LAS alumni earn recognition in Athletics Hall of Fame
The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics has inducted eight new members into the UI Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024, including three alumni from the College of LAS. They include Robert Holcombe, Laura DeBruler Santos, and Herman "Pete" Velasco, who made major contributions in football, volleyball, and fencing, respectively.
Robert Holcombe (BS, ’08, speech communication) attended high school in Mesa, Arizona, before playing for U of I from 1994 to 1997. He remains the team’s all-time leading rusher with 4,105 yards and he ranks third for career rushing touchdowns with 25. Holcombe set a school record of rushing 100 yards for 16 straight games, and he set the Illini record for rushing attempts in a game with 49 carries against East Carolina on Sept. 23, 1995.
He was the first Illini to top 300 rushing yards in a game with 315 against Minnesota on Nov. 16, 1996. Holcombe was named Second-Team All-Big Ten in 1996 and honorable-mention all-conference in 1997.
After Illinois, Holcombe was a second-round pick in the NFL draft for the Saint Louis Rams. He played as fullback with the Rams for four seasons and helped lead the Rams to victory in Superbowl XXXIV. He later joined the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2020, Holcombe moved back to Arizona to serve as a football coach at Florence High School. He replaced his former high school coach, Bill McKane, who’d suffered a heart attack and recommended Holcombe to fill his coaching and teaching roles.
One of the most celebrated volleyball players in U of I history, Laura DeBruler Santos (BS, ’11, psychology), originally of Downers Grove, Illinois, came to U of I in 2007. She was named First-Team All-American in 2009 after earning Second-Team recognition in 2008. She also earned First-Team All-Big Ten in both 2008 and 2009.
In her senior year she suffered a torn ACL, ending her season, but by the end of her collegiate career DeBruler Santos was ranked first in career attacks (4,806) and still holds the second highest kill total for Illinois (1,833). She earned eight Big Ten Player of the Week titles during her career and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
After leaving Illinois, DeBruler Santos continued playing in Switzerland for the NUC Volleyball Club in Neuchatel. She played in Switzerland’s highest league and competed against other European teams in the CEV cup.
DeBruler Santos moved on to coach volleyball at a collegiate level. She is currently at Ohio University working as the assistant director of recruitment and student success.
Herman “Pete” Velasco (BA, ’56, general curriculum) was at Illinois from 1954-1956 and is considered U of I’s best foil fencer. His three-year career record at Illinois for dual meets was 184-16 (.920) and he won the Big Ten championship three years in a row. He was the NCAA champion in 1955, runner up in 1956, and third in 1954.
In 1956, Velasco was captain and MVP of the U of I team that won its first-ever NCAA Fencing Championship. In both 1956 and 1960 Velasco was a member of the Olympic teams, a first for Illinois. He joined the U.S. World Championship team between the Olympics in 1957.
A 1956 ROTC graduate at Illinois, Velasco went directly into the U.S. Army, where he served for 30 years in active duty and active reserve, retiring in 1987 as a full colonel.
