MIAA Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its class of 2023 Hall of Fame inductees. The class consists of eight former student-athletes, a coach, an official and a former MIAA Commissioner.

The Hall of Fame induction will occur during the MIAA Awards Ceremony presented by Husch Blackwell, on Tuesday, June 6th  in the Music Hall in Kansas City.

MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductees:

Dr. Bob Boerigter | Northwest Missouri & MIAA
Coach, Athletic Director, Conference Commissioner
Bob Boerigter has served as a coach and an administrator in intercollegiate athletics for 45 years. Dr. Bob was the MIAA Commissioner from September 2010 through January 2017. Prior to his time at the MIAA, he was the Director of Athletics at Northwest Missouri State University from May 2001 until 2010. In his final years as an administrator, Dr. Bob earned the 2018 Division II Athletics Director Association (D2ADA) Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, he was named the 2018 Waddell & Reed Executive of the Year, conducted by the KC Sports Commission.

Following a fruitful tenure in the Cornhusker State, Boerigter spent nearly a decade as the director of athletics at Northwest Missouri State University, serving as the lead administrator for the department of athletics including recreational sports, club sports, campus recreation and the campus fitness center. In 2010, he was appointed as the fourth full-time commissioner of the MIAA. During his time with the MIAA, he implemented an expansion program of both full-time and associate members to the conference. He oversaw the MIAA Centennial in 2012, serving as a principal figure in attracting NCAA national championships to sites within the MIAA membership. As Commissioner, Boerigter guided the conference through an era of immense success that saw the MIAA produce 10 national championships in six different sports.

Over nearly half a century in collegiate athletics, Boerigter served in multiple capacities on the national level. He was named Chair of the Division II Football Committee, served as a member of the Division II Championships Committee and the Planning and Finance Committee as well as on many other association-wide and Division II task forces. He also was the Chair of the Division II Management Council and served as a member of the NCAA Executive Committee. Finally, Boerigter served as D2ADA Board Member from 2003-08.

Receiving the D2ADA Lifetime Achievement Award is another gleaming example of the profound impact and contributions of Boerigter’s career as a Division II athletics administrator. Boerigter retired from his post as the MIAA Commissioner in February of 2017.

Daryl Cronk | Pittsburg State
Baseball Student-Athlete (1997-99)
Daryl Cronk earned second-team NCAA Division II All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association as a sophomore in 1997. Cronk also garnered Central Region Pitcher of the Year honors that season. He compiled a 27-12 record with a 3.51 ERA in 48 career appearances for the Gorillas, setting the Pittsburg State record for career wins. Cronk earned All-MIAA honors three times (1997-99), helping the Gorillas to three straight appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament as well as the program’s first MIAA title as a senior in 1999. Following graduation, he served as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State and Central Missouri (helping the Mules to the 2010 Division II World Series) before becoming head coach at Avila University. He served as head coach at Avila from 2011 until passing away at age 46 from the Covid-19 virus on Dec. 26, 2021. Cronk was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2014.

Ana Dilkes | Central Missouri
Women’s Soccer Student-Athlete (2014-17)
Ana Dilkes is one of the most successful goalkeepers in NCAA Division II women’s soccer history. In four years with the Jennies, Dilkes was named a seven-time All-American (NSCAA in 2015 and 2016; United Soccer Coaches in 2017; Daktronics in 2014; D2CCA in 2015, 2016 and 2017) and four-time First Team All-MIAA goalkeeper. She was also a four-time MIAA Goalkeeper of the Year. Dilkes led the Jennies to four MIAA Championships and four Central Region Championships. In the 2017 season, Dilkes and the Jennies claimed the programs’ most recent NCAA Division II National Championship in which the team went a perfect 26-0. She was named the United Soccer Coaches Division II National Player of the Year for that season.

In her career with the Jennies, Dilkes played in 97 matches and posted a save percentage of .944 with 64 shutouts. She still holds the UCM program records for shutouts (64), goals-against average (0.37), matches played (97) and wins (89). She also still holds both the NCAA Division II single-season shutouts (21) and career shutouts (64) records. Dilkes was also a four-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll selection.

Kacie Edwards | Central Oklahoma
Softball Student-Athlete (2010-13)
When Central Oklahoma joined the MIAA in the 2012-13 academic year, Kacie Edwards made Broncho history when she became the program’s first-ever First Team All-MIAA player. She was named a four-time All American by the D2CCA and NFCA for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. In the 2012 season, she led the Bronchos to the Division II Softball National Championship where UCO ended its season with a record of 46-9. In that season, Edwards was named the Division II National Player of the Year by the D2CCA for that season. She is the former UCO record holder for career at bats (676), hits (268), doubles (56), home runs (55), RBI (225) and batting average (.396). She also set the Bronchos single season RBI record with 79 in 2012. Edwards was also named a two-time First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators.

Gene McArtor | MIAA Official
Football
Gene McArtor served as referee for what was widely regarded as the MIAA’s top football officiating crew for a number of years in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to serving as a widely respected official, McArtor was head baseball coach at Missouri from 1974-90, fashioning a 733-430-3 record. He won Big Eight Championships in 1976 and 1980 and guided six teams to the NCAA Tournament. McArtor served on the NCAA Baseball Committee from 1987-92, including two years as chairman. Since retiring as baseball coach, he has continued to serve MU first as the senior associate director of athletics and currently as director of project management. He also served as the interim director of athletics for several months in 1998. McArtor is a member of the ABCA Hall of Fame, the MU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Brittney Miller Pitts | Emporia State
Volleyball and Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete (2007-11)
Every team Brittney Miller Pitts played on at Emporia State (volleyball in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; basketball in 2008, 2009, 2010) advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She was a three-time All-MIAA selection in volleyball (2008, 2009 and 2010) and earned First Team All-MIAA honors in basketball her junior year (2009-10) – the same year she was named to the Eight All-Tournament Team and helped the Hornet women’s basketball team to the 2010 NCAA Division II National Title. Miller-Pitts was named the MIAA Player of the Year in her senior volleyball season after leading the league with 4.00 kills per set at a .381 hitting percentage. She was also named a First Team All-American by the AVCA. Miller-Pitts ended her career ranked fourth at ESU with 1,357 career kills, 76 double figure kill matches, and a .326 hitting percentage while ranking fifth in career kills per set at 3.25. She had her basketball career cut short by a knee injury in the last regular season match of the 2010 volleyball season.

Cassondra Boston Richards | Emporia State
Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete (2006-2010)
Cassondra Boston Richards had an impressive basketball career at Emporia State from being named the MIAA Freshman of the Year to being honored as the Association’s Player of the Year her senior season. A four-time All-MIAA selection, Boston-Richards helped lead the Lady Hornets to the 2010 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship game where ESU was crowned national champions. She was named the MIAA’s 2009-10 Ken B. Jones Winner, awarded to the Association’s top female student-athlete. In the same year she was also a top 30 finalist for the NCAA Women of the Year, the CoSIDA South Central Regional Player of the Year, named a WBCA All-American, and was named to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight All-Tournament Team. Boston-Richards ended her career at ESU ranked fourth in scoring with 1,844 points, second with 244 made three-pointers, and sixth with 475 career assists. She was also named an Emporia State Outstanding Recent Graduate in 2019.

Patty Vavra | Missouri Southern
Cross Country and Track & Field Head Coach (1994-2016)
Patty Vavra retired from Missouri Southern in 2016 after a highly successful stint as the women’s track and field and cross country coach. In 22 years, Vavra led the Lions to seven MIAA cross country championships (1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014) as well as indoor track and field championships in 2004 and 2008 and outdoor titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The cross country team won the NCAA Regional Title for three-straight years from 2007-09.
She led the team to the MIAA Triple Crown in 2007-08 where MSSU won the MIAA cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field titles. She has won 12 MIAA Coach of the Year Awards (seven in cross country and two in indoor and three in outdoor track and field). The 2009 cross country team placed third at the Division II National Championships.
Overall, during her time 43 athletes earned 80 NCAA Division II All-American honors while 10 cross country runners also earned the elite distinction.

Prior to coaching, Vavra was a four-year member of the basketball and track teams at MSSC. She was a two-time All-CSIC selection in basketball, as well as a two-time All-CSIC pick in three separate events and four-time team MVP performer in track. She was the CSIC 100-meter hurdle champion and a regional qualifier her junior year and was named Lady Lion Athlete of the Year In 1980. Vavra holds the distinction of being the first women offered an athletic scholarship by Missouri Southern in 1976.

Heavin Warner | Central Missouri
Women’s Track & Field Student-Athlete (2011-16)
Heavin Warner is still the NCAA Division II record holder in the hammer throw. A three-time national champion in the event, Warner finished her career with 10 All-American awards between the hammer throw, shot put, weight throw and discus. Her three straight hammer throw national titles (2014, 2015, 2016) was the first three-peat in UCM Track and Field history. Warner is the Jennies record holder in four throwing events (hammer throw, discus, weight throw, and outdoor shot put). In 2016, she placed fifth at the US Olympic Trials in the hammer throw and was sixth at the US Championships in 2017. She competed in 160 events as a UCM Jenny and was the winner in 77 of them.

Warner was named the Dr. Peggy Martin Award winner as a senior as the top female student-athlete at UCM and a finalist. She also earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in July of 2016. She ended her collegiate career as a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (first team in 2015-16; second team in 2014-15), a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll and Scholar-Athlete honoree, and a three-time USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic selection.

Troy Wilson | Pittsburg State
Football and Men’s Track & Field Student-Athlete (1989-1992)
Troy Wilson finished his collegiate career in 1992 as a three-time NCAA Division II All-American at defensive end for the Pittsburg State football team. Wilson was an honorable mention All-America selection as a sophomore in 1990. He then earned second-team All-America honors as a junior in 1991 when he recorded 104 tackles with a school record 23 quarterback sacks. Wilson earned first-team All-America honors his senior season when he recorded 112 tackles with 32 tackles for loss and 14 quarterback sacks. He finished his career with 317 tackles and 45 sacks. Wilson also was a three-time NCAA-II All-American in the shot put and discus in track & field at PSU.

Following his collegiate career, he was a seventh-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1993 NFL Draft. Wilson enjoyed a seven-year NFL career and helped the 49ers capture the 1994 World Championship in Super Bowl XXIX. He was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

LEGACY INDUCTEE:
Diane Miller | Missouri Southern
Softball Student-Athlete (1989-92)
Diane Miller was three-time First Team All-MIAA selection, including being named league MVP in 1990, and is the only Lion in program history to be named an All-American in three consecutive seasons. Miller Helped the Lions to the program’s only National Championship in 1992 and was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team for her efforts. She still holds the career record for RBI and walks in a game at Missouri Southern. She also ranks in the program’s top-ten of ten different career categories and three single-season ranks. Miller was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-American her senior season.

Miller was an individual inductee to the Missouri Southern Hall of Fame Class of 2003, along with being a part of the 2002 induction of the 1992 National Championship team at Missouri Southern. She was then inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Miller now works as an assistant coach in Division I softball. She’s stacked up an impressive resume as the hitting coach at Nebraska over the past 14 years. Her and the Nebraska staff was named a three-time NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the year in 2013, 2014 and 2022. Four of Nebraska’s all-time top-five home run and RBI totals have happened under her watch along with four of the programs five top slugging and on-base percentages. Prior to joining the Huskers staff, Miller led the offense at Colorado State which broke 44 Mountain West records and 14 school records. At both programs combined, she’s has coached eight All-Americans, 40 All-Region hitters and 63 All-Conference hitters in her career. Miller also served as the assistant coach representative on the NFCA Board of Directors from 2014-18.