The Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The 2008 Softball Team, recognized as one of the best Wolf Pack teams of all-time, regardless of sport, will be joined by current Wolf Pack diving coach and 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist Krysta Palmer (Swimming & Diving, 2012-16), 2004 Doc Martie Award winner and 1,000-Point scorer Garry Hill-Thomas (Men’s Basketball, 2000-04), one of the Wolf Pack’s all-time leading rushers and All-WAC selection Luke Lippincott (Football, 2004-09), two-time selection to the All-Big West First Team and Big West champion Mike Rockwood (Football, 1994-95), and 2002 Giant Slalom NCAA Champion and two-time All-American Tommi Viirret (Skiing, 2001-04).

The class will be inducted during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 23-25) and honored at Nevada's homecoming football game Saturday, Oct. 24, against San José State. Single-game tickets for Nevada's six 2026 home contests go on sale Aug. 10.

More information on the 2026 Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame induction event will come at a later date.

Since its inception in 1973, the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame has inducted 246 individuals and six teams.

2026 Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame Class

2008 Nevada Softball Team

The 2008 Nevada Softball team went 44-18 overall and 16-2 in WAC play. The 44 wins remains the program record. The team captured the WAC regular season title, and earned a bid to the UCLA Regional, going 2-2 and reaching the regional title game, with both losses coming to No. 3 UCLA.

Head coach Michelle Gardner was named NFCA West Region Coach of the Year and WAC Coach of the Year. The team picked up eight wins over Top-25 teams including a historic 1-0 victory over No. 1 Arizona on February 17. Twice they played the No. 1 team in the country, going 1-1 (beating Arizona, losing to Alabama March 1). They boasted the WAC Player of the Year in Vanessa Briones, and they claimed six of the 13 spots on the All-WAC First Team.

Noelle Micka was named to the NFCA All-America Second Team. They had three players named to NFCA All-Region Teams (Micka to the First Team, Briones and Katie Holverson to the Second Team). At the time, the team finished the regular season with program records in batting average (.3115), runs (310), hits (529), doubles (101), home runs (43), RBIs (290), total bases (779), walks (182), slugging (.459), on-base percentage (.388), and stolen bases (56).

Garry Hill-Thomas - Men’s Basketball (2000-04)

Garry Hill-Thomas played 124 games (105 starts) over four seasons for the Wolf Pack. He was Nevada’s 2003-04 Doc Martie Award winner, given annually to the top male senior student-athlete. Hill-Thomas scored 1,340 career points, averaging 10.8 points over 27.3 minutes per game and was part of 2003-04 team, which went 25-9 overall, defeated Michigan State then Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16 and captured the program’s first WAC regular season and tournament titles.

He was named to 2004 All-WAC Defensive Team and played four NBA D-League seasons for the Roanoke Dazzle (2004-05), Fort Worth Flyers (2005-06), Utah Flash (2007-08) and Reno Bighorns (2008-09). Hill-Thomas also played professionally in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, New Zealand and Australia in 2006-07. 

He was part of the Wolf Pack Men’s Basketball coaching staff from 2013-15, and then served as head boys’ basketball coach at North Valleys High School in 2009-10, leading the Panthers to their second playoff appearance in school history.

Luke Lippincott – Football (2004-09)

Luke Lippincott was Nevada’s 2009-10 Doc Martie Award recipient as the top male senior student-athlete. He earned first-team All-WAC honors and won the Golden Helmet Award as the team's Most Valuable Player in 2008. Lippincott finished his career ranked fifth at Nevada with 3,014 rushing yards and sixth with 34 rushing touchdowns. Entering the 2026 season, he remains in Nevada’s career top 10 in rushing yards (10th), rushing touchdowns (eighth), touchdowns scored (39, seventh), and still holds the eighth-best single-season rushing total with 1,420 yards in 2007. 

He led the WAC in rushing with 109.2 yards per game in 2008 and made NCAA history when he reached 1,000 rushing yards in 2009, making Nevada the only school in college football history to have three 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. He joined fellow Nevada Athletics Hall of Famers Colin Kaepernick and Vai Taua in that trio and tallied 1,034 rushing yards in 2009, his second career 1,000-yard season.

Lippincott received the Humanitarian Award at the 2008 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl for his community service efforts and was part of Nevada’s 2005 WAC championship team. He was also a two-time recipient of Nevada's Striker Award for consistent and dominant play over a period of time. Lippincott graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in health ecology in May 2009 and began graduate work while finishing his playing career in 2010.

Krysta Palmer – Women’s Swimming & Diving (2012-16)

Krysta Palmer was Nevada’s 2015-16 Ruth Russell Award recipient as the top female senior student-athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 3-meter springboard at the 2020 Olympic Games and earned three All-America honorable mention honors in the 3-meter springboard (2015), 1-meter springboard (2016) and platform (2016). Palmer recorded three top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, placing ninth on the 1-meter springboard in 2016, 10th on the 3-meter springboard in 2015 and 10th on the platform in 2016.

She was a two-time Mountain West Diver of the Year (2015-16), a four-time Mountain West champion after sweeping all three events in 2015 and winning the platform in 2016, and a nine-time All-Mountain West selection. Palmer still holds the Mountain West all-time records in the 1-meter springboard six-dive score (364.12) and platform five-dive score (368.10), while ranking second in the 3-meter springboard six-dive score (415.58). She also helped lead Nevada Swimming & Diving to its only Mountain West team title in 2016.

Michael Rockwood – Football (1994-95)

Michael Rockwood earned first-team All-Big West honors in each of his two seasons with the Wolf Pack (1994-95) and was part of two Nevada Big West championship teams. He started at offensive tackle for Nevada’s top-ranked offense and won the team’s Basalite Big Blocker Award three times in 1994 and four times in 1995. Rockwood also served as team captain in 1995 and helped lead Nevada to a Las Vegas Bowl appearance that season.

Rockwood said he never allowed a sack during his two years at Nevada and was called “one of the best, if not the best to ever play at Nevada” by head coach Chris Ault. He came to Nevada after two seasons at Riverside Community College.

After his time at Nevada, Rockwood signed with the Buffalo Bills practice squad in 1996 and 1997. He was on the active roster in 1997 and 1998 before suffering a career-ending neck injury. Rockwood also played in NFL Europe, earning All-World League honors in 1998, and served on the coaching staff of the Las Vegas Outlaws in the XFL in 2001.

Tommi Viirret – Skiing (2001-04)

Tommi Viirret was the 2002 NCAA Giant Slalom champion, a two-time All-American (2002, 2004) in Giant Slalom and helped Nevada Skiing finish in the top 10 nationally in each of his seasons at Nevada, with a sixth-place finish in 2002.  Between his college, national and international career, Viirret had 41 podium finishes, including 15 gold medals.