Kilbane is one of the people working behind the scenes with the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Since the Hall was established in 1984, he has been the illustrator for each of the 74 portraits that now grace the lobby area of Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium and the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

 What I enjoy most about it is that it allows me to stay in touch with the athletic department and the University itself, said Kilbane, who played quarterback with the football Lions during 1980-84.  It’s an honor to be so close with the school and to be included in the Hall of Fame with so many great and deserving athletes. 

Kilbane, a Joplin native who now resides in Burbank, Calif., holds a bachelor s degree in art from MSSU. He has been self-employed with his JMK Sculpture business for five years. He previously spent 11 years working for Disney.

Former athletics director Jim Frazier, Kilbane s coach during his playing days with the Lions, first commissioned Kilbane for the Hall of Fame illustrations project. Kilbane works from photographs of the inductee while trying to keep his drawings loose and energetic. Including the construction of his own frames and the matting of the piece, Kilbane estimates each illustration could take up to 20 hours to complete.