Nov. 21, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas -- Seven distinguished and decorated former University of Texas student-athletes were inducted into the Men's Athletics Hall of Honor during ceremonies this weekend.

The 53rd Men's Hall of Honor class includes Steve Bryan, one of the winningest tennis players in UT history; Scott Bryant, the 1989 NCAA Division I Baseball Player of the Year; James Brown, a prolific passer who finished his career holding 30 school records; and Neil Walker, a two-time NCAA individual swimming champion and the 1997 NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

Vintage selections Menan Schriewer (Football 1952-55), Dan Watson (Baseball 1947-49) and Jim Willerson (Swimming 1959-61) round out the class.

The new inductees were honored at a banquet at the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday evening, and other enshrinement ceremonies were held during the Texas-Kansas football game on Saturday.

Bryan won the NCAA singles championship in 1990, becoming only the fourth player in Texas Tennis history to claim the singles crown. He was a two-time All-American and led the Longhorns to the 1990 Southwest Conference championship, while winning the singles title the same year.

Bryant is one of only five UT baseball players to have his jersey retired by the UT Athletics Department. He earned the 1989 Dick Howser Award as the NCAA Division I Player of the Year after leading the Longhorns to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Men's College World Series. That year, Bryant hit .386, drove in 112 runs, hit 32 doubles and 18 home runs. He still holds UT records for doubles in a season (32), total bases in a season (199) and RBI (112).

Brown was best known for his big-game performances and leading the Longhorns to three-straight conference titles. His heroics took on legendary status with his famous "roll left" pass that put the exclamation point on UT's stunning 37-27 victory over two-time defending national champion Nebraska in the first-ever Big 12 Championship game. Brown finished his career holding 30 UT records, and still ranks among UT's top-five in nearly every passing and total offense category.

Walker was the 1997 NCAA Swimmer of the Year and 24-time All-American. He won the NCAA individual championship in the 100-yard backstroke in 1997 and 1998, and also helped the Longhorns to the 1996 NCAA team title. Walker's record time of 44.92 in the 100-yard backstroke set in 1997 still stands as the oldest UT and Big 12 swimming record.

Willerson, the youngest of the Vintage Era honorees, was a three-year letterman who helped the Longhorns win the 400-yard freestyle relay championship in the 1961 SWC meet. He has gone on to become an internationally distinguished cardiologist, research scientist and educator. He served as president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston from 2000-08, and is currently the president of the Texas Heart Institute.

Watson was a three-time All-Southwest Conference catcher, and helped lead the Longhorns to three-straight SWC Championships and their first-ever College World Series national championship in 1949.

Schriewer lettered for three years with the Longhorns, and started at tight end and defensive end. During his junior and senior years, he led the team in receptions and helped UT to the SWC Championship as a sophomore.