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Rod Wright, Royal Ivey, Haley Eckerman highlight Texas Athletics Hall of Honor class of 2025

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook07/23/25josephcook89
Rodrique Wright
Rodrique Wright (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Rodrique Wright, Royal Ivey, and Haley Eckerman highlight the ten former Texas Longhorns student-athletes who will be inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in September. They will be recognized in a ceremony on Friday, September 12 at the LBJ Auditorium and Conference Center.

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Wright, Ivey, and Eckerman are joined by women’s swimming and diving’s Kirsten Wengler Burton, men’s swimming and diving’s Nate Dusing, women’s track and field’s Nicole Devonish Gilmore, women’s basketball’s Tiffany Jackson, women’s golf’s Nancy Ledbetter Ramsbottom, baseball’s Kyle Russell, and football’s Bobby Mitchell as a vintage selection.

Wright, who was on campus from 2002 to 2005 and was part of Texas’ 2005 national championship team, was a first-team All-American and a Lombardi Award finalist in 2005. A three-time All-Big 12 selection, Wright posted 227 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 42 TFL, 67 pressures, eight passes batted down and six forced fumbles. He also returned a fumble 67 yards versus Oklahoma in a 45-12 win in the 2005 Red River Shootout. He was a second-team All-American in 2004 and a freshman All-American and Big 12 defensive freshman of the year in 2002. He was eventually selected seventh overall by Miami in the 2006 NFL Draft. Wright has been an assistant coach since his playing career ended and is currently with the Houston Texans.

Ivey, a four-year starter for the Longhorns, helped Texas reach four straight NCAA Tournaments with three trips to the Sweet 16 and a visit to the 2003 Final Four. During his senior year in 2003-04, he was a third-team All-Big 12 selection and team captain. He started 33 games and posted 9.4 points per game in 29.7 minutes per contest. He was picked 37th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2004 NBA Draft, and enjoyed an extended NBA career before joining the coaching ranks. He’s currently an assistant with the Houston Rockets and is the head coach of the South Sudan national team.

Eckerman was a two-time national player of the year, a four-time All-American, and a three-time Big 12 player of the year. Eckerman was also on Texas’ 2012 national title team and is one of the best players in the history of the sport. Texas visited three Final Fours during her career and won four-straight Big 12 titles. According to Texas, Eckerman finished her career among the top 10 in six different statistical categories at Texas, including fifth all-time in total points and total kills. In four seasons, she registered 1,662 kills, 3.85 kills per set, 144 service aces, 702 digs, 174 total blocks and 1,910 points. Eckerman is currently the head coach of Kent State.

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Texas will honor the multiple All-Americans, Olympians, and national champions during the Longhorns’ football game versus UTEP on September 13.

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