CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) — The University of Illinois Athletics Department has named eight new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame, highlighting a class that spans basketball, football, golf, soccer, and volleyball.
The Class of 2026 includes guard Ayo Dosunmu, volleyball setter Jordyn Poulter, running back Howard Griffith, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, golfer D.A. Points, soccer forward Ella Masar, center James Augustine, and guard Tauja Catchings. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11, at State Farm Center, with honorees also recognized at the home football game against Duke on Sept. 12.
Dosunmu, who was the USA Today National Player of the Year in 2021, became the first NCAA player since 2010 to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists in a single season. He was later selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Poulter earned Olympic gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games and silver at the 2024 Paris Games while being named Best Setter in Tokyo. She was a three-time All-American at Illinois and currently plays for LOVB Salt Lake.
Griffith set an NCAA record in 1990 when he rushed for eight touchdowns and 48 points in a single game against Southern Illinois, a mark that has been tied only once in the 36 years since. He later won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.
Lloyd ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in receiving yards, receptions, and touchdown catches, and earned All-Pro honors with the Broncos in 2010 after leading the NFL with 1,448 receiving yards that season.
Augustine holds the Illinois career rebounding record with 1,023 boards and the school record for career field-goal percentage at 61.7 percent. He helped lead the Illini to the national championship game in 2005.
Points earned All-America honors in 1999 and went on to win three PGA Tour events, including the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Notably, he lost to Tiger Woods in the quarterfinals of the 1996 U.S. Amateur.
Masar, a native of Urbana, ranks among Illinois’ all-time leaders in goals and points and was a two-time All-American for the Illini soccer program before a professional career that lasted through 2019.
Catchings was a three-time All-Big Ten selection who helped Illinois to the 1997 Big Ten title and finished her career with 1,502 points, 12th in program history.
The Hall of Fame, which began in 2017, now has 162 total members.
