When it comes to Miami women’s basketball, few have been as impactful as Octavia Blue.

A former standout at Nova High, where she earned Broward County Player of the Year honors from both the Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel, Blue averaged double figures in all four of her seasons in orange and green.

She is just the third woman in school history to record 1,700 points and 600 rebounds in her career and her 1,724 points still ranks in the program’s top 10 for career scoring.

As a senior, she averaged 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game which helped her earn First Team All-Big East honors, as well as third-team All-American recognition by the Women’s Basketball News service.

Blue became the first Hurricane drafted into the WNBA when she was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the 15^th overall pick in 1998. During her eight-year professional career, she also spent time with the Houston Comets and played internationally in Greece, Israel, France, Turkey and Poland.

After retiring, she began coaching and spent time with both St. John’s and Georgia Tech as an assistant before joining her alma mater’s staff in 2012. She stayed with the program for nine seasons before being named the head coach at Kennesaw State in 2021.

Blue became just the fourth Hurricane women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired when her No. 10 was hung in the rafters of the Watsco Center in 2016 and she was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

She is still a vocal supporter of the program and was among the Hurricanes alumni that made their way to Greenville, South Carolina when Miami made its first appearance in the Elite Eight in 2023.

– Christy Cabrera Chirinos

As a standout shortstop for the University of Miami baseball team in the mid-90s, Alex Cora carved out a legacy of excellence in Hurricanes history.

Known for his stellar defense and clutch plays, he earned spots on the All-College World Series teams in 1995 and 1996. His hallmark moment came in the 1996 CWS championship game against LSU, going 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBI, helping securing the title for Miami.

Selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 1996 MLB Draft, Cora launched a 14-year major league career that included time with Boston, Cleveland and the New York Mets.

He hit .246 across 1,278 games with Boston and won a World Series there in 2007, with his versatility and grit defining his time in the pros.

Cora’s legacy in the game didn’t end on the field.

Transitioning to leadership, he became the manager of the Red Sox in 2018, guiding them to a club-record 108 wins and a World Series title in his first season. He continues to serve as the Red Sox manager, shaping the next generation of MLB talent.

– Elliot Farr

One of the most storied and decorated players in Miami history, there’s no shortage of fame for “The Playmaker,” who’s lived and breathed Hurricane football his whole life.

A prolific wide receiver and South Florida native, Irvin’s flashy on-field flair, combined with his elite level of play, made him one of the most recognizable standouts during The U’s dominant run through the 1980s.

Irvin once held the school record for receiving yards with 2,423. That still ranks in the top five, and his 26 touchdowns are still a school record.

The Dallas Cowboys selected Irvin 11th overall in the 1988 NFL Draft – a decision that would be pivotal in their dominance of the 90s. Spending his entire career in Dallas, Irvin was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time NFL All-Pro, helping lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories.

After his final season in 1999, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Irvin now enjoys a career as a television analyst, most recently as a co-host on Fox Sports 1’s weekly sports debate show, Speak, all while continuing to be a visible and vocal supporter of his alma mater.

– Elliot Farr

Lauryn Williams arrived at Miami a record-breaking high school sprinter.

She’s done nothing but continue making history since.

As a freshman in 2002, Williams was recognized as the Big East Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete after earning wins in both the 60-meters and 200-meters. She added a conference title in the 100m during the outdoor season and later won a gold medal in the 100m at the World Junior Championships.

Her resume – and medal collection – only kept growing with Williams winning both an NCAA title and Olympic medal in 2004.

That year, she posted a 10.97 in the 100m at the NCAA Championships to win the national championship. She later qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and won silver in the 100m at the Athens Games.

Williams finished her collegiate career as a nine-time All-American and eleven-time Big East Champion. She still holds school records in the indoor 55m (6.70), the indoor 200m (22.79), and the outdoor 100m (10.97).

After medaling in Athens, Williams went on to compete in three more Olympics – the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Games in London – where she won gold as part of the 4x100m relay team – and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, where she traded her track spikes for bobsleigh spikes.

In Sochi, Williams competed in the two-woman bobsled with Elana Meyers-Taylor and the pair won silver, a feat that made Williams the first American woman – and sixth person ever – to medal in different sports at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Today, Williams, who graduated from Miami with a finance degree, owns Worth Winning, a financial planning firm for young professionals. She is also an author, podcaster and motivational speaker.

– Christy Cabrera Chirinos

National champion. Academic All-Star. Campus leader.

During her time at Miami, Michelle Atherley was a downright force.

The native of North Port, Florida joined the Hurricanes after a solid freshman season at Auburn where she was the only freshman in the nation to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships in the pentathlon.

Three years later, as a Hurricane, she won the national championship in that very same event, posting a score of 4,547 points to become the track and field program’s 17^th national champion.

That same year, she won the ACC Indoor Championship in the pentathlon, was named the ACC Indoor Field MVP, the ACC Women’s Field Performer of the Year and an indoor first-team All-American.

She also won the ACC outdoor title in the heptathlon and represented Team USA in the Thorpe Cup, a prestigious annual meet featuring some of the top decathletes and pentathletes from across both the United States and Germany.

By the time Atherley left Miami, she’d amassed six first-team All-American honors, was named the ACC Women’s Field Performer of the Year twice and, in 2018, helped the Hurricanes women track and field team win the ACC outdoor title.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, and master’s degrees in both public administration and international public administration, earning multiple ACC All-Academic Team honors in the process. Atherley also helped found Miami’s Black Student-Athlete Alliance and was a part of the athletic department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to help advocate for student-athletes.

Atherley still trains on campus and remains a vocal supporter of Hurricanes athletics, even serving as a speaker at the department’s 10^th Annual Celebration of Women’s Athletics in 2024.

– Christy Cabrera Chirinos

His unorthodox, underhand free throw shooting technique might be what many basketball fans think of initially when they hear Rick Barry’s name. But the Hurricanes legend did plenty more for the University and basketball during his memorable career.

The only person to lead the NCAA, NBA and ABA in scoring, Barry remains one of the greatest to ever don orange and green. He was a consensus All-American during his three seasons at Miami and won the NCAA scoring title as a senior in 1965 when he averaged 37.4 points per game.

During Barry’s time at Miami, the Hurricanes posted three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in program history and his name still fills the school record book. Barry’s 2,298 career scoring total still stands as Miami’s best all time and the native of Elizabeth, New Jersey still holds eight of the top 10 single-game scoring efforts in program history, led by his 59 points against Rollins on Feb. 23, 1965.

Barry went on to be the second pick in the 1966 NBA Draft and that same year was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. Barry went on to become an eight-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA first team selection. He won an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors in 1975 earning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player recognition in the process. He also won an ABA championship min 1969 and was a four-time ABA All-Star and four-time All-ABA first team selection.

Barry was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2021, he was named to the NBA 75^th Anniversary Team.

Basketball most definitely proved to be the family business, with all four of Barry’s sons playing professionally. His son Brent won a pair of NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs making the Barrys the second father-son duo to win NBA championships.

– Christy Cabrera Chirinos

Vinny Testaverde’s name, one of the most celebrated and honored in Miami history, is synonymous with Hurricane football greatness, an enduring legacy made through talent and toughness.

The dynamic quarterback from Brooklyn, New York – known for his pinpoint accuracy and leadership prowess – was both a feared and respected symbol of Miami football during the Hurricanes’ “Decade of Dominance” in the 1980s.

He became Miami’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 1986, throwing for 3,238 yards and 21 touchdowns while leading the Canes to an undefeated regular season. He also captured the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards. By the end of his collegiate career, Testaverde reached school records with 6,058 passing yards and 48 career touchdown passes.

In the 1987 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Testaverde first overall, kicking off a successful 21-year professional football career. Playing for seven teams, including the Jets, Browns and Ravens, he earned two Pro Bowl selections and threw for 46,233 career yards. After retiring in 2007, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

– Elliot Farr

When she signed the paperwork awarding her a scholarship to play golf at the University of Miami, Terry Williams Munz had no idea she was making history.

She just knew she had the opportunity to play the game she loved and get a degree.

Years later, though, she learned she was part of the answer to a Jeopardy question asking, “Golfer Terry Williams was the USA’s first woman to receive one of these from the University of Miami in 1973?”

The question, it turned out, was “What is a sports scholarship?”

It was then that Munz realized just how momentous her scholarship truly was.

“I never would have had the opportunity to go to college had it not been for that scholarship,” Munz said in 2022 during the University’s celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Title IX. “From that perspective, it’s just amazing. I have no doubt there’s many, many athletes out there today that could say the same thing.”

Munz, a Homestead native who competed on the boys’ golf team at South Dade High School before coming to Miami, was part of the Hurricanes’ 1977 national championship golf team and earned an accounting degree during her time in Coral Gables.

Her legacy has paved the way for countless young women at Miami and beyond.

Since Munz signed that scholarship, women’s athletics at Miami have grown to include nine sports that compete at the NCAA level. The women’s golf team has won five national titles, while the women’s swimming and diving program has won two national titles. And more than 40 women – including most recently diver Chiara Pellacani and tennis player Alexa Noel – have won individual national championships.

– Christy Cabrera Chirinos