Perhaps the most beloved Michigan men’s basketball coach of all time is set to be immortalized.
John Beilein highlights a group of eight inductees that include Joe McFarland (wrestling), Nikki Peters (women’s gymnastics), Bev Plocki (women’s gymnastics), Sierra Romero (softball), Kellen Russell (wrestling), Chris Sabo (baseball) and Shana Welch (water polo), who will be inducted into the U-M Athletics Hall of Honor, according to a university release.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, Sept. 11 at Crisler Center, and the the next night − when Michigan football hosts Oklahoma (7:30 p.m., ABC) − the honorees will be acknowledged during a stoppage in play.
“Many talented players and amazing assistants are a huge part of this award,” Beilein said in a text message to the Free Press. “This honor would also not be possible without the fabulous support of my family and the University of Michigan administration!
“It has been an honor to spend 12 years working at this great university! I am very grateful [to] be inducted into the 2026 Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor.”
Beilein spent a dozen years (2007-19) in Ann Arbor and during his time transformed a program that had fallen by the wayside into a perennial power. Michigan had gone nearly a decade without an NCAA Tournament berth when he arrived, then over the next 12 years, Beilein led the program to the Big Dance nine times, which included two trips to the Final Four and national championship games (2013, 2018).
U-M won a share of two Big Ten regular season titles (2012, 2014) under his watch and went back-to-back in the Big Ten Tournament (2017 and 2018). Beilein, who went 278-150 during his time in Ann Arbor, left as the winningest coach in program history. Beyond winning at a high level, he got his players to the highest level.
Beilein helped develop nine NBA Draft picks (seven first-rounders), which included a pair of consensus All-Americans (Trey Burke and Nik Stauskas) who were both Big Ten Player of the Year. Burke was the consensus National Player of the Year in 2012-13.
The Hall of Honor was established nearly 50 years ago “to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions as athletes, coaches and administrators to the tradition of Wolverine athletics and, in doing so, have enhanced the image and reputation of the University of Michigan.”
According to U-M, in order to be considered for induction, the individual must have been an “NCAA champion or member of a national championship team, an All-American, Olympic medalist, Olympic team member, professional league champion or world championship team medalist/member, NCAA or conference player of the year, conference champion, record holder or all-conference award winner.”
See the full release, with bios about all of the inductees, here.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: John Beilein headlines 2026 Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor inductees
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
