Morningside announces 2025 Hall of Fame inductees, Alumni Coach of the Year

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside University will induct three individuals and a team into its M Club Hall of Fame and honor an Alumni Coach of the Year as part of its 2025 induction ceremony during homecoming weekend. 

Taylor Chapman, 2013, was a standout distance runner for the Mustangs, collecting all-conference honors from the Great Plains Athletic Conference in, between cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, 14 events. He was a GPAC champion on the oval on four occasions, earning an individual title in the indoor mile and three championship designations as part of 4x800-meter relay teams.

It was as part of a 4x800-meter relay squad that Chapman and his teammates placed themselves at the top of the podium for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, collecting the national title in the indoor 4x800 in 2012 before defending the title in 2013 and going on to add a third honor in the 2013 outdoor season. Along with the national titles, his crew earned NAIA All-America honors for each of the three races. 

Chapman still holds the Morningside University record for the 1,500-meter run and is part of the relay team that holds both the indoor and outdoor 4x800-meter relay records.

Cameron Oakley, 2014, was Morningside's first four-time all-conference honoree in women's golf. In a 51-round career, her score was used as part of the team total in all but two rounds. Oakley averaged a score of 89.53 in her career, coming in at just over 17 strokes over par.

Oakley's success wasn't limited to the golf course, as she received Academic All-America honors from College Sports Communicators, then CoSIDA, all three years that she was eligible, with first team honors two of the three years.

Joel Nixon, 2018, led the Mustangs to their first NAIA Football National Championship appearance, completing 262 passes for 3,844 yards and 49 passing touchdowns as he served as quarterback for the 2012 campaign. He also added 165 carries for 772 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the campaign. 

Nixon's career also included a pair of seasons as a wide receiver, hauling in a combined 82 passes for 1,307 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also had 27 punt returns for 252 yards, including one for a touch down, and five kick returns for 155 yards.

Nixon received honorable mention GPAC All-Conference honors as a wide receiver in 2010 and was a first team selection as quarterback in 2012.

Women's Basketball will have its fourth team inducted into the hall of fame, as the 2014-15 NAIA National Championship team joins the three previous banner squads. The 2014-15 team, who went 37-1 on the way to the banner, ranked in the top 10 in NAIA Division II in numerous categories, ranking second in assists (618), third in steals (501), fourth in total scoring (2,904), fifth in steals per game (13.184) and turnover margin (6.711), and 10th in three pointers made (244).  The team scored 76.421 points per game, for 2,904 total points, went 566-of-814 in trips to the free throw line, was 244-of-768 from beyond the three-point line, and went 1,047-for-2,411 from the floor.

Brian Borland, 1985, is the 2025 Alumni Coach of the Year. His career of nearly 40 years as a football coach included stops at Wisconsin, Arizona Western, Florida, Minnesota-Morris, Baker, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Buffalo, and most recently Kansas, where he was the defensive coordinator for three years.

In 2023 Borland's defense ranked fourth in the Big 12 in 2023 in total defense and sixth in scoring defense, helping Kansas record eight wins for the first time since 2007 and make back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time in program history. At Buffalo, his defenses regularly led the Mid-America Conference and ranked high nationally. 

Borland's defense at Wisconsin-Whitewater led the nation in scoring defense, forced fumbles, and recovered turnovers in 2013. His squads helped secure five NCAA Division III National Championships, and he was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2015.

Morningside will honor its Hall of Fame inductees and Alumni Coach of the Year on Saturday, October 4 at a ceremony in the Yockey Family Community Room. Further information will be made available at a later date.