The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tickets Now Available For Mississippi Sports Hall Induction
7/11/2008 | Athletics
For ticket information, contact the Museum at 800-280-FAME (3263) or 601-982-8264. A reception starting at 5:30 p.m. will precede the banquet at 7 p.m.
“A trademark of Museum events over the years has been to provide opportunities for the public to meet and talk with the people it honors,” said Museum Executive Director Michael Rubenstein. “The induction banquet will be no different. Everyone will be accessible.”
In 1970, Ball became Ole Miss’ first black student-athlete. His ground-breaking career saw him earn UPI All-SEC third team honors in all three of his varsity seasons, and garner All-SEC distinction from the league coaches in 1972 and 1973. Ball compiled 1,072 points in his career and helped direct the Rebels to three straight winning seasons for the first time since 1936-38.
Following his days in the Red and Blue, Ball played professionally for the IBL’s
Gillom complied 2,186 points in her Ole Miss career, second best on the all-time list. In her senior season, she led the SEC in scoring (23.2), was named to the Kodak All-America team, and also earned SEC Female Athlete of the Year and Mississippi Sportswoman of the Year honors.
An Olympic gold medal-winner, Gillom was one of the original 16 elite players assigned to the WNBA’s first eight teams. In each of her first three seasons, she averaged more than 15 points per game and finished the 1998 season ranked second in the league in scoring (20.8). An All-WNBA Second Team pick in 1997 and a First Team choice in 1998, she played in the inaugural All-Star Game in 1999.
Also in the Hall’s 2008 induction class is Paul Covington, the winningest basketball coach in Jackson State history; Will Clark, Mississippi State’s former national college player of the year and six-time MLB All-Star; Hill Denson, current Belhaven and former Southern Miss baseball head coach who posted 12 consecutive winning seasons in Hattiesburg; and USM’s Reggie Collier, who in 1981 became the first player in college history to run for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season.
The honorees were selected by two separate thirteen-person committees comprised of representatives from all the state’s college and university athletic departments plus representatives from Mississippi sports associations and clubs as well as the media.