SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State University will honor its athletic heritage when six new members are inducted into the SSU Athletic Hall of Fame.Slated to be inducted are Richard Basil (football), Carl Crump (men's basketball), William R. "Bill" Davis (football coach), Russell Ellington (men's basketball coach), Phyllis Oliver Mattox (women's tennis) and Kim Jones Walton (women's basketball). Davis and Ellington will be enshrined posthumously.
This year’s ceremony, set for Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., will mark the fourth group to be inducted into the SSU Athletic Hall of Fame. The contingent honors the best of Tiger athletics over the last five decades, representing the sports of basketball, football and tennis.
Damon Evans, Vice President for Business Operations at The Markley Group and a former athletics director at the University of Georgia, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet. Shannon Sharpe, CBS Sports Analyst, NFL and SSU Hall of Famer, will be present at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Basil transferred to Savannah State from East Central Community College and played quarterback for the Tigers in 1988 and '89. In two years he passed for 3,645 yards and 44 touchdowns. He also rushed for 990 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 1988, Basil was the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Offensive Player of the Year and won the George Hobson Offensive Back of the Year Award. In 1989, he led Division II in passing percentage by completing .569 of his passes. He served as an assistant coach at SSU for nine seasons and was the head football coach for two and a half years. He graduated from SSU in 2001. The Demopolis, Alabama native currently lives in Stockbridge, Georgia and is the founder and executive director of Jump Start Youth Initiative Program.
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