STILLWATER, Okla. – The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Tuesday announced that the Class of 2023 is Distinguished Members Rich Bender, Jimmy Jackson, Patricia Miranda and Joe Williams, Meritorious Official honoree Ed Kelly, Order of Merit recipient Frank Popolizio, Medal of Courage recipient Richard Perry, and Outstanding American honoree Bob Bowlsby.
"This coming year's class of inductees exemplify virtuous leadership as competitors and stewards while also being exceptional sources of inspiration for the sport of wrestling's past, present and future generations," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "We are proud to honor their accomplishments by enshrining them in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame during Honors Weekend this coming June."
The induction ceremony will be held at the 46th Honors Weekend on June 2-3, 2023 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243.
Miranda, Bender and Williams were chosen as Distinguished Members for the Modern Era while Jackson was selected by the Veterans Committee. The newest honorees will bring the number of Distinguished Members to 208, since the Hall of Fame began in 1976.
Miranda becomes the fifth female to be inducted as a Distinguished Member, joining Clarissa Chun (2022), Kristie Davis (2018), Sara McMann (2022) and Tricia Saunders (2006).
Distinguished Members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport. Wrestlers must have been retired from active competition for a period of five years to be eligible for consideration as a Distinguished Member.
Miranda was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling, claiming bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games, the first Games to include women's wrestling. The daughter of Brazilian political refugees, she represented the United States in four Senior World Championships, earning silver medals in 2000 and 2003 and a bronze in 2006.
The seven-time U.S. Nationals champion was a trailblazer in women's wrestling, becoming the first female to join her middle school and high school wrestling teams. Miranda competed as a member of the men's varsity wrestling team at Stanford from 1997-02 and became only the second woman in NCAA history to defeat a male athlete in competition.
Miranda was also the Pan American Games and FILA World Cup champion in 2003. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford with a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in international policy studies, Miranda was accepted to Yale Law School, but she deferred her admission there to train for the 2004 Olympic Games. She eventually continued her academic career, receiving a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School in 2007.
She is currently a partner at Miranda, Magden & Miranda LLP and specializes in immigration law. Her impact on wrestling continued as she was co-chair for the Keep Stanford Wrestling effort that was successful in reversing Stanford's recent decision to cut its wrestling program. Last year, Stanford announced the endowment of one of its assistant coaching positions as the Patricia Miranda Associate Head Wrestling Coach. The Open Mat website also presents the "Miranda Medal" to the best women's college wrestler each year.
Bowlsby spent six years as The Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics at Stanford, leading the Cardinal to an unprecedented 17th consecutive Learfield Sports Directors Cups, emblematic of the top overall athletics program in the country. He arrived at Stanford after a 15-year stint as the director of athletics for the University of Iowa. He served in the same role for seven years at the University of Northern Iowa, beginning in 1984 after serving as the assistant athletic director for facilities.
Bowlsby wrestled at Waterloo West High School for legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Siddens and at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he was team captain and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference champion.
A lifelong advocate for wrestling, Bowlsby served as the Chair of the NCAA Wrestling Committee, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum's Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa's Bowlsby Family Legacy Award is named in honor of his family. His brother John was an Iowa state high school champion and a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Conference champion for the University of Iowa while parents, Bob and Pat, and sisters, Ann, Sarah and Jane, were instrumental in their careers.
Throughout his career Bowlsby used his wrestling background, skill, expertise and leadership to help the programs he has overseen achieve growth and financial success. He retired in 2022 after 10 years as commissioner of the Big 12 Conference. As has been the model at each stop in his career, complete program growth, financial success and personal accomplishments have been the by-product of Bob's skill, expertise, and leadership. Under his leadership, the Big 12 won 32 national team championships, including an all-time high eight national titles in 2021-22, and 175 NCAA individual event crowns.
In his tenure with the Big 12, Bowlsby finalized one of the most lucrative television deals in college athletics and oversaw the expansion of the existing ESPN rights agreement with the 2019 debut of Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Hundreds of additional Big 12 sports events and original programming are distributed annually on the digital platform, including wrestling.
A national leader in intercollegiate and amateur athletics, Bowlsby served on the United States Olympic Committee from 2007 to 2014 and also for two years in the 1990s. He was named National Athletics Director of the Year in 2004 and served as a member of the Commission on Opportunities in Athletics. He served as president of the NCAA Division I-A Athletics Directors' Association, chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and chaired the NCAA Management Council. He has also served on NCAA committees on Financial Aid and Amateurism, the Special Committee to Review Amateurism Issues and the Special Committee to Review Financial Conditions in Athletics.
In 2013, Bowlsby was named to the NCAA 40th Anniversary Tribute Team, which recognized the 40th anniversary of NCAA Division II competition, and received the MSU Moorhead Alumni Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Dragon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the University of Northern Iowa Hall of Fame in 2007. He received his bachelor's degree from MSU Moorhead in 1975 and his master's degree from the University of Iowa.
National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum
America's shrine to the sport of wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1976 to honor the sport of wrestling, preserve its history, recognize extraordinary individual achievements, and inspire future generations. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has museums in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Waterloo, Iowa. The Stillwater, Oklahoma, location reopened in June 2016 following a $3.8 million renovation while the Waterloo, Iowa, location reopened in March 2019 after undergoing a $1.4 million renovation. Both museums now feature interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. Stillwater also has the John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors where the greatest names in wrestling are recognized, including iconic granite plaques presented to Distinguished Members since the Hall of Fame opened in 1976. The museum has the largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia in the world, including the most collegiate and Olympic wrestling uniforms. Wrestling truly is for everyone and the diversity and accessibility of the sport continues to be highlighted through exhibits featuring females, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans. There is also a library featuring historical documents, including NCAA guides and results, as well as books on the sport.
For more information about the Hall of Fame, please visit www.NWHOF.org.