UNI's Woody headed to MVC Hall of Fame

From UNI sports information

The Missouri Valley Conference will honor  past greats on March 2, 2012, when the league conducts its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Louis.

Former UNI track star Joey Woody, now an assistant at the University of Iowa, will join coaching legend/television analyst Charlie Spoonhour of Missouri State, basketball standout Paul Silas of Creighton, men's soccer coach Fred Schmalz of Evansville, track and field Olympian Connie Price-Smith of Southern Illinois and basketball icon Denny Crum of Louisvill in the 15th MVC Hall of Fame class.

"Each of our Hall of Fame induction classes is unique in its own way, but this group of individuals definitely has a men's basketball feel to it," said MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin, who is in his 24th year with The Valley.  "Paul Silas and Denny Crum are clearly identifiable with basketball success and their schools, while Charlie Spoonhour is in a class all by himself." 

"Fred Schmalz took the UE men's soccer program to unequaled heights, Connie Price-Smith's story is one of which dreams are made, and Joey Woody becomes our first UNI athlete selected for the Hall of Fame."

A  native of Iowa City,  Woody became the Panthers' first Division I track athlete to win a national title, winning the 400-meter hurdles at the 1997 NCAA Outdoor Championship.

With his selection, he becomes the first UNI student-athlete to be tabbed for the MVC Hall of Fame and joins former UNI volleyball coach Iradge Ahrabi-Fard as Panthers in the league's elite group.

A four-time All-American at UNI, Woody placed at the national meet three times in the 400-meter hurdles and once in the indoor 800 meters.

In 1998, he garnered a gold medal at the World Cup of Track as part of the U.S. 4 x 400-meter relay team.

In 1999, Woody received a gold medal at the World Track Championships as a member of the U.S. 4 x 400-meter relay team.

In 2000, he was a member of the USA's 4x800 meter relay team that set the indoor world record.

In 2003, Woody received a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the World Track Championships.

Named Missouri Valley Conference Track Athlete of the Year on three occasions, Woody was a nine-time Drake Relays champion.

He was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the only athlete in Drake Relays history to win the Athlete of the Meet award in high school (1992) and college (1994).

Named to the MVC All-Centennial Team in 2007, Woody holds UNI school records in the 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, indoor 600 meters and indoor 800 meters.

For the ninth time in 10 years, the league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship weekend next March 1-4.

The March 2 festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:45 a.m.

Tickets to the 2012 Hall of Fame event - which is scheduled to be held in the newly-renovated Peabody Opera House which is adjacent to Scottrade Center - can be obtained by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300.  Seating is limited and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.