Written by: Victoria Johnson
Nine individuals will join the distinguished gallery of Blazer greats Saturday during the Valdosta State Athletics Hall of Fame ceremonial luncheon in the Student Union.
Herb Reinhard, director of athletics, is thrilled for the 18th annual event, which features the largest class since the eight inductees in the initial year,1997.
“Each year, it is interesting because we have different students with different stories and backgrounds that led them to this point in their life,” Reinhard said. “I’m excited for the inductees; we take a lot of pride in this occasion.”
The ceremony will highlight seven former standout student-athletes: Kenny Alston (basketball 1971-1975) , Wayne Fugett (baseball 1980-1983), Alex Acosta (softball 2007-2008), Tevis Upton (golf 1997-1999) , Diedre Williams (basketball 1992-1996), Jay Penny (1980-1983), and Sherard Reynolds (football 2005-2008).
Longtime VSU booster Shirley McCully and former basketball coach Bobby Tucker represent the two non-athletes entering the 2014 class.
Tickets are available for purchase online and by phone for $25 until Saturday.
“We are happy to honor these nine people who have represented our university so well, whether it is in their arena of play or as contributors to our program,” Reinhard said in a release. “We have always prided ourselves in putting only the very best qualified nominees into our Hall of Fame, and as such, have had smaller classes. However, over the last several years, the number of eligible nominees has grown so significantly that we felt it the right time to increase our class size.”
This article was written by Victoria Johnson.