Rafer Johnson to Be Inducted into Hall of Honor

UCLA legend Rafer Johnson will be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor on Friday, Mar. 9 during a ceremony prior to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament presented by New York Life.

The Hall of Honor induction ceremony will be streamed live starting at 4 pm PT Friday on the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com to authenticated subscribers. The inductees will also be recognized in the Pac-12 Fan Plaza prior to Friday's semifinal session as well as on-court at halftime of the first semifinal game.

Johnson won two Olympic decathlon medals and led UCLA to its first-ever NCAA track and field championship in 1956. Johnson was a two-sport athlete, playing for two coaching legends in track and field's Ducky Drake and basketball's John Wooden. He was captain of the freshman track and field team in 1955 and ran varsity track from 1956-58. He also played basketball in 1958-59, when he also served as UCLA's Student Body President during his senior year. Prior to helping the Bruins to the 1956 national crown, he won the Pacific Coast Conference title in the low hurdles while leading UCLA to the Conference title. While at UCLA, Johnson won a silver medal in the decathlon at the 1956 Olympic Games despite being handicapped by a knee injury and torn stomach muscle that kept him out of competition in the broad jump. He reached the pinnacle of his Olympic achievements in 1960 as the U.S. team captain, flag-bearer, and gold-medal winning decathlete. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he was selected to light the Olympic Cauldron. Following his retirement from athletic competition, he helped found the Special Olympics Southern California in 1969.

The Hall of Honor class will be the 17th since its creation in 2002 but the first to feature legendary figures from an array of sports as the recognition pivots to be inclusive of the broad-based athletics success celebrated in the Conference of Champions. The Pac-12 leads the list for the most NCAA titles by any league with 504 across 29 different sports, including nation-leading totals for men's (299), women's (175) and combined (30) sports.

This year's 12 Hall of Honor inductees combined for 40 All-America honors and 36 NCAA team or individual national championships as collegians. Eight represented the United States in the Olympics, with six capturing gold medals.

Inducted along with Johnson in 2018 are: Michael Wright (Arizona men's basketball), Linda Vollstedt (Arizona State women's golf), Matt Biondi (California men's swimming), Bill Toomey (Colorado men's track and field), Andrew Wheating (Oregon men's track and field), Carol Menken-Schaudt (Oregon State women's basketball), Kerri Walsh Jennings (Stanford women's volleyball), Cheryl Miller (USC women's basketball), Missy Marlowe (Utah gymnastics), Sonny Sixkiller (Washington football), and Laura Lavine (Washington State women's track and field).