Five set for induction into Carson-Newman Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night

VIDEO: 2025 Carson-Newman Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

2025 Induction ceremony tickets 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman will send five new members into its athletics hall of fame with its 23rd induction ceremony Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. in the Stokely Memorial Building on campus.

Tickets are 50 dollars per person. Ticket holders are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 p.m. for a half hour of fellowship and meet and greet with the inductees.  The dinner and ceremony will follow at 6 p.m.  The proceedings will be streamed on the Eagle Sports Network on YouTube.  

The 2025 honorees are Aubrey Morris (2009), cross country; Julie Nelson (2007), women’s soccer; Chuck Proffitt (1992), football; Dan Redding (1991-2020), football assistant coach; Dwight Wilson (1984), football. 

The group will be recognized at Carson-Newman Football’s Spring Game the next day.  

Aubrey Morris, cross country (2009) – A three-time South Atlantic Conference Champion, three-time NCAA championship meet qualifier, three-time all-region selection and 2006 Southeast Region champion, Aubrey Morris Morrison is one of the most decorated cross country athletes in school history.  She made a splash as soon as she arrived on campus, earning SAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2005.  Morrison would wrap up her career earning All-SAC first team honors the final three years she was on the banks of Mossy Creek. 


Julie Nelson, women’s soccer (2007) – A two-time All-South Atlantic Conference selection, Nelson helped the Eagles to four NCAA tournaments, four SAC championships and two Final Fours in her time at C-N.  At the time of nomination, she still ranks top-10 all-time in C-N history for career starts.  She went on to a successful professional career and is Northern Ireland’s record holder for career national team appearances. 


Chuck Proffitt, football (1992) – Carson-Newman’s all-time leader in interceptions at the time of his nomination, Chuck Proffitt was a two-time All-American defensive back and a member of the 1989 national championship-winning team.  Proffitt also ranks 12th all-time in tackles and is fourth in career pass breakups.  He was the South Atlantic Conference’s Defensive Freshman of the Year in 1989 before earning first-team all-conference honors his final three years with the program.  He has the longest interception return in Carson-Newman and South Atlantic Conference history. 


Dan Redding, assistant football coach (1991-2020) – For nearly 30 years, Dan Redding roamed the sidelines as an assistant coach at Carson-Newman.  During his tenures with the Eagles, Redding has coached lines that helped Carson-Newman win 13 South Atlantic Conference Championships and make 17 trips to the NCAA Division II or NAIA Playoffs as well as three national championship game berths.  Linemen mentored under Redding include former San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Cedric Killings, Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Torrie Griffin and Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins defensive end Junior Glymph. Nose guard Steve Mellon was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American and Glymph was named to multiple All-American teams in 2003.


Dwight Wilson, football (1984) – Carson-Newman football’s first All-America offensive lineman, Dwight Wilson was recognized for his efforts up front during Carson-Newman’s 1983 national championship run.  Wilson would help clear the way for the Eagles to rush for more than 3,000 yards in the final three years of his college career.  He would block for four all-conference and two All-American running backs.   

To nominate a former Carson-Newman athlete for the 2027 Hall of Fame, click here and fill out the nomination form. Individuals can only nominate two people in each nomination cycle. Nominations for the 2027 Hall of Fame close Aug. 1, 2024. 

This year’s class could balloon to eight. 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 2023

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; Claire Ramsdale (2007), women’s soccer; Gary Rundles (1985-00), Baseball Coach; Tyrone Westmoreland (1998), Football

Class of 2024 

Mike Brady (1993), Baseball; Gaines Cox (1993), Baseball; Don Elia (1978-2008), Wrestling Coach; Leonard Guyton (2003), Football; Patrick Olalere (1993), Men’s Soccer; David Roberts (1987), Football; Mark Sweeney (2000), Men’s Golf

Class of 2025

Aubrey Morris (2009), cross country; Julie Nelson (2007), women’s soccer; Chuck Proffitt (1992), football; Dan Redding (1991-2020), football assistant coach; Dwight Wilson (1984), football

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