Mike Mickens to join Tony Pike, others in 2025 James P. Kelly UC Athletic Hall of Fame
- Tony Pike and Mike Mickens headline the University of Cincinnati's latest James P. Kelly Athletic Hall of Fame class.
- Pike's induction was announced in July, while Mickens' inclusion was revealed in August.
- Both players were key members of the 2008 Bearcats team that reached the Orange Bowl.
Tony Pike was announced as a new inductee into the University of Cincinnati's James P. Kelly Athletic Hall of Fame July 31. Now, one of his teammates will help him headline the latest class this fall.
Mike Mickens, who helped UC get to the Orange Bowl under Brian Kelly after the 2008 season, will join Pike and others in UC athletic immortality. The new class was announced Aug. 3.
Mike Mickens
Mickens came to UC from Huber Heights Wayne High School, where he was teammates with Marcus Freeman, his current boss at Notre Dame.
"It's exciting, 20 years ago (since he came to UC)," Mickens told The Enquirer. "It's obviously a blessing and an honor to be named and inducted into the (UC) Hall of Fame."
Between 2005-2008, Mickens set the Cincinnati Bearcats record for interceptions with 14 and interception return yards with 296. He helped lead UC to three bowl games: the 2006 International Bowl in Toronto; the 2007 Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham and the 2008 Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida.
"I tell recruits today, I wanted to go to a place that would give me an opportunity to compete," Mickens said. "That's what I got at Cincinnati and that's a blessing."
After the 2008 season, he was a seventh-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Draft. Mickens spent professional time with the Cowboys, Buccaneers, Bengals and CFL Calgary Stampeders before starting his coaching career.
Mickens was part of the pivotal UC win over Rutgers in 2006 that kick-started the Bearcats being able to play more games in the limelight. He was also part of a number of freshmen Mark Dantonio played the year before at Penn State, with many, including Mickens, eventually getting NFL shots. UC's current staff hopes that practice helps the 2025 team in the Big 12.
"It was a lot (of UC players) that went to the NFL and went on to do great things," Mickens said of his freshman year as a Bearcat. "That's the great thing about it. You were surrounded by so much competition every day. It got the best out of everybody."
Post-playing career, Mickens was an assistant in 2011 at UC under Butch Jones, then coached cornerbacks under Luke Fickell in 2018 and 2019. He left to join Brian Kelly at Notre Dame in 2020 and remains on staff now with Coach Freeman as defensive backs coach/defensive pass game coordinator.
Tom Marvaso
Marvaso was a defensive back and return man for Coach Tony Mason between 1973-1975. He is in UC's Ring of Honor at Nippert Stadium and was a 1975 Sporting News All-American.
He is among UC's top five in punt returns, punt return yards and punt return touchdowns. He was the 1974 team MVP and later played in both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl.
Marvaso was a sixth-round pick of the New York Jets in 1976.
Meridy Glenn
Glenn coached University of Cincinnati women's soccer from 1987-2007 going 255-184-36. She led the Bearcats to six NCAA tournaments and was the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2001 when her squad went 20-4.
Glenn won three regular-season conference titles and five conference tournament crowns.
KB Sharp
Kristen Brooke (KB) Sharp was a Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball player from 1999-2003. She was then drafted by the New York Liberty of the WNBA in 2003.
In six professional years, she averaged 7.1 points and 3.6 assists per game and had a 78.6 free-throw percentage. She also played for the WNBA Select Team, leading her squad to a EuroCup Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2003-2004.
One of UC women's basketball's all-time greats, she played 4,339 minutes with 1,164 points and 623 assists for the Bearcats. She tops the team all-time in minutes and assists.
Jessie Nevitt
Nevitt played women's volleyball at the University of Cincinnati between 2005-2008 and was a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention All-American. She also made First Team All-Big East in four of her seasons and was the 2005 Big East Rookie of the Year.
Nevitt was named the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Women's Sports Association Sportswoman of the Year in 2009. She finished among the top 10 in the Big East in hitting percentage at .461 and had 1,498 kills and 652 blocks. She is in the top 10 at UC in eight different categories.
Pike's inclusion to the James P. Kelly Athletic Hall of Fame was announced July 31 when UC AD John Cunningham called into his ESPN 1530 radio show to give him the news.
Pike was a UC Bearcat from 2005-2009 and passed for 5,018 yards and 49 touchdowns in his career. Under Brian Kelly, he led UC to the Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech after the 2008 season and the Sugar Bowl vs. Florida after the 2009 season. He currently also serves as the sideline reporter on radio for UC games, now making the crew of Dan Hoard, Jim Kelly Jr. and Pike a Hall of Fame trio.
Thoughts from UC AD John Cunningham
“This Hall of Fame class represents the very best of Bearcats athletics,” Director of Athletics John Cunningham said. “Tony Pike and Mike Mickens changed the trajectory of our football program and showed the country that Cincinnati could compete at the highest level. Meridy Glenn built a legacy in women’s soccer that still resonates today, while KB Sharp and Jessie Nevitt are among the greatest to ever step on our basketball and volleyball courts. And Tom Marvaso remains one of the most dynamic players in UC football history. Together, this group embodies what it means to be a Bearcat for life — talented, driven and forever connected to this university.”
2025 James P, Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony
The 2025 Hall of Fame Class will be formally inducted during Homecoming Weekend on Friday, Oct. 24, at Fifth Third Arena and recognized during the UC football game vs. Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Historic Nippert Stadium. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the Friday ceremony, which is free to the public.
Reserved VIP seating is available for $100 and includes a pre-event reception with hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets. Fans can purchase VIP tickets, parking, or register for general admission via gobearcats.com and Ticketmaster.