Nussmeier headlines Idaho HOF inductees
The Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame will induct five at the North Idaho Sports Banquet on April 10 at the Coeur d’Alene Inn.
Those who will be inducted are Doug Nussmeier, Alli Nieman, Corissa Yasen, David Triplett and Kristin Armstrong.
Nussmeier, who is the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Washington, had a record-setting career as a quarterback at Idaho. He passed for 10,824 yards and averaged 309.1 yards per game in total offense in his career. Along with Steve McNair and Daunte Culpepper, Nussmeier is one of three quarterbacks in NCAA history to total 10,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing.
In 1993, Nussmeier, a Lake Oswego, Ore., native, was the Walter Payton Award winner. He was drafted in 1994 in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints. He played four years with the Saints and one with the Indianapolis Colts. In 2000, he helped the British Columbia Lions to the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup championship.
Nussmeier was inducted into the University of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
His coaching resume includes three years as quarterbacks coach at Michigan State, two years as QB coach for the St. Louis Rams under head coach and former Idaho QB Scott Linehan, one year at Fresno State and one at UW.
Nieman had one of the most successful women’s basketball careers at Idaho. A four-year standout at Sandpoint High, she had immediate success when she arrived in Moscow. She earned first-team All-Big West and Big West Freshman of the Year honors in 1996-97 after averaging 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. She finished her career with 2,140 points, 202 better than the second-place total. She also set records for career rebounds (1,005) and free throws made (517). She’s the only player in Vandals history to score more than 1,000 points and pull down more than 1,000 rebounds.
Yasen, a Coeur d’Alene High multiple-sport standout, was a nine-time NCAA track and field All-American at Purdue University and 10 times was the Big 10 champion. She was the 1996 NCAA heptathlon champ.
After using up her track eligibility, Yasen played one year of basketball at Purdue, averaging 11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, helping the Boilermakers advance to the NCAA tournament. She was selected to play for the Sacramento Monarchs, one of eight initial teams in the WNBA in 1997. She died in 2001.
At CdA, she led two basketball teams to state titles and was a state cross country champion in addition to a number of state track titles.
Triplett, a 1962 Pocatello High graduate, was a two-year starter at right guard at Idaho. He went on to coach and teach at Capital High in Boise. He started a construction business and worked outside of education for 11 years. He returned to teaching at Boise High. While at Capital he coached football, wrestling and track.
Armstrong, an Idaho graduate who lives in Boise, is a cyclist. She began her cycling career after being diagnosed with arthritis as a triathlete. She has won five cycling national championships and four world championships. In 2008 she became the only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the Time Trial. She stands as the single most decorated female cyclist in U.S. history.