FIVE DANA SUPERSTARS ENTER VIKING HALL OF FAME

Dana added five more names to its roll of athletic notables during the 2003 Hall of Fame Induction, held Oct. 10 as part of Homecoming.
Hall of Fame candidates are chosen based on their record of athletic excellence while a student at Dana or while they are employed at Dana.

This year’s inductees were Heidi Grappendorf ’95, John Hibbing ’76, Jim Krueger ’85, Leo McKillip and Fran Morrow ’53.

Heidi Grappendorf ’95

Heidi Grappendorf received her diploma at Commencement, took off her cap and gown and boarded a plane for Tulsa, Okla. She was on her way to being the first Dana woman to play in the NAIA National Tennis Championships.

Being a leader in Dana’s athletic department was nothing new to Grappendorf. In three seasons on the basketball court for the Vikings, she set 12 individual school records. By the end of her career, Grappendorf completed her basketball career as the No. 4 all-time leading scorer at Dana with 1,200 career points. She had a .349 career average on three-pointers and a .737 career average for free throws.

She was first-team all-conference as a junior and as a senior, leading the league in scoring both years. Grappendorf ranked 10th nationally in NAIA Division II scoring as a junior and 14th as a senior.

The Chariton, Iowa, native had a 34-5 career record in tennis, including three consecutive Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference singles championships. (She earned the first two without the benefit of formal coaching.) As a senior, she was undefeated going into the national championships, where she suffered her only loss of the season in the third round.

In 1995, Grappendorf’s senior year, she was named the Omaha World-Herald’s Nebraska State College Female Athlete-of-the-Year. She was the first Dana woman to earn the award.

John Hibbing ’76

By the time John Hibbing finished his collegiate football career in 1976, he held nearly all of Dana’s receiving records, including most catches in a career, most receiving yards in a career, most receiving yards in a season, most catches in a game and most touchdown receptions in a game. Needless to say, he was the Vikings’ leading receiver four years straight.

Even with the advent of more pass-dependent offenses, today Hibbing still ranks seventh in career receptions (108), seventh in career receiving yards (438) and is tied for second in touchdown receptions in a single game (3).

Hibbing was named to the All-Conference and All-State teams and was chosen Dana’s Most Valuable Player twice. He also was a member of the Viking men’s basketball team.

Now the Foundation Regents University Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Hibbing excelled in the classroom as well as on the field. Dana also gave him the opportunity to meet his wife of 25 years, Anne (Nielsen ’77). Together they have three children, Michael, 22, Matthew, 19, and Anthony, 15.
In 1992, Hibbing received Dana’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Jim Krueger ’85

Quarterbacks, running backs or the occasional wide receiver, the most valuable player is usually someone who is directly responsible for putting points on the board. Jim Krueger was one of the rare players who was chosen for stopping those points.

In his career as a linebacker at Dana, Krueger racked up 434 tackles, making him one of the Vikings’ all-time best. He still holds the records for most tackles in one game (26 against Concordia in 1984) and most sacks in one game (four against Doane in 1984).

His performance on the field led to All-Conference, All-State and All-American accolades. He was a team captain for his junior and senior years, and was voted MVP in 1984.

Krueger also wrestled in his first two years at Dana, qualifying for the National Tournament in 1981.

When his eligibility expired, Krueger became a student coach. After graduation, he became the Vikings’ assistant coach and later defensive coordinator under Head Coach Leo McKillip. When McKillip retired, Krueger took over the reins and now serves as Dana’s athletic director.

Krueger said he learned to love coaching from McKillip and made friends on the team that have lasted a lifetime.

Leo McKillip

Leo McKillip accepted the head football coach position at Dana in 1985. He had lost his previous position as defensive coordinator for the Washington Federals when the team’s league folded, still owing him money.

To say that Dana’s program was troubled would be romanticizing the situation. There was talk about cutting the sport completely. At the first practice of camp, 30 potential players showed up. His assistant coach, working as essentially a volunteer, died one week before the first game. Everyone wanted Dana to come play for their

Homecomings — the true sign others think you’re an easy mark. The scoreboard only worked part-time, but was a full-time hotel for 50 pigeons.

The 1985 Vikings unsurprisingly won only one game. But the determination of that team to succeed ended the talk of cutting the program. The next year, 65 players showed up for camp. That team was 6-4. Dana started receiving fewer requests to be other school’s guests for Homecoming.

Then, in 1987, something that had seemed preposterous happened. The Vikings, 87 strong, went 8-2 and played in the national play-offs. In two seasons, McKillip turned a virtually extinct team into a national contenter. Not only did Dana stop getting Homecoming requests, other schools started dropping Dana from their schedules completely.

McKillip spent eight years at Dana as coach and athletic director. He even got a new scoreboard.

Fran Morrow ’53

In his freshman season, Fran Morrow’s season statistics were simple: He played in one game, and made one free throw. Three years later, Morrow would be the Vikings’ leading scorer and a force to be reckoned with in every game.

As a sophomore, Morrow was a solid, dependable player, making appearances in 18 of the Vikings’ 20 games. A glimmer of what was to come appeared in his junior year, when Morrow scored 17 points against Concordia College.

But it was this senior season in 1952-53 that earned Morrow a spot in the Hall of Fame. In 21 appearances, Morrow averaged 13.52 points per game, with 17 games in double digits and 27 points against Luther College. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and was selected as an all-conference player.

Morrow also excelled in baseball. He was a four-year letterwinner and a thorn in Midland Lutheran College’s side. (In 1953 he had three hits in one game against the Warriors, then turned around and had two in the next.)

Originally from Tekamah, Neb., Morrow is now retired in Ninevah, Ind. Much of his Dana memorabilia was lost in a fire on his family’s farm while he was serving his country in Korea. But his contribution to Dana athletics will always be remembered.