, which is named after Miami’s legendary head baseball coach and is presented to the UM student-athlete who brings honor to the athletic department and best exemplifies what it means to be a Miami Hurricane. Restrepo is Miami’s all-time receptions (200) and receiving yards (2,844) leader. He was also tapped into Iron Arrow, the highest achievable honor for a member of the Miami Hurricanes community.
Fletcher was awarded the Frank Gore Comeback Award, which is presented to a Hurricanes student-athlete who overcame hardship to return to the playing field and represent their program with excellence. The award is named after the legendary running back who recovered from two major knee injuries during his four seasons at UM. Fletcher suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl but bounced back to rush for 607 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2024 season.
This is the second year of the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards. Inaugural year winners were Alexa Noel from women’s tennis (Student-Athlete of the Year Award), Russell Robinson from men’s track and field (Ron Fraser Award) and soccer’s Julia Edwards (Frank Gore Comeback Award).
The UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards, created in conjunction with Miami Athletics, are voted on by UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Board of Directors. For more information on the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum visit umsportshalloffame.com.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami Hurricanes football student-athletes Cam Ward, Xavier Restrepo, and Mark Fletcher, Jr. have been named the winners of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards for the 2024-25 school year.
Ward, a first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist, won the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which is presented to the top all-around Hurricanes student-athlete of the year. Ward led the nation in touchdown passes (39) and finished second in passing yards (4,313) during the 2024 season, helping the Canes win 10 games for the first time since 2017. He was also the ACC Player of the Year and won the Davey O’Brien and Manning Awards. This past April, he became the third UM player in history to be selected with the top overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Restrepo, who earned first-team All-America honors as a wide receiver in 2024, won the Ron Fraser Award, which is named after Miami’s legendary head baseball coach and is presented to the UM student-athlete who brings honor to the athletic department and best exemplifies what it means to be a Miami Hurricane. Restrepo is Miami’s all-time receptions (200) and receiving yards (2,844) leader. He was also tapped into Iron Arrow, the highest achievable honor for a member of the Miami Hurricanes community.
Fletcher was awarded the Frank Gore Comeback Award, which is presented to a Hurricanes student-athlete who overcame hardship to return to the playing field and represent their program with excellence. The award is named after the legendary running back who recovered from two major knee injuries during his four seasons at UM. Fletcher suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl but bounced back to rush for 607 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2024 season.
This is the second year of the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards. Inaugural year winners were Alexa Noel from women’s tennis (Student-Athlete of the Year Award), Russell Robinson from men’s track and field (Ron Fraser Award) and soccer’s Julia Edwards (Frank Gore Comeback Award).
The UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Awards, created in conjunction with Miami Athletics, are voted on by UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Board of Directors. For more information on the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum visit umsportshalloffame.com.
President's Distinguished Service Award
1989 President's Distinguished Service Award--Mr. John Forbes
1995 President's Distinguished Service Award--Mr. Tony Segreto
Miami sportscaster and news anchor, Tony served as master of ceremonies for the UMSHoF Induction Banquet for many years and has been active in many charitable endeavors that benefitted the university.
1997 President's Distinguished Service Award--Mr. Herb Farbish
Served as the UMSHoF President in 1983-1985.
1998 President's Distinguished Service Award-- Mr. Sonny Hirsch
Sonny Hirsch was the radio voice for the University of Miami Hurricanes for over 30 years.
2003 President's Distinguished Service Award--Judge Tom Lee
Judge Lee was one of the founding judges who established the University of Miami Sports
Hall of Fame and continued his support for over 30 years.
2005 President's Distinguished Service Award--Mr. Jay Rokeach
Jay has served more than 50 seasons as the baseball stadium voice of the Hurricanes, as well as having served as the football and basketball public address announcer and the Master of Ceremonies for the UMSHoF Induction Banquet for more than 20 years.
2007 President's Distinguished Service Award--Mrs Myrna Schneider
"Miss Myrna" was the secretary for the seven head football coaches for 37 years, from Coach Howard Schnellenberger to Coach Al Golden. She retired in the Spring of 2014.
2013 President's Distinguished Service Award--Dr. Clyde B. McCoy
Dr. McCoy served as faculty athletic representative from 1994-2012 and as ACC President from 2009-2010.
2015 President's Distinguished Service Award--Ed Hudak
Hudak, a former Hurricanes football player, has served as the 'Canes head of football security and legal liaison for nearly three decades. During this time he has been a trusted advisor and confidant to the past six head coaches, as well as a mentor, role model and guardian angel to hundreds of student athletes. He currently serves as the City of Coral Gables' police chief.
2019 President's Distinguished Service Award -- Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey, Jr.
Zagacki, who has been part of the South Florida sports scene for 40 years, began working Hurricanes games during the 1983 National Championship season. He has worked every possible broadcasting position: from pregame show, to sideline reporter, to color analyst alongside legendary Canes announcer Sonny Hirsch, and will begin his 20th year as play-by-play announcer this coming season. He also does play-by-play for Hurricanes basketball and baseball, having recorded the third most games called by any broadcaster in College World Series history.
Bailey, a former center during for the Hurricanes during the Howard Schnellenberger/Jim Kelly era, and a member of Iron Arrow, the Highest Honor Attained at the University of Miami, began his broadcasting career as a sideline reporter during the 1990's for five seasons and will begin his 20th year in the booth alongside Zagacki as the color analyst for Hurricanes football. With their broadcast of the Pinstripe Bowl game last December, Bailey and Zagacki called their 250th consecutive football game together as a broadcasting team.
Don Bailey, Jr. and Joe Zagacki received the UMSHoF President's Distinguished Service Award from President Tracy Kerdyk at the 51st Annual UMSHoF Induction Banquet at Jungle Island on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
2024 President's Distinguished Service Award - G. Holmes Braddock
Mr. Braddock has been associated with the university since attending classes in 1946 following a stint in World War II. He worked for several years recruiting students to the university, helping to run the student union and various other jobs. He has attended football and baseball games since that 1946 freshman year, including many of the school's most important victories and championships. Holmes' knowledge of the university, and its sports programs, has earned him the unofficial moniker of "Historian Emeritus" for the UMSHoF&M. He has been a member of the UMSHoF&M general committee and Board of Director's for over 25 years. He also served 38 years on the Miami-Dade School Board, including holding the title of chairman of the Board and in 1989, he was honored with the naming of G. Holmes Braddock Senior Higfh School.
To view the speech by Mr. Braddock, click below...
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Mr. Braddock has been associated with the university since attending classes in 1946 following a stint in World War II. He worked for several years recruiting students to the university, helping to run the student union and various other jobs. He has attended football and baseball games since that 1946 freshman year, including many of the school's most important victories and championships. Holmes' knowledge of the university, and its sports programs, has earned him the unofficial moniker of "Historian Emeritus" for the UMSHoF&M. He has been a member of the UMSHoF&M general committee and Board of Director's for over 25 years. He also served 38 years on the Miami-Dade School Board, including holding the title of chairman of the Board and in 1989, he was honored with the naming of G. Holmes Braddock Senior Higfh School.
To view the speech by Mr. Braddock, click below...
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walter kichefski endowed football scholarship
This endowed scholarship was created in 1992, in the memory of beloved Hurricanes' Hall of Fame player and coach Walter Kichefski. $400,000 was initially raised to endow the scholarship, the only undergraduate award presented by the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. The scholarship recipient is chosen each year by the football coaches, with the award going to the player who most embodies the characteristics by which Walter Kichefski lived:
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