Willard enrolled at CU after graduating from Denver West High School in 1918 after he was unable to join the Navy due to a suspected medical condition.  The Navy’s loss was Colorado’s gain, as from 1918-22 he would go to earn 16 letters and be a 10-time first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic conference performer in four sports: four each in football, basketball, baseball and track (and was a captain for one or more seasons in all four sports) … No other student-athlete since has earned as many letters, even when freshmen could play participate for a brief time after World War II and permanently since 1972 … A 155-pound “battler,” he started his football career as an end, played mainly at halfback the next two seasons and finished at quarterback, earning All-RMAC honors his sophomore through senior years … Returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown at Colorado College in 1918; it was the longest such play in school history at the time and stood for 20 years … He was equally outstanding in the other three sports: he led the basketball team in scoring for three years (the conference for two), and led the baseball team in hitting for three as well.  Playing centerfield (and occasionally third base) and batting leadoff, he set a conference record with seven home runs in nine league games as a junior in 1921 (three leading off games); he concluded his career in 1922 by going 5-for-5 against Colorado A&M, including a league record four doubles … He batted .546 as a junior and .525 as a senior … On the track, he specialized in sprints (career best of 9.8 in the 100-yard dash), relays and the broad jump while also throwing the javelin (winning multiple conference titles in all) … His speed made him a great breakaway runner on the gridiron, CU’s best at that point in its athletic history; he had a great arm that made him a fine passer and a great defensive centerfield in baseball … He helped rebuild CU’s athletic programs after the war, the three team sports combining for a 55-30-1 record, including two RMAC titles in basketball … He was also an excellent tennis player, but no way he could compete on three sports teams in the spring semester … His accomplishments extended off the field as well, as he was an honors student in Civil Engineering and president of CU’s sophomore and senior classes … After he graduated in 1922, he had a tryout with the Chicago White Sox baseball club before entering private business … He would become a top executive for a major petroleum corporation, a position he held until his death on July 3, 1974 … In 1963, the most outstanding freshman award was created in football and was named in his honor (as was one of the freshman dorms on campus) … Born James Lee Willard on August 25, 1900 in Denver, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in its 1991 class.