Five legendary Panthers to be inducted into Hall of Fame

FIU has some giants to celebrate this weekend. For only the second time in its history, the university will induct standouts from its athletic program into FIU's Hall of Fame. Honorees include a former NFL wide receiver, an Olympic track and field star and some of the most successful coaches in FIU history.

Athletics Director Scott Carr called the five individuals to be honored – all of them alumni - “extraordinary” and said they “exemplify the highest standards of athletic achievement and Panther pride. Each has left a lasting legacy on their respective program and on FIU Athletics as a whole. It will be a pleasure welcoming them back to campus, and we're looking forward to a fantastic weekend honoring them."

The celebrations begin this evening with a ceremony and dinner in the Graham Center. And tomorrow night, the class will be recognized during halftime at the football game against Florida Atlantic University.

The five members of this year’s Hall of Fame Class are Munga Eketebi '88, T.Y. Hilton '13, Karl Kremser '87, Tayna Lawrence '98 and Cindy Russo '93.

"I never thought in a million years that I would be inducted into the FIU Hall of Fame,” says Tayna Lawrence '98, FIU’s most-decorated Olympian. “It’s a great honor.”

Lawrence represented Jamaica in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. She won three Olympic medals — one gold and two silver — in individual and team events.

Lawrence says she remembers her time at FIU fondly. “FIU was home,” she says. “I was raised in Miami, so it really was home. But not only that, my coaches and teammates made FIU even better. We were a little family. We supported each other. I have great memories of FIU. FIU is really where I developed the work ethic that allowed me to become an athlete on the world stage.”

Some of her FIU teammates, whom she still keeps in contact with to this day, will be cheering her on along with Lawrence’s family, when she receives the FIU honor this weekend. Lawrence is looking forward to the ceremony — and to the football game.  

“I have not been to a football game on campus,” says Lawrence, who was a student before the football team was created. “I’m looking forward to that, especially with the rival school, FAU. That should be fun.”

So, what was it like competing in the Olympics?

“It’s like taking a test,” Lawrence says. “You’re putting in the work, studying, doing all the preparation. You’re not even thinking about [what it will mean to win] until you get a result and then you say, ‘Wow, I got 100%.’ That’s the surreal moment. When you realize you accomplished it, and the celebration begins. That’s when the memories of the hard work, everything that you put into it, just come back. You don’t even have a word to describe it. Those moments will stay with me forever.”

Fellow Hall of Fame inductee Karl Kremser ’87 established a legacy of excellence in the men's soccer program. Under his leadership as the head soccer coach, FIU won two NCAA Division II National Championships in 1982 and 1984, which remain the only national titles in school history. 

In his 27 years as coach at FIU, he helped produce 43 successful professional soccer players. Kremser also helped FIU produce more than 70 all-conference players. 

“I take a great deal of pride in those guys,” Kremser says. “They deserve the credit for the successes of the soccer program. The thing about it is, I was not easy to play for. I was very demanding.”

Kremser, himself a former soccer and football player who in his youth was drafted by the Miami Dolphins, set high standards for his team.

“My philosophy has always been that if you want to be the best, you have to play the best. We competed way above our weight, and we were really successful. We defeated some of the very best teams in the country. I like the way our men played. They played with style. They were not just running around and chasing the ball. Once we were in a flow in our game, the way the ball switched... the players showed that they had these skills.”

He adds, “My biggest thing wasn’t winning. My biggest concern was to bring the best team possible to the field to play the game the way it should be played. To me, the most important thing was to play a beautiful game.”

Known as jogo bonito (Portuguese for “beautiful game”) in Brazil, this style of playing soccer emphasizes off-ball movement, one-touch passing and other skills that create a sense of creativity and style in soccer that surpasses purely technical abilities.

Kremser helped bring that to FIU. “We were successful,” he says, “and we did it with style.”

Learn more about the five FIU greats who will be inducted into FIU’s Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Munga Eketebi '88 – Men's Soccer (1983-86)

Munga Eketebi, a three-time All-American forward from 1984-86, enjoyed an incredible career on the pitch as a Panther, winning the NCAA Division II National Championship with FIU in 1984. Eketebi racked up 50 career goals and had 124 career points, graduating as the school-record holder in both categories.

Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eketebi scored six postseason goals, helping FIU to the National Championship Game in both 1984 and 1985 under legendary head coach and fellow 2025 Class member Karl Kremser. The forward was honored with three-straight All-South selections and All-State honors in all four of his collegiate seasons. He also led the Panthers in points and goals in his final three seasons and is still the program leader for hat tricks with four in his career. 

Additionally, he served as a long-time assistant for the men's soccer program for 18 years before being promoted to the head coaching role from 2007-11. During his time on FIU's coaching staff, the Panthers went to five NCAA Tournaments, finishing as the Division I runner-up in 1996. The program had 16 players go on to play in MLS, four of whom were selected to the U.S. Men's National Team.

Eketebi: "I am honored, grateful and blessed to be the first soccer player inducted in the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame. I would not have made it without my teammates, who became lifelong friends. The program was very successful before I got there and there are plenty of candidates who should have received this honor before me."

T.Y. Hilton '13 – Football (2008-11)

Hilton, a native of Miami Springs, electrified Panther Nation during his four seasons in Miami as a wide receiver and kick returner. Selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Hilton went on to star for the Indianapolis Colts, being named to four-straight Pro Bowls from 2014-17. The 5-10 wide receiver also led the NFL in receiving yards in 2016, racking up 1,448 yards. 

Hilton made an instant impact at FIU, scoring a touchdown on his first collegiate touch as a kick returner and earning 2008 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors. He was named First Team All-Sun Belt all four of his seasons as a Panther and was the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2010 after a stellar junior campaign. He had a career-high 11 total touchdowns that season; five receiving, four rushing and two kick-return. Hilton totaled 1,963 yards in 2010 with 1,130 from scrimmage and 833 return yards. 

For his FIU career, Hilton amassed 3,531 receiving yards and had 24 touchdowns, averaging 15.4 yards per catch and 70.6 yards per game. He also set several school records during his career, holding the marks for career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Additionally, he established program single-game and single-season marks for receptions and receiving yards.

Hilton: "This moment means everything. Football is the game I loved. My teammates through my years here (at FIU) are bonds that will be forever kept, and being the first football player inducted to the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame at a prestigious college gives the journey a forever meaning."

Karl Kremser '87 – Men's Soccer (Head Coach: 1980-2006)

Karl Kremser built the FIU men's soccer program into a national powerhouse, leading the Panthers to unprecedented success over his 27 years as head coach. He won two NCAA Division II National Championships in 1982 and 1984, which remain the only national titles in school history. 

In total, Kremser's teams went to five National Championship games overall, including securing a runner-up finish at the 1996 NCAA Division I National Championship. He is the winningest coach in the history of the men’s soccer program, with 324 career victories and posted a winning record in 24-of-27 seasons on the sidelines. Under Kremser, FIU made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and won five overall conference titles. 

Kremser's reign produced many successful professional players with 43 going on to play in the professional ranks, including MLS legends Robin Fraser and Steve Ralston. Kremser was named Coach of the Year ten times during his tenure and helped the Panthers produce more than 70 all-conference players. 

Prior to his coaching career, Kremser was a standout collegiate soccer player at Army before becoming a decorated placekicker for the football team at the University of Tennessee. He went on to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1969 NFL Draft. Kremser then got his start in coaching soccer in the Sunshine State, first at Palm Springs Junior High School and then at nearby Miami Killian High School. He also earned a postgraduate degree at FIU, completing his degree in 1987 during his coaching tenure.

Tayna Lawrence '98 – Women's Track (1994-98)

Tayna Lawrence is FIU's most-decorated Olympian in school history and enjoyed an illustrious collegiate and professional career as a world-renowned sprinter.

While at FIU, the Jamaican and North Miami Beach native re-wrote the record books, graduating as the school-record holder in 10 different events.

Following her time as a Panther, Lawrence burst onto the international scene as one of the top sprinters in the world, representing Jamaica in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. At the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, she took the silver medal in the 100m and was a part of the silver-medal winning 4x100m meter relay team. In 2004, Lawrence's Jamaican 4x100 meter relay team claimed gold in Athens, making history as FIU's first-ever Olympic gold medalist.

Lawrence also claimed three medals on the world track circuit at the World Continental Cups, garnering a silver in the 4x100m meter relay in 1998 and a gold in the 100m in 2002. As part of Team America's, she also anchored the 2002 gold-medal-winning 4x100m relay team.

More than 25 years later, Lawrence still holds the FIU indoor records in the 60m, 200m and as part of the 4x400 relay team (list time). She also has the outdoor records in the 100m and was a member of the record-holding 4x100m, 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams.

Cindy Russo '93 – Women's Basketball (Head Coach: 1977-78, 1980-2015)

Russo established the FIU women's basketball program as one of the nation's best during her 36 years at the helm. The Panthers racked up a program-record 667 wins under Russo and had 18 seasons of 20-plus victories. In total, Russo accumulated 707 career wins, putting her in the top 50 all-time for coaching wins in the history of NCAA women's basketball.

With a groundbreaking emphasis on recruiting international players, she led the Panthers to nine overall NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 conference titles. An eight-time Coach of the Year, Russo's teams made a total of 16 postseason appearances and racked up an incredible 22 consecutive winning seasons.

Most notably, FIU's historic 1997-98 campaign featured a 29-2 overall record as the Panthers secured both the regular-season and postseason titles. FIU then defeated Marquette, 59-45, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Russo coached the Panthers to three NCAA Tournament victories, defeating Old Dominion in 1995 and Creighton in 2002. The Panthers earned their highest-ever NCAA Tournament seed in 2002 under Russo, seeded fifth in their region.

She coached five student-athletes who went on to play in the WNBA and had seven players who earned Associated Press All-American honors. She was inducted into the ASUN Conference Hall of Fame in 2016. Prior to coaching, Russo played basketball at Old Dominion from 1972-75. During her FIU coaching career, Russo earned a postgraduate degree from FIU in 1993.

Russo: "I am deeply honored and incredibly excited to be inducted into the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame. When I began my journey as a very young head coach, FIU was also a young and growing university — we truly grew up together! I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the FIU administrators for their unwavering support of the women's basketball program throughout my 36-year tenure. A special thank you to all my assistant coaches, and especially to Associate Head Coach Inge Nissen, for your dedication, loyalty and hard work over the years. I look forward to celebrating this special moment at the FIU Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Sept. 12 on campus."