Carson-Newman Athletics announces seven-member athletic Hall of Fame Class for 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman's Athletic Club has tabbed seven individuals for induction into the Carson-Newman Athletics Hall of Fame. 

Those slated for induction in this class are Kyle Gribble (Men's Basketball, 2004), Jessie Howard (Softball, 2011), Chris Jones (Football, 2011), Allen Morgan (Baseball/Administrator, 1968), Claire Ramsdale (Women's Soccer, 2006), Gary Rundles (Baseball Coach, 1985-00), Tyrone Westmoreland (Football, 1998).

Additionally, Tyler Baldock (Men's Soccer, 2007) has committed to attending the ceremony to be formally inducted after being tabbed to enter the hall in 2020. 

The octet will be inducted in a ceremony on Jan. 20 in the Stokely Memorial Building on Carson-Newman's campus and then recognized during the Eagles' men's and women's basketball games the next day against Lenoir-Rhyne. 

Kyle Gribble, men's basketball (2003): The first NCAA All-American for Carson-Newman's men's basketball program, Gribble guided the Eagles to a pair of SAC regular season crowns, a tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2002.  Gribble scored 1,472 points in his C-N career and added in 694 rebounds.  He was named SAC Player of the Year in 2003 after leading the Eagles to a 20-9 record and their second consecutive SAC title.

Jessie Howard, softball (2010): The Carson-Newman softball program's all-time leader in runs scored (210) at the time of her nomination.  Howard is also the all-time leader in stolen bases (143) and second all-time in hits (287). She is one of nine players in program history to finish her career with a batting average north of .400. Howard helped C-N to the NCAA regionals all four years of her playing career and the program's lone super regional berth in 2008. She was a two-time All-SAC selection. 

Chris Jones, football (2011): The Carson-Newman football program's longest-tenured NFL player, Jones spent the entirety of his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys from 2011-2020.  Jones' powerful leg delivered four of the 10 longest punts in C-N history, including a 73-yarder against Winona State in 2009. Jones' 40.3 yards per punt average is the second most among four-year players.  For his career, he landed 46 punts inside the 20-yard-line and made 20 punts of at least 50 yards.

Allen Morgan, baseball/administrator (1968): A member of Carson-Newman baseball's 1965 NAIA National Championship-winning baseball team and the Vice President for Athletics for the univeristy from 2012-2018, Morgan stewarded a department that made 32 trips to NCAA tournament play among its teams and another 25 student athletes qualify for championship play as individuals.  Morgan, a former Knox County superintendent, saw both men's and women's soccer programs earn spots in their respective national title games, and Carson-Newman's first individual national champion in track and field since 1978. The athletic department finished 21st in the 2018 Learfield Director's Cup standings, its highest ever finish at the time of Morgan's nomination.

Claire Ramsdale, women's soccer (2007): A four-time All-SAC selection and 2004 All-American, Ramsdale registers in the top 10 of six career statistical categories for the women's soccer program. Ramsdale was a member of two NCAA Final Four teams and helped guide the Eagles to three SAC regular season crowns, a pair of tournament titles and the NCAA tournament every year of her Carson-Newman career. 

Gary Rundles, baseball coach (1985-00): Gary Rundles won five conference titles and finished runner-up on four occasions at Carson-Newman. He guided the Eagles to a Division II College World Series berth in 1999, earning Conference, Region, and Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. He also led Carson-Newman to the NAIA World Series in 1993 and was named conference coach of the year on six separate occasions. Rundles has been inducted into the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the Central (Tenn.) High School Hall of Fame, the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame , the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Tyrone Westmoreland, football (1998): Westmoreland wrapped up his Carson-Newman career as a two-time All-SAC selection, the league's offensive player of the year in 1996 and an All-American. In 1997, he became Carson-Newman's first Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist, the Division II Heisman trophy.  With 3,388 yards rushing, Westmoreland is the program's sixth all-time leading rusher.  He helped guide the Eagles to four straight SAC titles, four straight NCAA playoff appearances and the Eagles' first berth in the NCAA Division II title game in 1996. 

To nominate a former Carson-Newman athlete for the 2022 Hall of Fame, click here and fill out the nomination form. Individuals can only nominate two people in each nomination cycle. Nominations for the 2023 Hall of Fame close Aug. 1, 2022. 

This year's class could balloon to 11. Former New England Patriot Todd Collins, Olympic Bronze Medalist wrestler Lazaro Reinoso and women's soccer All-American Rebecca Angus have been tabbed for induction in previous years, but have yet to be able to make a ceremony to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

CLASS OF 1985

(INITIAL INDUCTEES): Dana X. Bible (1912): Football, Basketball,

Baseball; Bernie Moore (1917): Football; Ernest Tucker (1924): Football, Baseball, Tennis; Mae Iddins (1926): Basketball; Lake Russell (1926): Football, Basketball, Baseball, Coach; Sam "Frosty" Holt (1927): Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track, Coach, Athletic Director; Milas Shoun (1927): Football, Basketball; Roy Harmon (1943): Football, Track, Coach.

CLASS OF 1986

Roy Smith (1934): Football, Basketball, Baseball; Frank Grubb (1937): Football; Wendell Henderson (1937): Football, Baseball, Track; Bill Catlett (1940): Football, Basketball, Baseball; John Murray (1948): Football, Basketball, Baseball; Ernest "Baldy" Cosson (1950): Football; Ray Allen Shubert (1941): Football, Baseball; Arnold Mellinger (1957): Basketball; Dal Shealy (1950): Football, Coach; Bobby Baker (1963): Football; Clyde Wright (1965): Baseball.

CLASS OF 1987

John Hutchins (1925): Football, Basketball, Baseball; Paul Layman (1935): Football, Basketball, Baseball; Don King (1924): Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track; Albert Sloan (1932): Athletic Administrator.

CLASS OF 1988

Charles Hamblen (1939): Basketball; Nick Hyder (1957): Football; Chris Jones (1962): Basketball, Coach; Milton Nixon (1937): Football, Basketball.

CLASS OF 1989

Ken Sparks (1968): Football, Coach, Athletic Director; W.A. Wright (1968): Baseball, Basketball; Carl Torbush (1974): Football, Baseball; Buddy Catlett (1954): Tennis.

CLASS OF 1990

Gil Luttrell (1964): Basketball, Baseball; Dusty Roden (1947): Football, Basketball, Coach; T.J. Stafford (1938): Football, Basketball, Coach.

CLASS OF 1993

John Ed Dowling (1937): Football, Basketball, Baseball; Libby Hudson Gardner (1968): Basketball, V-ball, Tennis, Swimming, Coach

CLASS OF 1994

Missy Brown (1982): Basketball; Dick Campbell (1958-67): Men's

Basketball Coach; Sanders Shiver (1975): Football; Bobby Wilson (1965-87): Baseball Coach.

CLASS OF 1998

Hubert Ashe (1953): Football and Baseball; Bobby Black (1965): Football and Baseball; Ira Dance (1923): Football; Fay Bowman Evans (1929): Basketball; Tommy Everette (1970): Basketball; Sylvia Hatchell (1974): Basketball; Tommy Jones (1970): Baseball and Football.

CLASS OF 2002

Bob Cope (1964): Football; Boyce Green (1974): Football; Roy Hill (1965): Baseball and Basketball; Vickee Kazee Hollifield (1983): Softball; Jean Love (1983): Tennis; Jack Wade (1950): Football, Basketball and Baseball.

CLASS OF 2007

Pat Apke (1986): Football; Tim George (1973): Football; David Guinn (1970): Wrestling; Data Caldwell (1980): Basketball; Bill Foster (1958): Basketball; Mike Ogan (1974): Basketball.

CLASS OF 2009

Larry Cooke (1978): Track; Billy Henry (1959): Basketball; Carol (Zachary) Mitchell (1991): Softball; Ken Rucker (1976): Football; Danny Sanders (1979): Football; Lisa Stogner (1984): Basketball; Glenn Wade (1949): Football and Basketball; Rodney Wampler (1972): Football.

CLASS OF 2010

William "Puggy" Blackmon (1973): Golf; David Brewer (1975): Tennis; John W. Hudson (1939): Basketball; Mac Lambert (1955): Football; Dr. Jack Owenby (1960): Basketball and Baseball; Patricia (Rouchon) Wells (1988): Tennis Steve Williams (1973): Basketball

Class of 2011

Bud Bales (1964): Baseball; Ben Booker (1943) Basketball and Football; Clark Bryan (1963) Basketball and Track; Derrick Davis (1961) Soccer; George "Buzzy" Mann (1982) Wrestling; Danny Maples (1977) Baseball; Jim Shuler (1966) Basketball and Tennis

Class of 2012

David Barger (1970): Adminstrator; Jerry Cannon (1967): Basketball; Joe Fishback (1990): Football; Mark Isom (1985): Football; Lib Julian (1958): Basketball and Baseball

Class of 2013

Sammi Hatcher Chafin (1993): Softball; Heather Randolph (1996): Softball; Leah Jackson-Smith (1993): Women's Basketball

Class of 2016

Mike Clowney (1997): Football; Gene Lively (1967): Baseball; Karen Morton (1986); Women's Basketball; Cedric Killings (2000): Football; Lewis Bivens (Women's Basketball Coach 1979-87)

Class of 2019

Mike Turner (1973), Football; Jim Deaton (1974), Football; Bill Mitchell (Football Coach); Mike Whitley (Football Coach); Leonard Weaver (2005), Football;  Marci Mitchell Whiteside (2003), Softball

Class of 2020

Steve Adams (1984), Men's Basketball; Jennifer Bock Ryan (2006), Women's Soccer; Eddie Carter (1979), Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball Coach and Administrator; Whitney Hickam Cruze (2008), Softball; Quez Rumph (2000), Football; Robert Thomas (1992), Football; and Kenneth Tyson (1988), Football

Class of 2021

Shari Buford (2010), Women's Basketball; Steve Cishek (2007), Baseball; Libby Conley (2002), Softball; Jay Floyd (1988), Football; Charlie King (1957), Men's Golf/Football Coach; Mike Schlecter (1989), Football 

Class of 2021

Tyler Baldock (2007), Men's Soccer; Kyle Gribble (2004), Men's Basketball; Jessie Howard (2011), Softball; Chris Jones (2011), Football; Allen Morgan (1968), Baseball/Administrator; Gary Rundles (1985-00), Baseball Coach; Tyrone Westmoreland (1998), Football