Hollis Conway, Louisiana: Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, Class of 2024

Hollis Conway’s senior season in 1989 at Louisiana is still celebrated for setting collegiate high jump records that have endured for more than three decades. His journey to these heights began the previous year when he clinched an Olympic silver medal in Seoul, setting a then-all-time best for collegiate athletes with a jump of 2.36m (7-8¾). This feat was just a precursor to his record-breaking 1989, a year many consider magical in the realm of collegiate high jumping.

During the indoor season, Conway set a new collegiate record with a jump of 2.33m (7-7¾), only to surpass it with an American record of 2.37m (7-9¼) at the NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships. Not resting on his laurels, he continued to push boundaries outdoors by first setting, then breaking, his own collegiate record and American record, culminating in a jump of 2.38m (7-9¾) to win the NCAA DI Outdoor title. His record-setting spree didn’t stop there, as he later achieved a new peak with a jump of 2.39m (7-10), setting an all-dates all-time collegiate best. To this day, no other collegiate athlete has managed to leap beyond Conway’s towering benchmarks, indoors or outdoors.