TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devils are well represented on the 2022 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame ballot, as seven nominees ranging from legendary former head coaches and student-athletes to a man once known as the soundtrack of ASU athletics round out the list.
Nominees are inducted into the Hall of Fame based on a public vote. To place votes for the nominees, visit here. Voting closes at 11:59 PM on May 4, 2022.
Learn more about the seven #SunDevil4Life nominees here.
Bill Kajikawa
Beginning his coaching career at Arizona State in 1937, Kajikawa retired from ASU in 1978. Before retiring, Kajikawa had worked as the freshman football coach under nine ASU head football coaches. In addition, he served as head basketball coach from 1948 to 1957, and he was head coach of ASU's club baseball team from 1947 to 1957. He was inducted into the Arizona Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1982.
During World War II, Kajikawa took his only hiatus from ASU to serve with distinction in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd, manned entirely by Japanese Americans, was the Army's most decorated combat unit.
He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in education from ASU in 1937 and 1948, respectively, and he played on the varsity football team while he was an undergraduate. In 1995, the Sun Devil football practice field was renamed as The Bill Kajikawa Practice Facility.
Pat Murphy
As the third Arizona State baseball coach and a four-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Murphy's 15-year tenure at the helm of the ASU program was marked with great success. Murphy led the Sun Devils to the College World Series in 1998, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Arizona State was 629-284-1 under Murphy, and in each of his last three seasons, the team captured the Pac-10 title.
Murphy had the Sun Devils finishing in the top-3 nationally twice in the same decade and his teams consistently finished in the top-25. He led Arizona State to the postseason for nine consecutive seasons and became the youngest collegiate coach to reach 500 career wins.
Karen Self
Self was a four-year starter on the women's basketball team in the early 1990s who also competed in track and field for two years as a thrower.
The girls' head basketball coach at Chandler's Seton Catholic Preparatory for the last 30 years, Self has guided the program to 12 state titles and 17 championship game appearances. Self has cemented herself as a legend in the world of high school hoops. She was also named the head coach of the Girls West Team for the 2020 McDonald's All-American Game, an event that was once only available for young men to showcase their talents.
Charli Turner-Thorne
The winningest coach in ASU women's basketball history and No. 2 all-time in career wins (488) by a Pac-12 coach, Turner-Thorner spent 25 seasons as the head coach of the Sun Devils. Turner-Thorne, who was hired on June 21, 1996 after three seasons at Northern Arizona, methodically raised ASU's profile with each passing season.
Entering the 2021-22 campaign, her Sun Devil teams qualified for the postseason all but one season since 2001. Included in that remarkable stretch were a school record six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-19), two Elite Eight appearances (2007, '09) and three Sweet 16 finishes (2005, '15, '18). She retired following the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
Bobby Winkles
As Arizona State University's first varsity baseball coach, Winkles compiled a 524-173 record during his 13 years at the helm and was a three-time NCAA Coach of the Year. He won three national championships ('65, '67, '69) over the span of six years, taking the ASU program from scratch and building it into one of the premier powerhouses in all of college baseball.
He mentored 16 first-team All-Americans, 20 ASU Hall of Famers and 39 All-WAC honorees. He also coached 45 Major League Baseball draft picks, including 12 first-round selections, and 21 players who made it to the Major Leagues. He recruited and coached such top talents as Rick Monday, Sal Bando, Sterling Slaughter, Reggie Jackson, Larry Gura and Gary Gentry during his coaching career.
Melissa Belote Ripley
One of the greatest American swimmers of all time, Belote Ripley shattered the Arizona State record books and left an unparalleled legacy for the Sun Devils. Bringing home three gold medals for the American swimming team in Munich 1972, she also set a new American record during those Olympic games in the 200-meter backstroke.
While at Arizona State, she won six individual National Collegiate Swimming Championships, leading the university to two national championships. A four-year All-American, Belote Ripley also earned the esteemed Broderick Award in 1977 as the most outstanding women's collegiate swimmer in the country. She was later selected to the U.S. Swimming "Team of the Century" in 1999.
Tom Dillon
Dubbed "the Voice of the Sun Devils," Dillon was on the radio to broadcast Sun Devil games from 1973 through 1997. A 17-time recipient of Arizona Sportscaster of the Year honors, Dillon is linked to some of the finest moments in Sun Devil history. He called the football team's two Rose Bowl games (1987 & 1997) and the men's basketball team's appearance in the 1995 Sweet Sixteen.
Dillon also spent 11 seasons as the voice of the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals.