WICHITA, Kan. – NAIA and Raven Athletics Hall of Famer Larry Wilcox is adding another Hall of Fame honor to his storied career.
Coach Wilcox, who retired as head football coach in the Fall of 2020, is part of a record number of inductees announced today by the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026. He is one of 32 individuals with ties to sports at every level throughout the state of Kansas to be inducted this year.
"The practice has been to honor 10-12 people each year, but we have a considerable backlog of outstanding nominees," KSHOF chair Jeff Bollig said. "The hall of fame board of directors, which oversees the selection of honorees annually, thought it was important to rightfully recognize outstanding representatives of the Sunflower State who may have missed out when the selections were dormant for 10 years."
With the increased number of inductees this year, the KSHOF will be holding three ceremonies throughout the state – July 18 at Legends Field in KCK, July 25 at Kansas Star Casino near Wichita and Aug. 26 at the Huhtamaki Shield Club at Sporting Park in KCK.
Coach Wilcox was inducted into the Raven Hall of Fame in 2018 after being inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2017.
In 42 years as head coach of the Ravens, he went 305-153 and is the winningest four-year collegiate football coach in the history of the state of Kansas. He helped guide Raven Football to 14 NAIA Football Championship Series appearances, which included an appearance in the NAIA National Championship Game in 2018 against Morningside (Iowa). A 1972 graduate of Benedictine, Coach Wilcox served in many roles in his time with Benedictine, also serving as the Athletic Director for 24 years, stepping down from that role in 2006.
To secure tickets for the August 16 induction in Kansas City, Kan., at Sporting Kansas City Park in Kansas City, Kan., visit https://www.kshof.org/event-details/2026-induction-ceremony-kc-2. The complete announcement of the Class of 2026 is available at https://www.kshof.org/post/kansas-sports-hall-of-fame-announces-record-no-of-inductees-in-2026largest-class-to-be-recognized.
Those wishing to be a sponsor for the event, contact KSHOF Executive Director Richard Konzem at 785-331-6607 or richard@kshof.org.
The mission of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is to honor those that contributed to the history of sports in Kansas and to educate and inspire the public regarding the value of athletics and Kansas athletic history by providing the requisite leadership and resources.
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