GSC announces second annual Hall of Fame class
Birmingham, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference is pleased to announce its second annual Hall of Fame Class for 2015.
The Gulf South Conference, now in its 46th year, will see five former student-athletes and school administrators inducted into this year's class, which includes two former head coaches, an athletic director and two volleyball standouts.
The Hall of Fame honorees will be officially inducted on Wednesday, June 24, in Destin, Fla., at the San Destin Golf and Beach Resort.
Starting on Monday, May 18, the GSC will begin a five-day spotlight feature highlighting each inductee and their impressive accomplishments. Below is a list of the 2015 GSC Hall of Fame winners.
James E. Harris (Alabama Huntsville)
Harris, an alumnus of Bowling Green State University (1971), served as an institutional staff member at UAH from 1995-2010. During his tenure he saw two NCAA Division II National Championships in hockey and 16 GSC Championships in men's soccer (2), baseball (1), softball (8) and men's and women's cross country (5). He was the recipient of the NACDA Athletic Director of the Year (2001), NACDA Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) and was inducted to the NACDA Hall of Fame (2013).
Ed Murphy (West Georgia)
Murphy served as an institutional staff member at West Georgia for 16 years (1994-2009). He served as a basketball coach for 22 seasons and totaled 399-career victories. He is the only coach in GSC history to have won three GSC Titles with three different teams (West Alabama in 1982, Delta State in 1986 and West Georgia in 2002). Murphy earned his bachelor's degree from Hardin-Simmons University.
Tommy Thomas (Valdosta State)
Thomas spent his entire storied career at Valdosta State, a tenure that spanned 40 years, including 25 as a member of the Gulf South Conference. He finished his career in 2007 as the all-time NCAA Division II leader in career victories with 1,308, which also ranks him 16th among all NCAA coaches. His 759 wins ranks him third in the GSC record books. He led VSU to two GSC Championships and, prior to GSC membership, hoisted the 1979 National Championship Trophy. The Valdosta State alumnus (1962) was voted to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2006.
Rachel Price-Bell (North Alabama)
Price-Bell was a volleyball student-athlete and four-year starter at UNA from 1996-99. She, along with her sister Ronda, led the Lions to four-consecutive Gulf South Conference Championships, including two NCAA Division II Region Titles. She appeared in a school-record 593 matches and, along with Ronda, are two of only nine student-athletes in school history to have earned both All-American and Academic All-American honors. In 2000, she was selected as the NCAA Division II National Scholar Athlete of the Year by the Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA). Price followed up her degree from UNA by earning a Phd. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University and is currently employed as a clinical project manager in West Lafayette, Ind.
Ronda Price-Brinley (North Alabama)
Price-Brinley was a volleyball standout from 1996-99 at UNA. Like her sister, Rachel, she helped lead the Lions to four-straight GSC Championships and two NCAA Division II Region Titles. She was the recipient of the 1998 Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophy and was named the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) National Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2000. She set an NCAA Division II record for career-kill attempts with 6,091. She and her sister Rachel were selected as the Gulf South Conference’s top female student-athletes for the NCAA Division II 40
th Anniversary team. She followed up her degree from UNA by graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she also did her residency. She is now employed as an anesthesiologist in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Click
HERE for the inaugural 2014 GSC Hall of Fame Class.
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