Kansas Athletics has announced that Ernest “Ernie” Shelby and Lynette Woodard will be the 2026 honorees for the Marian E. Washington Trailblazer Series. The series, which began in 2020, is held each February during Black History Month to recognize African-Americans who have made significant contributions to the Jayhawk program.
Shelby competed in track and field at the University of Kansas from 1957 to 1959, focusing on the long jump. He recorded a personal-best long jump of 7.95 meters in June 1956 and an unofficial jump of 8.01 meters in March 1958, though the latter was not record-eligible. Shelby won national championships in the long jump in both 1958 and 1959. In 1959, he became the first African American captain of KU’s men’s track and field team and led them to an NCAA outdoor national championship.
Shelby was also active in promoting racial equity on campus and in Lawrence, Kansas, participating in efforts to challenge segregation at local businesses during the late 1950s. After his athletic career, he pursued interests in jazz composition and singing. According to alumni accounts, “He left a lasting legacy at KU through elite athletic performance, leadership and advocacy for social change during the late 1950s civil rights era.”
Lynette Woodard played women’s basketball at KU from 1978 to 1981. She finished her college career as the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history at that time with a total of 3,649 points. Woodard earned four All-America honors and led KU to the AIAW national championship game in 1981.
She received several accolades during her career including winning the Wade Trophy as the nation’s top women’s college basketball player in 1981 and becoming the first woman named Kansas Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, she made history by being part of Team USA’s gold medal-winning squad at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984—the first U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team—and later broke another barrier as the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Woodard has advocated for women’s sports and gender equity throughout her career, working to expand opportunities for girls and women in athletics. Her legacy at KU is defined by excellence on court as well as leadership off it: “Built a legacy at KU defined by excellence, leadership and her role in advancing women’s athletics during the post–Title IX era.”
The Marian E. Washington Trailblazer Series has previously honored athletes such as Darnell Valentine (basketball), Erika Oliver (rowing), Vickie Adkins (basketball), Isaac “Bud” Stallworth (basketball), Angela Aycock (basketball), Kelsie Payne (volleyball), Breonna Barker (swimming), Halcon “Tudie” MacKnight (track & field), Walt Wesley (basketball), Nikki Barrett (soccer), Tamecka Dixon (basketball), Ed Harvey (football/baseball), Maurice King (basketball), Adrian Mitchell-Newell (basketball), Homer Floyd (football), Gloria Graves (softball), LaVannes Squires (basketball) as well as coaches Marian E. Washington, John McLendon, Curtis McClinton, Stanley Redwine.
