Six Razorbacks Selected for Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Six Razorback greats, including football stars Felix Jones, Clint Stoerner and men’s basketball standout Oliver Miller, headline the 2025 class of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame which was announced on Wednesday. The University of Arkansas will also be represented by longtime coach and administrator Bev Lewis, former men’s golfer Jack O’Keefe and football assistant coach J.B. Grimes.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Class consists of 10 total inductees, including six from the modern era category and four inductees from the senior category. Additional 2025 inductees into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame include Mel Collazo, Greg Hatcher, Todd Knight and Bill Shimek. The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959.
The 2025 class will be honored at a ceremony on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the organization’s 66th annual induction banquet at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
J.B. Grimes – Football
J.B. Grimes’ 43-year football coaching career began with a dream at age 5 of coaching for the Razorbacks. Growing up in Clarendon, Grimes was an All-State offensive lineman for the Lions, going on to Henderson State (3 AIC Championships) as a swing/offensive guard for the Reddies. He started in the Bicentennial Bowl, the NAIA National Championship game, and toured Europe with the Reddies football team. He was a part of two high school coaching staffs at Nashville and Des Arc in 1977 and 1978. Grimes started his college coaching career as a Grad Assistant coach at Northeast Louisiana, then to the University of Arkansas. Grimes coached for two years with the Razorbacks under Lou Holtz. His first job as a full-time assistant coach was with Jimmie “Red” Parker at Delta State in 1983. As a career Offensive Line Coach, Grimes has won five championships at three different Arkansas Universities, Henderson, the U of A and Arkansas State. Grimes was the O-line coach for a national championship team at Northeast Louisiana University and he coached Auburn to a SEC Championship and NCAA Bowl Champion series final. He was part of 7 championship teams in 6 conferences: SEC, SWC, Big 12, Big East, Sunbelt, Southland. He has coached over 80 OL who have gone on to play in the NFL. Grimes has coached in 20 bowl games among them: the Rose (National Championship against Florida State), Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Gator, Alamo, Liberty, Go Daddy, Music City, Outback, Birmingham and Gallery Furniture Bowls Notable Arkansas head coaches Grimes has played for are Ronnie Kerr at Clarendon and Ralph “Sporty” Carpenter at Henderson. He coached with Ken Hatfield (UA), Gus Malzahn (ASU and Auburn), John Thompson (East Carolina) and Tommy Tuberville (Cincinnati). He has been inducted into Halls of Fame at Henderson and Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM). Grimes battled tongue cancer in his final coaching year at Auburn and retired to Nashville, Arkansas.
Felix Jones – Football
A two-time All American and three-time All-SEC performer, Felix Jones began his illustrious three-year career in 2005, teaming up with Darren McFadden to manufacture what would be one of the greatest rushing attacks in college football history. Both a running back and a kickoff returner, Jones made an immediate impact as a dual-threat playmaker, becoming the first true freshman in school history to earn first team All-America honors. He rushed for 626 yards and ranked second nationally with a 31.94 kick return average to earn All-SEC recognition. Jones was an All-SEC selection again as a sophomore in 2006, rushing for 1,168 yards to help the Razorbacks lead the conference in rushing (228.5 yards per game). At the time, Jones and McFadden became only the third duo in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Capping his collegiate career in dominating fashion, Jones was a consensus All-American and first team All-SEC selection as a kickoff returner. He finished the 2007 season with 1,162 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging a nation-leading 9.1 yards per carry. The Razorbacks ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense (286.54 yards per game), and it was the second straight season that Jones and McFadden each broke the 1,000-yard rushing barrier. The Tulsa, Oklahoma product finished his Arkansas career with 5,099 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns, ranking third and seventh in program history, respectively. He inked his name throughout the Razorback record book- currently owning a top-10 spot for 22 individual school records while also leading the SEC in career yards per kickoff return (28.2). After his tenure on the Hill, Jones was selected with the 22nd pick in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent five seasons. In his five years with the Cowboys, he rushed for 2,728 yds. (4.8 avg.), receiving 1,066 yds. (8.3 avg.), and kickoff returns of 1,634 yds. (25.5 avg.). He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013. Jones was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2023.
Bev Lewis – Women’s Track and Field / Coaching / Administration
Prior to Beverly Lewis assuming the duties of director of women’s athletics in 1989, her Razorback women’s cross country and track teams had six top 20 national finishes, and she coached Team USA at the 1990 World Junior Cross Country Championships. Her coaching was instrumental in establishing Arkansas’ perfect record of sending a team or individual to every collegiate national meet since the program’s inception. Lewis also coached Arkansas’ first women’s conference championship team at the 1988 SWC Cross Country Championships. As a result, her peers voted her SWC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. She was also named SWC Outdoor Track Coach of the Year in 1989. Lewis spent 19 years (1989-2007) as the director of Women’s Athletics. She was a member of the NCAA Management Council, the NCAA Championship Cabinet, and the SEC Executive Committee. From 2008-14, Lewis served as Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Associate Athletic Director in the combined men’s and women’s athletic program. In 1998 she was voted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Lewis was named to Arkansas Business magazine’s “Top 100 Women in Arkansas” in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The publication also named her to their “Women of Influence” in Arkansas.
Oliver Miller – Men’s Basketball
Oliver Miller was a four-year letterman in basketball (1989-92). He played on teams going 25-7 in 1989, 30-5 in 1990, 34-4 in 1991 and 26-8 in 1992. His first three teams won Southwest Conference regular season and tournament championships, and his 1992 squad won the Southeastern Conference title in Arkansas’ first year in the league. The ’89 team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the ’90 team advanced to the Final Four, the ’91 team to the Elite Eight and the ’92 team to the second round. No. 9 on Arkansas’ all-time scoring list (1,674 points), he is also first in career field goal percentage (.636, 680-1,069) and blocked shots (345), third in rebounds (886) and 14th in free throws (309). He averaged 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore, 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior, and 13.5 points and 7.7 boards as a senior. He led the team in field goal percentage his last three years and set the individual season record with a .704 mark (254-361) in 1991. He also led the team in rebounding his last three years and in blocked shots all four seasons. A first-team All-SWC pick as a junior, he earned third-team All-SEC and NABC all-district honors as a senior. He was a first-round pick of the Phoenix Suns (No. 22 overall) in the 1992 NBA Draft. Miller was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2024. Miller, who is known as “The Big O”, was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 22nd overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft. He went on to play for various NBA teams over his eight-year career, including the Suns (1992–94, 1999–2000), Detroit Pistons (1994–95), Toronto Raptors (1995–96 and 1997–98), Dallas Mavericks (1996–97) and Sacramento Kings (1998–99). Miller was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2016 and was selected as an SEC Basketball Legend in 2017.
Jack O’Keefe – Golf
As a collegiate golfer at the University of Arkansas, Jack O’Keefe was a four-time All-American, a two-time All-SEC selection and an All-SWC performer from 1989-93. He registered three individual victories as his Razorback squads captured 10 team tournament titles over his last two seasons. O’Keefe joined the professional ranks in 1993 and played around the world for nearly 10 years. Among his accomplishments as a professional, include earning his PGA Tour card in 1997 and competing in the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills Country Club (72-71-76-76), where he was paired in the third round with world ranked No. 1 Tom Lehman. O’Keefe enjoyed a terrific season on the Nike Tour in 1996, ranking 15th on the money list with a pair of runner-up finishes. He earned 1995 Player of the Year honors on the Hooters Tour after a pair of victories. He was named 1995 International Rookie of the Year in Ube, Japan, and was the 1994 Australasian Tour Rookie of the Year after a 19th-place finish on the Australasian Tour’s official money list. A three-time winner on the Hooters Tour, O’Keefe earned the Hooters Tour’s Golf Achievement Award in 2001. O’Keefe broke into the collegiate coaching ranks at Central Arkansas, then became an associate head coach for men’s golf at Ole Mississippi for three and a half seasons. O’Keefe was head coach and Director of Golf for the Augusta University Jaguars 2013-2022. In just three seasons at the helm of the men’s golf team, he returned to the Jaguars to the national rankings. O’Keefe carried the Jaguars to five NCAA regional appearances and five straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships. O’Keefe was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2016 and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2017.
Clint Stoerner – Football
Clint Stoerner was a second team All-SEC quarterback in both 1998 and 1999. Stoerner led the Razorbacks to a share of the SEC Western Division title in 1998. Arkansas finished the season with a 9-3 record and earned a trip to the Florida Citrus Bowl. In 1999, he led the Hogs to an 8-4 mark, culminated by a 27-6 blowout of Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl. Stoerner was Arkansas’ offensive leader in each of 3 years – 1997-1999 – as well as Arkansas’ total offensive leader – 528 passes completed and 57 touchdowns. He was second in the SEC in 1998 passing yards with 2,629 yards, second in the SEC in 1998 in touchdowns with 26, second in the SEC in 1998 in total touchdowns with 27, and first in the SEC in 1998 in adjusted passing yards per attempt with 8.9 yards. He is currently ranked No. 5 in Razorback career passing yards with 7,422. He was the part-time starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in 2001 and was voted into the Razorback’s All-Decade team for the 1990s.
