Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern athletics department has announced its 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame Class that will be enshrined as part of the Hall of Fame weekend prior to the football game against Central Missouri on Oct. 28th.

This year's class includes five former student athletes and one distinguished individual. Danee Jones (Women's Track & Field, 2002-05), Bill Martz (meritorious service), Nikki (Llewellyn) Nill (Women's Soccer, 2005-08), Harold Noirfalise (Football, 1981-84), Kaney Tyler (Women's Soccer, 2004-07), and Brandon Williams (Football, 2008-12).

The newest class will be honored at events throughout the weekend of Oct. 27th and 28th, including an official induction ceremony on Saturday morning and introduction to fans at halftime of the football game against UCM later that day. Click here to RSVP for the Hall of Fame brunch, taking place at 10:00 AM on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Young Gym. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 PM at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Below are short biographies of each inductee.

Danee Jones held the program record in the outdoor weight throw (18.84m), indoor hammer throw (54.99,m) and indoor discus throw (50.90m) at the end of her time as a Lion, with her discus mark being an MIAA record for some time as well. She was a seven-time MIAA event champion, winning the outdoor weight throw from 2003-05, the outdoor hammer throw from 2003-05 and the 2005 outdoor discus throw. Jones was also a runner up in the 2002 indoor weight throw, 2004 outdoor discus throw and both editions of the shot put in the 2004-05 season.

She was a four-time All-American with a third-place finish in the 2003 indoor weight throw, a fifth place finish in the 2004 discus throw, a second place finish in the 2005 indoor weight throw and a third place 2006 outdoor discus throw, while also being named the 2005-06 MSSU Female Athlete of the Year.

Bill Martz is a Lionbacker and has been a supporter of the Lions for over 25 years, attending games at Missouri Southern since the mid 1970s. He currently serves on the Lionbacker Steering Committee, working hard on the membership drive for the purpose of improving student-athlete opportunities. Constantly reaching out to community members, Martz has brought people to SouthernFest, Lion Pride lunches, and a variety of games. As a donor, he has supported scholarships and capital projects. 

Attendees of MSSU contests have likely seen Martz proudly supporting the Lions, as he represents the green and gold at nearly every home athletic event. He is an integral part of recruitment and retention of the MSSU booster club, the Lionbackers, as he has signed more than 100 Lionbackers over the past three years.  

Nikki (Llewellyn) Nill was and still is the greatest goalscorer the women's soccer program has ever seen while still holding career records for goals (49), game winning goals (17), total points (109, 49G, 11A), shots (264) and shots on goal (126), ranking in the top-10 for games played, games started, assists and shot percentage. Among season ranks, she is the only Lion in program history to have three years scoring at least 10 goals, with five or more game winning goals and collecting at least 20 points in a season, along with having at least 50 shots and 27 shots on goal in four seasons. In MIAA career ranks, she is fourth in goals scored and sixth in points.

The 2005 MIAA Freshman of the Year was a four-time first-team All-MIAA midfielder along with being a four-time All-Region player, earning first-team honors from 2005-07 and a third-team selection in 2008. She is the only Lion in program history to be named an All-American and did so from 2006-08, earning second-team honor in 06, first-team honors in 07, and third-team honors in 08. A standout in the classroom as well, she was a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll recipient along with being an Academic All-Region selection in 2008 and an Academic All-American in 2007.

Harold Noirfalise is the greatest running back in program history with his name still atop several career leader boards nearly 40-years after he concluded his playing career. Noirfalise finished his career with 3,864 yards from 687 attempts, scoring 42 touchdowns on the ground with 17 games rushing for 100 or more yards, along with his 266 career points from 43 total touchdowns to rank first in each career category. Currently he has the fourth and fifth most rushing yards in a season and the fourth and fifth most rushing touchdowns. He is also tied for the seventh most points scored in a season and is still the freshman single-season leader in rushing yards (919) and attempts (176), and among sophomore season ranks he is first in rushing touchdowns (13), second in yards (1,111) and third in attempts (195). Among program ranks for juniors, Noirfalise is second in yards (1,114), third in rushing touchdowns (11) and fourth in attempts (181), and as a senior he ranks fifth in rushing touchdowns (9), seventh in rushing yards (720) and 10th in attempts (135).

He was a four-time NAIA All-District 16 and first-team All-CSIC selection during his time as a Lion, and was a three-time NAIA All-American to be one of two Lions to earn All-American honors three times in a career.

Kaney Tyler is the most successful goalie in Lions history for the women's soccer team, holding career program records in wins (33), shutouts (28), GAA (0.73), saves (335) and time in goal (5,938:08), while being second in games played in goal (62), 10th in saves per game (5.40) and had a 33-15-13 record (.541). Among program season ranks she is first in wins (11, 2005), shutouts (10, 2005), GAA (0.58, 2005) and minutes in goal (1,942:00, 2006). She was the only Lion in history to have eight or more wins and a GAA below 0.90 and at least 1,500 minutes in goal in three consecutive years (2005-07) along with having at least three shutouts in all four years. Among MIAA career ranks she is seventh in saves and 10th in GAA.

Tyler was the 2005 MIAA MVP, earned All-MIAA honors three times in her career from 2005-07, with honorable mention laurels in 2006 and 2007 along with being a 2005 second-team NSCAA goalkeeper to round out her athletic honors.

Brandon Williams, the 2012 BSN and D2football.com National Player of the Year is still the program's leader in career sacks (27.0) and TFL's (49.5) while holding three of the top-five single-season sack totals in program history. His first round of All-American honors came in 2010, being named first-team by Daktronics, D2football.com, and AFCA after collecting 9.0 sacks, 17.0 tackles-for-loss, 50 total tackles (23 solo), and a forced fumble. In 2011, Williams finished with 8.0 sacks, 16.0 tackles-for-loss, while having 35 total tackles (19 solo), five pass breakups, and three quarterback hurries. That performance earned him first-team All-American honors by D2football.com, AFCA and Don Hansen while being a second-team All-American by the AP and a third-team honoree by BSN. To cap off his historic career wearing the Green and Gold, the 2012 season was special with Williams finishing with 8.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles-for-loss, 68 total tackles (31 solo), eight quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, two pass breakups and recorded a safety. He was named the National Player of the Year by D2football.com and BSN, MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, earning first-team All-American honors by D2football.com, AFCA, BSN and the AP, and a second-team selection by Daktronics. 

The only player selected to the Senior Bowl in Lions history, Williams was drafted in the 3rd Round of the 2013 NFL Draft with pick number 94 by the Baltimore Ravens. With the Ravens, Williams played in 123 games from 2013-2021, getting the start in 114 of those contests. He finished with 323 total tackles (183 solo), 33.0 tackles-for-loss, 19 quarterback hits, 11 pass defended, 6.5 sacks, five fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and a defensive touchdown while earning Pro Bowl honors in 2018. In 2022 he signed with the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, appearing in five regular season games and all three playoff games.

The Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame was established to pay tribute and give deserved recognition while enhancing school tradition by honoring former athletic letter winners and/or coaches who have shown distinctive, unique or exceptional ability while at Missouri Southern or since graduation.
 
With the addition of the 2023 class (there was not a class in 2020), the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 141 members and eight teams.