15 athletes, teachers, writers inducted into NC Sports Hall of Fame

Raleigh, N.C. — Fifteen athletes, educators and others who excelled in their respective sports were inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on Friday.

Among them were Jerry Stackhouse, a former University of North Carolina basketball player and the current men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

An induction ceremony was held at the Raleigh Convention Center.

In alphabetical order, the 2023 inductees were:

Rick Barnes: A Hickory, N.C. native known for his career as one of the nation's top basketball coaches. Barnes taught at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas and is currently at Tennessee.

Jason Brown: A high school athlete and former UNC football player. His five-year deal in 2009 with the St. Louis Rams made him the highest-paid center in the league, but he retired from football in 2012 and became a farmer in Louisburg, maintaining First Fruits Farms, which donates crops to food pantries.

Jeff Davis: Captain of Clemson University’s 1981 national championship football team and ACC Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played six years in the NFL.

Donald Evans: Football player at Winston-Salem State University and second-round draft choice of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams in 1987. After retiring from football, he became a philanthropist benefiting several historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Tom Fazio: One of America’s top golf course architects who designed more than 200 courses, of which 46 have been ranked by Golf Digest among its greatest 200 courses in the United States. His current office is in Hendersonville.

Ellen Griffin: A pioneer in women’s golf and UNC graduate who taught women's golf at UNC Greensboro before developing her own facility in Randleman, N.C.

Tom Higgins: Sports writing legend and one of the first full-time NASCAR beat writers who helped the sport grow.

Clarkston Hines: Duke University football star known as one of the most prolific wide receivers in ACC conference history. He was selected as the ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 1990. and is a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.

Robert “Stonewall” Jackson: The World War II veteran became a star linebacker at what is now North Carolina A&T State University. He was the first African American from a historically Black college to be drafted by the NFL, playing for both the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. He was also an educator and coach at N.C. Central. Jackson has passed away and will be inducted posthumously.

Trudi Lacey: Now an athletic director at a university in Charlotte, Lacey played for four years under legendary coach Kay Yow at N.C. State, scoring 1,957 points during her career and winning a pair of ACC regular season titles.

Ronald Rogers: Western Carolina’s first three-time NAIA All-American in basketball (1951, 1952, 1953). He scored 1,960 points during his career there. Rogers has passed away and will be inducted posthumously.

John Sadri: One of the top tennis players to come from North Carolina and an all-American at N.C. State. Sadri was ranked as high as 14th in the world as a professional and reached the finals of the Australia Open.

Jerry Stackhouse: An All-American basketball player who played for the Tar Heels for two seasons before he was drafted in the NBA.

Curtis Strange: A golf legend who won 17 PGA Tour championships after his career at Wake Forest University. He is also a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Rosie Thompson: East Carolina University's leader in women's basketball and the only woman in ECU history to have her jersey retired.