Warner enters UNI hall of fame long after Pro Football HOF. 'My career has never been conventional'

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Almost a decade after he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Kurt Warner is finally entering the Northern Iowa athletics hall.

Warner is not surprised what would seem to be an overdue honor came more than 30 years since his last game for the Panthers.

“My career has never been conventional, so why should my HOF induction?” Warner wrote in a lengthy text to The Associated Press. “Most UNI HOFers will be recognized for their accomplishments at the university. I will be recognized for what I was able to do because of my time there.”

Warner, whose selection was announced Thursday, won one Super Bowl and played in two others during an improbable 12-year NFL career that ended after the 2009 season.

The Burlington, Iowa, native was a member of four straight conference championship teams at UNI but didn't become the starting quarterback until he was a senior in 1993, when he was conference offensive player of the year. Warner said he had a hard time believing his college accomplishments merited selection to the school hall of fame. He said Megan Franklin, UNI's second-year athletic director, and new football coach Todd Stepsis convinced him otherwise.

“It totally makes sense to me now, that when looking at a college HOF it does not have to be limited to what you did in your time there but can be fully representative of what you went on to do beyond your days at the university,” Warner said.

Warner went to training camp with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1993 and was cut, going on to stock shelves at a grocery store and star in the Arena Football League.

In 1998, after leading NFL Europe in touchdowns and passing yards, he joined the St. Louis Rams and became the team’s starting quarterback in 1999. He led the Rams' “Greatest Show on Turf” offense to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans in 2000 and was the game's MVP. Warner made it back to the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2002 and with the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

Warner had a lukewarm relationship with UNI in the years after he left, according to a 2009 story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. But in 2021, UNI and its trademark licensing agency partnered with Warner and his agency, Priority Sports, to develop and launch a merchandise line celebrating Warner’s legacy. That was the year “American Underdog,” a movie about Warner's life, was released.

“We are excited to celebrate Kurt and the other members of our 2026 UNI Athletics Hall of Fame Class,” the athletic department said. “Regardless of the paths they took to receive this recognition, we are thrilled to celebrate their induction!”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football