2025 Hall of Fame Feature: Dorcas Akinniyi

Dorcas (Akinniyi) Jansen resides on a very short list of the greatest multi-event athletes in Wisconsin women’s track and field history.

No sooner did she come out of Carrollton, Texas, she immediately became a recruiting trendsetter for the Badgers. She finished as the runner-up in the pentathlon at the 2013 NCAA indoor championships, won three Big Ten Conference indoor titles in the pentathlon, two Big Ten outdoor titles in the heptathlon, and earned six All-America citations - three each in those two demanding, diverse events. 

At one point during her career, Akinniyi owned the U.S. collegiate record for the high jump in both the five-event pentathlon and the seven-event heptathlon. She also resides in the top 10 in Wisconsin history in the open high jump and 100-meter high hurdles. 

But Akinniyi has a curious confession she’d like to share with the world.

“I don’t really like sports,’’ she said with a laugh. “I’m not really a super fan of exercise.’’

And yet, Akinniyi got her master’s degree and Ph.D. in sports psychology at UW and now works with student-athletes at University of California-Davis. So, what gives? 

“It was the environment of athletics that pulled me in,’’ she said.

“There’s nothing like being surrounded by people that are super driven, hard workers, but also really cool, authentic, beautiful people.

“I don’t know that you get that combination in too many other environments. So, when I was looking for a career path, I wanted to somehow incorporate that. I wanted to be able to feed off the energy of athletics.’’

Akinniyi was one of the first recruits to commit to the Badgers and to Nate Davis, then an assistant women’s coach under Hall of Fame head coach Ed Nuttycombe. After Davis was hired back in 2007, he embarked upon a mission to find athletes who weren’t necessarily high school heptathletes - they were simply athletic, gifted, and coachable.

Davis noted that women that were doing multi-events like the pentathlon or the heptathlon at that time struggled to score points in open events. Coaches didn’t know where else to put them, so they stayed in the multi-events.

Akinniyi was basically a thrower and a high jumper in high school – two divergent skills that required a unique combination of strength and athleticism – who made it to state in the discus. Davis spotted her name on a UW track and field questionnaire, called her sight unseen, and brought her to campus for an official visit. 

“The moment I saw her in the escalator, I was like, “Jackpot,’’ Davis said. “She changed the way the country recruits for the women’s multi-events.’’

Why does Akinniyi merit Hall of Famer recognition? Davis boils it down to her impact. 

“There’s a ton of context to it,’’ he said. “She changed everything. She changed NCAA women’s multi-event recruiting. She changed our program and made it what it’s become. She made her teammates better. Dorcas raised the bar for everyone.’’

Akinniyi looked the part of an all-around athlete, much like her Badgers teammate, roommate and fellow multi-event standout Jessica Flax, another Texan, from Pearland, who has a UW Hall of Fame-worthy résumé of her own.

“You have to compare us because we were both heptathletes,’’ Flax said, “but the types of athletes we were and how we contributed to the team were different.’’ Flax said. 

“Dorcas was amazing in jumps and her shot put was phenomenal. She was a very explosive athlete and her long limbs were phenomenal, too. She was very naturally talented.

“I was a little quicker in the hurdles and the 800. I did the 4x400. I did the open 400 a couple times. Dorcas did the high jump and long jump, too.’’

Flax also stood out in the javelin, where her effort of 151-foot, 7 inches still ranks sixth in the UW history. 

The heptathlon is comprised of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. Points are awarded by the distance, height or time achieved in each event and recorded in the heptathlon points table.

The pentathlon features five events: the 60 high hurdles, the high jump, shot put, long jump and 800-meter run.

With talents like Akinniyi, Flax, Deanna Latham and 2020 Canadian Olympian Georgia Ellenwood – the school record-holder in both the heptathlon and pentathlon – Davis succeeded in raising the standard for UW’s women’s multi-events.

In 2012, Akinniyi, Flax and Latham staged a performance for the ages, sweeping the podium at the Big Ten championships in both the heptathlon and pentathlon. Flax and Latham later qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. 

“Our trio definitely pushed one another in a positive way,’’ Flax said.  

Akinniyi brought a unique approach to the proceedings.

“Dorcas was very like kind of nonchalant and that was something I really admired about her,’’ Flax said. “She always said, ‘It’s going to be great. It’s going to be fine.’ You’d never be able to tell she was nervous until she was really, really, really nervous. She was the person who kind of calmed everyone.’’

Akinniyi said the Badgers relied heavily on the multis. 

“I definitely remember feeling like the multis were where the team expected the points to come from. Along with distance (running), the multis were the other big point-getters for us.’’

The most important lesson Akinniyi learned at Wisconsin? 

“It would probably have something to do with resilience,’’ she said. “Regardless of what’s going on, it’s really taught me that even if we’ve had a crushing blow, you still have to show up and offer support where we can.’’

BEST OF THREE

One: Akinniyi, the mother of three young sons, said her proudest accomplishment at Wisconsin was getting her Ph.D. “Athletics was great and I know that set the path before me, but getting my Ph.D. was something I didn’t think was possible,’’ she said. “There’s just so many layers to it.  Somehow, I was able to get it all done. So, yeah, 1,000-percent getting my PhD.’’

Two: Jay Bradbury was a learning specialist In the UW athletic department. “Every time I go to Wisconsin, he’s one of those people I have to see. I was there for a wedding a few months ago, so I had to make sure I introduced him to my newest kid that I’ve had. Jay has meant so much to me. He believed in me when I didn’t know what I was capable of, of being able to perform academically and meet the standards, he was able to show me that I could. I’m forever indebted to him and value the time he spent with me.’’

Three: Akinniyi is the 14th women’s track and field athlete to be added to the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. “It’s nice to know someone views what I did at Wisconsin as meaningful,’’ she said. “The work that I did, regardless of who’s coming up after me, that they want to honor it is very special.’’