[3] To qualify for induction into the Hall of Honor, an individual must have been an All-American, set an NCAA, U.S., or world record, won an NCAA title, or made significant contributions to the university's athletic department as a coach or administrator.
[3] The first group inducted into the Hall of Honor in 1978 was Gerald R. Ford, Bill Freehan, Tom Harmon, Ron Kramer, Bennie Oosterbaan, Cazzie Russell, and Bob Ufer.
The second induction class in 1979 consisted of Fritz Crisler, DeHart Hubbard, Ray Fisher, Charlie Fonville, Willie Heston, Chuck Kocsis, George Sisler, Germany Schulz, Rudy Tomjanovich and Fielding H. Yost.
The first women inducted into the Hall of Honor were Olympic diving gold medalist Micki King in 1986 and athletic administrator Marie Hartwig in 1989.
The first African-American athletes inducted were Cazzie Russell (1978), Charlie Fonville (1979) and DeHart Hubbard (1979).