The Hillsdale College Hall of Fame is filled with the best of the best in the history of Chargers athletics.

But even by that lofty standard, the 2025 induction class has to rank among the top.

This September, for its 26^th induction class, Hillsdale is welcoming in six individuals – a group that combined to win 12 national championships, earn 21 All-American honors, and set a new standard for excellence in their craft for everyone that follows them at Hillsdale College.

On Sept. 26, 2025, these six new inductees will join 96 individuals and 17 teams already in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place in the Searle Center on the Hillsdale College campus. The event is set to begin at 5 p.m. with a cocktail hour, with dinner and the ceremony to follow.

Hillsdale College selects a Hall of Fame Class annually from a pool of worthy nominated individuals. If you have a former Hillsdale College Charger legend you believe deserves recognition in the Hall of Fame, please complete this form and return it to the Hillsdale College Athletic Office or by email at [email protected]. You can find the full list of members of the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame here.

This year's inductees are:

Keith Otterbein '79
As a player, coach, and supporter of Hillsdale College athleticsfor five decades, Otterbein has set the standard for what it means to be a part of the Hillsdale College football program. As a player at Hillsdale in the late 70s, Otterbein was a 1978 NAIA All-American and won the program's linebacker of the year award three times. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Hillsdale under Dick Lowry in 1980, and after two decades of success elsewhere, returned to Hillsdale in 2002 to take over as head coach of the football program. In 22 seasons leading the Chargers, he won 133 games, third-most in program history, and led the Chargers to four conference championships, three NCAA DII Playoff appearances, and the program's only two NCAA DII playoff victories to date. During his tenure, Otterbein recruited and coached Hillsdale's all-time leading passer, rusher and receiver, as well as long-time NFL players Jared Veldheer and Andre Holmes.  A strong believer in the importance of education and character, Otterbein also worked during his tenure to make the Chargers one of the best teams in the nation in terms of academic achievement, and spearheaded the start of several charitable endeavors that remain a part of the team's annual calendar today.

 
Michael Michno, '84
A standout distance runner in an impressive era for Hillsdale College track and field, Michno capped a decorated career with a NAIA National Championship in the outdoor 1,500 meter run (3:52.01) in 1984, beating the field to the line by a hundredth of a second in an epic sprint to the finish. A two-time All-American who also placed second in the nation in the mile run indoors in 1984, he was a key part of a Chargers men's distance crew that captured nine NAIA individual national titles from 1981 to 1987. After a successful college career, Michno joined the military, where he served his country while continuing to race at an elite level, including breaking the four-minute mark in the mile as a member of the USA Armed Forces team and competing at the 1992 Olympic Trials for the Barcelona Games in the 1,500m run.  Michno has been successful in his private life in the field of aerospace procurement for the military, and is currently the Senior Growth and Strategy Advisor at Resonant Sciences.

 
Michael Nugent, '85
A tremendously successful distance runner at Hillsdale College, Nugent won back-to-back NAIA National Championships in the indoor 3-mile run, bringing home the 1984 crown as a junior in 14:08.45 and then repeating as champion in 1985 in 13:58.51 in a dominant showing. A three-time All-American who also earned the honor at the 1985 outdoor championships, Nugent additionally won GLIAC titles in the 5,000m run as a sophomore outdoors in 1983 and indoors as a junior in 1984, and along with Michno was part of a stellar run of elite athletes in the men's distance races at Hillsdale College. An excellent student at Hillsdale, he graduated with a double major in English and Spanish in 1985, and was named Outstanding Senior Man in the 1985 class. He currently runs an American school in Madrid, Spain. He was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame at his high school Alma Mater, Detroit Catholic Central, in 2022.
 

Cleves Delp, '86
A legendary friend and supporter of Hillsdale athletics, Delp first starred at Hillsdale on the baseball diamond, serving as a team captain, starting at first base and leading the team in slugging percentage for two consecutive years. After graduation, Delp built the insurance business he inherited from his father, TFO Partners, into a Forbes Top 25 Wealth Management Company. On top of supporting a variety of worthy philanthropic causes in his hometown of Toledo and Northwest Ohio, Delp also has given generously to his Alma Mater, supporting Hillsdale College's endeavors on a variety of fronts. In the athletic realm, he has made possible the construction of many of Hillsdale's new athletics facilities in the past decade, while also heavily supporting athletic scholarship efforts for a variety of teams. His love for the Chargers is perhaps best expressed by the fact that all five of his children have attended and played sports at Hillsdale College – Morgan (women's tennis, 2012-15), Sydney (Women's Tennis, 2012-16). Dugan (Men's Tennis, 2015-18), Maverick (women's basketball, 2019-23) and Winston (baseball (2024-present).

 
Troy Weatherhead '11
A driving force behind Hillsdale College's best multi-year run in football since becoming a member of NCAA Division II, Weatherhead set records and broke new ground for the Chargers as a three-year starter at quarterback. One of the most accurate quarterbacks in NCAA history, he set NCAA all-division records for single season completion percentage (76.9%) and career completion percentage (70.2%) during his career that stood for over a decade. A 2010 All-American and the GLIAC Player of the Year, Weatherhead led Hillsdale to back-to-back playoff appearances and Hillsdale's first conference title in nearly two decades in 2010. He graduated in 2011 as Hillsdale's all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes and completions, and still holds Hillsdale's career, single-season and single game completions records over a decade after his career ended. After his time at Hillsdale, Weatherhead has had tremendous success in the medical sales industry while working for Stryker.

 
Emily (Oren) Newcomb '16
The most decorated athlete Hillsdale College has ever produced, Oren won at unprecedented levels that may never be duplicated. A nine-time national champion, four more than any other athlete in Hillsdale College history, and 14-time All-American, Oren dominated the steeplechase and distance events at the national level for two seasons. She set school records in the indoor mile, indoor 3,000m run, outdoor 3,000m steeplechase and Distance Medley Relay that still stand, and she still holds the indoor mile record at the NCAA DII National Championships as well. Oren was the engine of Hillsdale women's cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field teams that finished in the top three in the nation five out of a possible six times in a two-year span in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and earned USTFCCCA Program of the Year honors for the first and only time in 2015-16. In 2016, Oren won the 2016 Honda Cup as the top female athlete in NCAA DII regardless of sport, the highest honor available to her at the time. She also was a three-time USTFCCCA DII Track Athlete of the Year, and the 2016 CSC Academic All-American of the Year. After graduation, Oren ran professionally for several years, participating in multiple US Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. She worked for Hillsdale College as an admissions counselor for several years, and is now employed as a Talent Consultant at DISHER Talent Solutions.