Hall to induct 4 new members
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp will be part of the group honored Feb. 26.
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp will be part of the group honored Feb. 26.
A quartet of athletes who once thrilled local sports fans before taking their talents beyond Floyd County is getting welcomed into an elite class.
Eric Floyd, NaeNae Daniels Saxton, Will Muschamp and Jermaine Spivey were announced Tuesday as the newest inductees into the Rome-Floyd Sports Hall of Fame, which is presented by Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation and the Sports Hall of Fame Committee.
Floyd is being inducted in the professional athlete category for his time as an offensive lineman for five seasons in the NFL.
The former West Rome High School standout played for the Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles in addition to a stellar career at Auburn where he was on the 1983 and 1987 SEC championship teams.
Saxton, formerly Daniels, enters as an amateur athlete, having been a standout basketball player for both West Rome High School before going to the University of Alabama and helping the 1994 Crimson Tide women’s team advance to the NCAA Final Four after winning the Midwest Regional.
A former Darlington football stand- out, Muschamp has become a respected member of the college football coaching ranks, having spent time on the staffs at LSU, Auburn and Texas before taking on head coaching duties at Florida and South Carolina. Muschamp, who is entering the hall of fame in both the lifetime achievement and amateur athlete categories, has a 15-11 record as the head coach of the Gamecocks the last two seasons, including a 26-19 win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl earlier this month.
Entering in the professional athlete category, Spivey came to prominence as a member of the Model High School boys’ basketball team from 1987-1991.
He scored over 1,800 points in his career and was a three-year starter.
He later played for the University of New Orleans, helping the Privateers win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament his senior season, before going on to play basketball several years overseas in places like Israel, Hungary and Finland.
The 2018 class will be honored at the annual banquet ceremony, which will be held Feb. 26 at Berry College’s Krannert Center Ballroom. A social and silent auction will be held at 6 p.m., followed by a seated dinner and awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30 and may be purchased at the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Administrative Headquarters at 1 Shorter Ave. or online at romefloydsportshalloffame.com. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance by Feb. 16.
Along with the inductees, 12 area student-athletes will be recognized for their achievements, with two being awarded the John Pinson Jr. Outstanding Student Athlete Scholarship.