It’s rare to see multiple football players inducted into the UND Hall of Fame in a single class. To have three in the same season is truly amazing and sets up for an epic weekend in Grand Forks.
I also find it fitting that UND is inducting three players that all played in very big games vs. NDSU in the 90’s and early 2000’s. All were integral in the victories UND pulled out in the storied rivalry.
Mike Mooney (1991-1995) made the single biggest play in the history of the UND/NDSU rivalry, as far as UND is concerned, when he stripped the ball from RB Jason Miller and ran it back for the game winning TD to give UND a 22-21 win.
It’s rare to see multiple football players inducted into the UND Hall of Fame in a single class. To have three in the same season is truly amazing and sets up for an epic weekend in Grand Forks.
I also find it fitting that UND is inducting three players that all played in very big games vs. NDSU in the 90’s and early 2000’s. All were integral in the victories UND pulled out in the storied rivalry.
Mike Mooney (1991-1995) made the single biggest play in the history of the UND/NDSU rivalry, as far as UND is concerned, when he stripped the ball from RB Jason Miller and ran it back for the game winning TD to give UND a 22-21 win.
Play VideoMike Mooney Forced Fumble For Touchdown
The win was the first victory over NDSU in 12 seasons and essentially started the downward spiral of Bison Football in the 90’s and saw UND take off to new heights culminating in a 2001 national championship. Memorial Stadium and the City of Grand Forks went completely bonkers that fine Saturday.
Mooney was a two-time NCC performer and an All-American his senior season. This induction is long overdue for such a revered player, as Mooney will go down as making possibly the biggest play in school history (after Luke Schleusner). Mooney was a member of two NCC championship teams (1993-1994).
Mark Callahan was a dominant run-stuffing nose guard for the Sioux from 1993-1996. The Grand Forks Central standout played four straight seasons on the inside and was a mainstay in UND’s 3-4 scheme that is heavily dependent on a high-end nose guard.
I was lucky enough to play with Mark for two seasons and he was such a great teammate. He was an easy going, funny guy that was a great locker room guy to have around – but when he got on the field it was go time. Callahan was a two-time all-NCC and two-time All-American for the Sioux and member of three NCC championship teams (1993-1994-1995).
Travis O’Neel (1998-2001) is the third and final UND player to be inducted this weekend. Travis was a standout inside linebacker for the Sioux for four straight seasons and once again, I was lucky enough to be able to play along side him for two seasons.
Travis was a three-time all-NCC linebacker and two-time All-American. In 2001 he led the Sioux to their only national championship beating Grand Valley State 17-14.
Travis passed away in 2015 due to a motorcycle accident, a loss that shook the UND football family greatly.
In his memory the Travis O’Neel National Championship Scholarship Endowment was started several years ago to create an endowment that will fund a scholarship in Travis’s name for a UND football player.
This endowment has been a huge success raising over $250,000 to date.
The 36 for 36 Campaign has recentlybeen announced to take the endowment even further and reach their ultimate goal of fully endowing a football scholarship. To achieve that the creators of the endowment, former teammates of Travis and members of the 2001 national championship team, have set of a goal of securing 100 – “36 for 36 pledges”.
This is an outstanding way to support UND football and honor the memory of Travis O’Neel at the same time. The ND Champions Club is handling the endowment and will be the contact to sign up!
https://www.ndchampionsclub.com/travis-oneel-national-championship-scholarship-endowment
