Hall of Fame to welcome five new members in 2019 Class

Today, the Bellevue University Athletic Department announced the five-member 2019 Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame class.

The Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame will welcome Gunnar Brown, Jason Jarvis, Kia Jarvis Walton, Mike Livergood, and Ron Petak as the Class of 2019.

Gunnar Brown (Men's Basketball, 1996-00)

Brown was a four-year member of the Bellevue men's basketball team and a consistent award winner for his basketball prowess.

After earning MCAC Freshman of the Year honors during the 1996-97 season, he followed up by being named a back-to-back first team all-MCAC and honorable mention All-American in 1997-98 and 1998-99. His career culminated with him earning 1999-00 honorable mention all-MCAC accolades and the Bellevue University Athlete of the Year Award.

Nearly 20 years after wrapping up his BU career, he remains the Bruins' all-time leader in both three-point field goals made (415) and free throw percentage (86.2 percent). Brown ranks third all-time among Bellevue's leaders with 1,782 points for a career scoring average of 14.7 points per game.

Additionally, he is one of just 13 Bellevue players to accumulate 100 career steals and ranks among the program leaders in field goals made (4^th, 552), games played (5^th, 121), and free throws made (6^th, 263).

Brown ranks both first and second in most three-point field goals made in a season, draining 129 during the 1997-98 season and following that up with 125 more during the 1998-99 campaign. Similarly, he ranks fourth (87.9, 1998-99), fifth (87.5, 1999-00), and sixth (86.5, 1997-98) for single-season free throw percentage at BU.

Jason Jarvis (Baseball, 1993, 1994)

Jarvis was a two-year member of the baseball team, competing on the 1993 and 1994 squads. He led the Bruins to a 70-35 (.667) record as a student-athlete and helped set the table for the 1995 National Championship run.

While a member of the baseball team he was twice named a first team all-District XI selection. During the 1994 campaign he helped the Bruins post a 48-11 record, the first time that Bellevue won over 80 percent (81.3) of their games in a single season. That team reached the NAIA Region III Tournament where the Bruins ultimately fell to eventual-World Series Runner-Up Southeastern Oklahoma State.

After the conclusion of his Bellevue career, Jarvis was selected in the 13^th round of the 1994 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. Jarvis went on to play four seasons of Minor League Baseball, pitching in the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays organizations.

Kia Jarvis Walton (Volleyball, 1996, 1997)

Jarvis Walton played two seasons of volleyball at Bellevue where she earned numerous athletic and academic accolades. She was a two-time all-MCAC selection, earning second team honors in 1996 and first team honors in 1997, as well as being named to the 1997 AVCA All-Region Team.

Academically she was a two-time MCAC Scholar-Athlete and a 1997 recipient of the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete Award. Also, in 1997, Jarvis Walton was named the Bellevue University Female Athlete of the Year.

Despite playing just two seasons at BU, she ranks 12^th all-time with 1,221 career kills and is the all-time leader in hitting percentage with a career average of .340. She also accumulated 833 digs and 412 blocks in her career.

Jarvis Walton still ranks in the top five of single-season leaders in seven categories. Her 665 kills in 1997 remain the single-season standard and her 556 kills in 1996 still rank fifth. Her block totals of 210 in 1997 and 202 in 1996 rank second and third, respectively, while her solo block totals of 68 (1996) and 66 (1997) are good for third and fourth. With 144 block assists in 1997, she ranks third on the single-season leaderboard.

Mike Livergood (Athletic Trainer, 1993-present)

Livergood has been the Bruins' Head Athletic Trainer for 28 years after arriving on the BU campus in 1991 and teaches classes within the health and human performance program at Bellevue.

He has earned a pair of Athletic Trainer of the Year awards at the NAIA level. He was named the 2008 NAIA Athletic Trainer of the Year and was recognized by the National Athletic Trainers Association as the NATA-NAIA Athletic Trainer of the year for the 2015-16 season.

More recently, Livergood was named the North Star Athletic Association Athletic Trainer of the Year for 2018-19.

Outside of his work with the University, Mike also serves as an associate athletic trainer with the Justin Sports Medicine Program, which supports the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA). He belongs to the National Athletic Trainers Association, Mid-America Athletic Trainers Association, Nebraska State Athletic Trainers Association, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Ron Petak (Media Personality)

An Omaha native, Petak has been involved in Bellevue University athletics since the mid-1980s. He has served the BU athletic department as the play-by-play voice for Bruins' men's basketball games for tape delay on the Bellevue access channel, provided his voice for radio play-by-play for BU baseball, and hosted the Bruins Sports cable TV show with former coach and Hall of Famer Todd Eisner.

After two years as a columnist for the Omaha World-Herald, Petak took a job at the Bellevue Leader in May 1985 and began his position as sports editor in November of that year. He was named the Bellevue Leader news editor in 1990 and in 1999 was named the executive editor of the Bellevue Leader, Papillion Times, Gretna Breeze, and Ralston Recorder.

From sportswriter to the executive editor of four local newspapers, Petak has kept the Bruin athletics' program, the university and its people in the public's eye. 

He has won numerous state and national awards for writing and page design and was presented the Distinguished Communication Service Award in 2013 from the University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Communication. He has been a presenter for local, state, and national seminars and webinars.

Petak worked in the press box at Don Roddy Field for the Bellevue baseball team during coach, and fellow Hall of Famer, Joe Foral's career and introduced that Casio keyboard to Bruin baseball.

He has also served as the emcee for numerous Bellevue athletic events including BU Athlete of the Year banquets, BU Athletics Hall of Fame banquets, and former men's basketball coach and athletic director Jerry Mosser's retirement gala.

The Hall of Fame Ceremony

The induction ceremony will take place on the BU campus in the John B. Mueller Administrative Services Building, Symposium Room on Saturday, Aug. 3, beginning at 6 p.m.

The induction ceremony will be preceded by the Hall of Fame Golf Outing on Friday, Aug. 2, beginning at 1 p.m. at Eagle Hills Golf Course in Papillion.

More information, regarding registration for the ceremony, will be provided shortly via the BUBruins.com website.

Note: The Bellevue University Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 2013 to honor former athletes, coaches, teams, and administrators who have helped create a proud tradition in intercollegiate competition at Bellevue University.