Jim Ryun, Kansas: Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, Class of 2022

What do you do when you’re the best in the world and can’t compete for your school’s Varsity team? If you’re Jim Ryun, you set a world record – in your second-best event! That 880-yard standard was accompanied by a WR in the mile the next month. Such was Ryun’s first year in college, when freshmen weren’t eligible to compete in Varsity competition.

Ryun’s accomplishments were noticed beyond the collegiate realm – he was named World Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News in 1966, the first of two-straight such awards. In 1967, he swept the mile at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and later set WRs in the 1500 and mile. His 800-meter best of 1:44.3 – fortunately clocked during that WR 880 time as a freshman – lasted 50 years as a collegiate record.