UNCP athletics announces 44th Hall of Fame class

Jul. 21—PEMBROKE — Unrivaled accolades among six student-athletes, a legendary men's basketball coach and athletics director, and an avid Braves Club supporter who represents #BraveNation on a global stage as one of the top National Football League referees, will be officially inducted into the UNC Pembroke Athletics Hall of Fame as part of Homecoming Week in late October, athletics department officials announced Thursday.

The class spans seven sports, represents the better part of five different decades, and has accolades such as the NFL, the Olympics, NCAA National Championships and runner-up finishes.

"This is an unprecedented class in many ways. I'm so appreciative to the committee for all they do and have done to arrive at this point", said UNCP Athletics Director Dick Christy.

Olympian and men's cross country/track & field's Pardon Ndhlovu, NCAA National Champion Mike Williams, NCAA National runner-up Meghan (Moore) Mitchell, NFL referee Brad Allen, Dan Kenney, who skippered the men's basketball team to 124 victories from 1985-92 before serving as the head of the athletics department from 1998-2012, men's golf multi-time All-American and former golf professional Jordan Walor, will join baseball players Linwood Hedgpeth and Johnny Williams (posthumous), in comprising UNCP's 44th Athletics Hall of Fame class.

The 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. on October 27 in the University Center Annex. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.

Members of the 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame committee include Hall of Fame members David Lewis (basketball) and Melanie (Cobb) Hughes (soccer), Braves Club members Crystal Moore and Jerry Elkins, and Dr. Calvina Ellerbe, an associate professor in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department.

Ndhlovu ran cross country and track for the Black & Gold from 2009-13, and finished 41st in the Marathon event for his native Zimbabwe at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A 4-time All-Peach Belt Conference standout, he won the 2011 and 2012 Peach Belt Conference Men's Cross Country Championship and was named the PBC Runner of the Year both seasons. He also competed in PBC track and field in his senior season in 2013 — the first year the conference held it as a championship sport — and was named the PBC Men's Track Athlete of the Year, winning the 1,500- 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs. He advanced to the NCAA National Championships and was named an All-American in both the 5000- and 10000-meter runs.

A four-time All-American and three-time regional champion, Mike Williams logged 112 victories for the Braves from 2009-13, and captured the program's first individual national champion when he rolled through the 165-pound tournament at the 2011-12 NCAA Championships. A two-time NCAA Super Region I Wrestler of the Year honoree as well, he tallied 34 wins as a junior, and then added 38 more victories as a senior on the way to a third-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Williams was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the prestigious National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals in 2010.

Mitchell is the only All-American in the 23-season history of the women's golf program, and brought home that national honor twice across her 3-year career (2010-13) in Pembroke. She compiled a 75.8 career stroke average in 34 tournaments and 73 rounds of golf, and tallied 30 top-20 finishes for the Braves, and wrapped up her collegiate career with a then-Peach Belt Conference record nine individual event titles, including the 2013 PBC Championship. An eight-time PBC Player of the Week honoree, Mitchell raked in a trio of all-conference laurels and was named PBC Golfer of the Year following both her junior and senior (co) campaigns.

Allen, a key cog in the ongoing efforts of the department's Braves Club, earned his bachelor's degree in history from UNC Pembroke in 1991, and joins his father, Greg, in the distinguished UNCP Athletics fraternity. He has officiated multiple sports across all levels over the last three decades, including assignments on Atlantic Coast Conference football crews from 2005-14, and has officiated games in the NFL over the last nine seasons. The 2017 UNC Pembroke Distinguished Alumni award winner, Allen has also served as a motivational speaker for 30 years, speaking on aging-related issues, health promotion and non-profit fundraising.

Kenney led the men's basketball program to a 124-78 (.614) clip from 1985-92. The Braves posted a pair of 20-plus-win seasons across the seven-year stretch, including a then-school record 27-5 clip during a magical 1990-91 season. He took over the reins as athletics director for the Braves in 1998, a role he would serve for 14 seasons. The Braves experienced a "Golden Era" of athletic competition under Kenney's watch — one that saw the addition of both football and women's golf to the varsity stable for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, respectively. UNCP's athletic teams qualified for the NCAA postseason on 21 occasions during Kenney's tenure, while being represented 50 times by individual qualifiers.

Walor was a three-time All-American for the men's golf program from 2009-12, while also raking in a trio of All-Peach Belt Conference accolades over the course of his illustrious career as well. He compiled a 72.4 career stroke average across 44 tournaments and 109 rounds of golf, and logged 31 top-20 finishes in the Black & Gold, while also tallying eight individual tournament titles, including the 2010 Peach Belt Conference championship. Walor brought home PBC Freshman of the Year honors following his rookie season, and capped off his career with PBC Player of the Year honors as a senior.

A middle infielder for the Braves from 1961-65, Hedgpeth was an All-Region selection for the Braves from 1961-65 before putting together a phenomenal prep coaching career. He compiled a 439-217 (.670) career coaching record at three different high schools, including 226 victories as the head coach at Whiteville High School from 1980-89. Hedgpeth led his prep squads to five state championships and 16 conference crowns, and also skippered the American Legion Post 137 squads from 1972-90 where he captured a pair of state championships and two runner-up finishes. He was inducted into the Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Johnny Williams played for legendary coaches Ray Pennington and Harold Ellen from 1966-69 and helped pace the program to a cumulative 107-23 (.823) clip and the 1969 NAIA District 26 championship. He tied a national record with four grand slams and led the nation with 39 runs scored as just a freshman, and hit .300 or better at the plate in two of his last three seasons in the Black & Gold. Williams was selected in the seventh round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft by the Washington Senators, and spent three seasons in the minor leagues as well.