University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Recognition: Athlete

In a career from 1971 to 1975, Tom Kropp became Kearney State’s most decorated athlete. He is the only NAIA athlete to earn All-American honors in both football and basketball in the same year. In basketball, he set the season scoring record of 1,884 points, season average of 23.6 and a career scoring average of 20.5. He set the single game scoring record of 51 against Central Missouri State University in 1975. He played fullback and linebacker on the football team. Kropp was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, the Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association and the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association. He played in the NBA with the Bullets and the Chicago Bulls.