Four former Case Western Reserve University Spartans were named to the Richard A. Rasmussen University Athletic Association Hall of Fame, as Leslie Kindling (class of 1995, track & field), Chad Mullins (class of 2011, baseball), Chris Ricklic (class of 1995, wrestling), and Dan Whalen (class of 2010, football) were each selected as part of the first full class, which was named by the conference on Tuesday.
Over the past year, a committee was formed with representatives from each institution and the Association office to nominate and select individuals to be included in the first class. To be eligible as a student-athlete, a person must have earned their undergraduate degree from a UAA institution, competed for at least three years in the UAA, and graduated at least 10 years ago. Coaches and administrators become eligible once they have retired from a UAA institution.
The first class includes 25 student-athletes, seven administrators, three coaches, and one coach/student-athlete. Each UAA sport is represented in the first class with each current institution being represented with at least two inductees.
Kindling, a two-time NCAA Champion and nine-time All-American, is recognized as one of the greatest Case Western Reserve student-athletes of all time. Kindling won her first national championship in the high jump at the 1995 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship and followed with the heptathlon title at the 1995 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship. In the UAA, Kindling earned the Women's Outstanding Performer honor her sophomore through senior years in outdoor track. She won seven UAA titles and was All-UAA 16 times. Kindling set multiple CWRU records in track & field and also lettered three times in women's soccer.
Mullins left CWRU as the most accomplished player in the history of Spartan baseball, including a senior season that still ranks as the best ever by a Spartan player. En route to being named the D3baseball.com Player of the Year and an ABCA All-America First Team honoree in 2011, the third baseman set a program record with 71 runs batted in, while hitting .437 with eight home runs. As He ended his CWRU career with program records for batting average (.409), hits (263), doubles (61) and runs batted in (185), while ranking second in school history in career runs scored (160), third in home runs (21) and fourth in slugging percentage (.617) and on base percentage (.486). Mullins is also a four-time All-University Athletic Association honoree, including three All-UAA First Team selections, and was named the UAA Most Valuable Player in 2011. Mullins' arrival at CWRU also spurred the start of the most successful stretch in the program's history, as he helped lead the team to its first-ever NCAA postseason berth as a senior.
Ricklic became the first Spartan wrestler to win a national championship, accomplishing the feat in 1994. A two-time NCAA Champion, Ricklic won a school-record 147 matches in his career and finished with an overall mark of 147-9-1. He first reached the NCAA Championship Tournament in 1993, his sophomore season, with a 40-3 record. The following year, he finished as the only undefeated wrestler in Division III and claimed his first national title at 167 pounds. During Ricklic's senior season, he again won the national championship at 167 pounds and set a school record by winning his final 23 matches. Ricklic earned All-University Athletic Association honors four times and was a three-time regional champion. In 2000, Ricklic was named to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Whalen was a legendary quarterback for Case Western Reserve University, guiding the Spartans to three-straight NCAA Division III playoff berths and University Athletic Association Championships, and 31-consecutive regular season wins. The team's playoff berth in 2007 was the first in program history, with Whalen leading the team to its first ever postseason win, a 21-20 home win over Widener. Nationally recognized as a First Team All-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com in 2009, Whalen was a three-time UAA Offensive Player of the Year (the only three-time winner in program history), three-time All-UAA First Team selection as a quarterback, and three-time All-UAA honoree as a punter. He set CWRU career records for completions, passing yards and touchdowns, and total yards of offense, and the single season program record for completions, all of which stood for 13 years. During his standout senior season in 2009, Whalen set program records for competition percentage (.684), passing yards (3,340), passing touchdowns (34), passer rating (172.8), and yards per punt (40.69), all of which are still standing at the time of his induction. He went on to play two years of professional football after graduating, before returning to Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management to get his MBA.
