Calvin Cooley and Teresa (Rubart) Grounds took part in a Q&A at the event with other ACU Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
Manning is fourth Wildcat to have football jersey retired
PAUL WHITE
Athletics director Lee De Leon, Danieal Manning and head football coach Ken Collums
PAUL WHITE
Danieal Manning (’07) experienced several Homecomings on the football field for the Wildcats, but the one he may remember most came a decade later. The finest defensive back to ever play for ACU, Manning earned 12 All-America citations despite opponents steering their offenses and kicks away from him during the 2003-05 seasons in which he starred. But he couldn’t avoid attention in October 2015, when he was inducted to the ACU Sports Hall of Fame, spoke at Homecoming’s Friday Chapel, served as grand marshal of the Saturday parade and had his No. 11 jersey retired. He is only the fourth former Wildcat football player to be honored with the latter, joining Jim Lindsey (No. 10, 1967-70), Wilbert Montgomery (No. 28, 1973-76) and Johnny Perkins (No. 44, 1974-76). Coaches had not issued his No. 11 jersey to any player since he turned pro in 2005. Following his junior year, Manning became the second-highest NFL draftee in ACU history when the Chicago Bears made him their top pick – and the league’s 42nd overall – in 2006. As a rookie, he started all but two of the Bears’ games en route to Super Bowl XLI. He signed as a free agent with the Houston Texans in 2011, helping them win their first AFC South title (2012) and make two trips to the playoffs before retiring in 2015 after nine standout NFL seasons.
Seven inducted to ACU Sports Hall of Fame One of the most distinguished classes in the 30-year history of the ACU Sports Hall of Fame was inducted Oct. 16, 2015: Calvin Cooley (’62), Don Drennan (’58), Teresa (Rubart ’77) Grounds, Brek Horn (’02 M.Ed.), Mike Lively (’78), Danieal Manning (’07) and Jared Mosley (’00). From 1958-61, Cooley was one of the top collegiate hurdlers in the nation. He and Wildcat teammates Dennis Richardson (’63), Bud Clanton (’62) and Olympian Earl Young (’62) set a world record of 1:22.6 in the 880-yard relay in the 1961 Texas Relays. Cooley lost only one hurdles race as a freshman and two as a sophomore, and set the national freshman record of 22.6 in the 220-yard low hurdles. The 23rd recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Drennan was ACU’s third director of athletics. During his tenure (1988-90), the baseball program was revived and construction began on Crutcher Scott Field. He also had a distinguished career in ACU’s Business Office, taught accounting and served as the institutional representative to the NCAA. Grounds was the first superstar of Wildcat women’s basketball. Nearly 40 years later, she is still ACU’s career leader in rebounds (1,194), rebounds per game (12.7) and rebounds in a game (29). She was the first woman in Wildcat history to lead her team in scoring and rebounding all four seasons. None of Horn’s seven Wildcat
women’s volleyball teams won fewer than 18 matches in a season, and five won at least 23. She compiled an ACU-best 173-69 record in seven seasons (1999-2005), including the only two LSC titles in program history, back-to-back regional tournaments and a 31-match winning streak. One of the top defensive linemen in Wildcat football history, Lively was a four-year letterman who twice earned all-LSC honors. He helped his team to a 9-2 record and Shrine Bowl win over Harding University in 1976 and a NAIA Division I national title in 1977. Manning was a three-year starter (2003-05) who became ACU’s second-highest NFL draft choice (42nd pick by the Chicago Bears in 2006) after earning 12 NCAA Division II all-America citations. As an NFL rookie he started 17 of the Bears’ 19 games and helped lead them to Super Bowl XLI. He ended his nine-year NFL career with the Houston Texans in 2015 after helping them earn two trips to the playoffs. During Mosley’s tenure as the seventh director of athletics in ACU history (2004-14), the Wildcats won 10 national, 20 regional and 46 LSC titles. Following a standout career as an ACU basketball player, he guided the athletics program to NCAA Division I affiliation and a return to the Southland Conference before becoming CEO and president of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
ACU TODAY
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