NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION NAMES 15TH HALL OF FAME CLASS
Three members have been named by the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association as the 15th class for induction in its own Hall of Fame.
Sandra Langley of Pinetops, Bob Catapano of Raleigh and Shelly Marsh of Smithfield will become the newest members of the NCADA Hall of Fame.
The three will be recognized at the annual North Carolina Athletic Directors Association state conference at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside with the Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Tuesday night, March 31.
The NCADA Hall of Fame has been established to recognize achievement and excellence for athletic administration. The inductees are honored at the NCADA’s annual state convention, and a permanent display honoring the athletic directors’ Hall of Fame is located in the offices of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in Chapel Hill. The new class brings to 61 the number in the Hall.
In addition, two members will be added to the Roll of Honor for deceased honorees, including Branch Pope of Rosewood and Marshall Hamilton of Raleigh.
This year’s inductees include:
BOB CATAPANO
Bob Catapano is one of the state’s most successful high school soccer coaches as well as a leading athletic director.
A native of Glen Rock, N.J., Catapano attended North Carolina State University, where he was a four-year starter on the men’s soccer team. Following graduation, he embarked on a teaching and coaching career in Wake County that has spanned 36 years.
After four years at Martin Middle School, he went to Sanderson High School, where he created a soccer dynasty. In 20 years as head coach his teams won 17 conference championships and compiled an amazing 363-44-21 record, including a stretch spanning five seasons that Sanderson teams went a then-national record 103 games without a loss.
A former member of the NCHSAA Realignment Committee and the National Federation soccer rules committee, Catapano has been athletic director at Sanderson for 27 years. He is an NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching instructor and was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.
SANDRA LANGLEY
Sandra Langley has compiled a brilliant record as a head women’s basketball coach and athletic director, primarily at SouthWest Edgecombe.
A lifelong resident of Edgecombe County and graduate of Atlantic Christian College (now Barton), Langley has coached track, softball, volleyball and basketball during her career. She has been the head women’s basketball coach at SouthWest since 1978 and is currently the winningest active coach with a total around the 650 mark.
Her teams have won four basketball state crowns and been runners-up twice to go with 17 conference titles, and she also coached volleyball teams to nine conference championships. The Associated Press has named her the North Carolina Coach of the Year on four different occasions.
She has served as athletic director since 1991 and during her tenure 13 sports have been added to the school program as well as starting a SouthWest Edgecombe Hall of Fame.
Sandra is a member of the Twin County (Nash/Edgecombe) Hall of Fame and the Barton College Sports Hall of Fame.
SHELLY MARSH
Shelly Marsh is currently the deputy superintendent of the Johnston County schools have an outstanding career as a men’s basketball coach and administrator.
After graduation from North Carolina A&T State University, he began his career in coaching and teaching. He spent 11 years as basketball coach and athletic director at Greenville’s D.H. Conley High School, during which time he was the head coach of the East team in the North Carolina Coaches Association all-star basketball game. He also served at Havelock as assistant principal and basketball coach from 1985 to ’93, and then while coaching at West Johnston, he earned his 500th career victory in 2007.
His administrative stints have also included four years as assistant principal at Princeton High, five years as principal of Cleveland Middle in Johnston County, and four years as the hearing officer and county athletic director for the Johnston system.
He previously earned a service award from the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association and has been honored by the NCHSAA.
In terms of the Roll of Honor, Marshall Hamilton was an athletic director for 25 years and was an outstanding basketball coach during stints at Clinton, Southern Wayne, Broughton and Leesville Road. Branch Pope, a former president of the North Carolina Athletic Directors’ Association, served at Rosewood as athletic director and also coached football and basketball.
Honorees in the charter class of the Hall of Fame, inducted in 1995, included NCHSAA executive director Charlie Adams, former Charlotte-Mecklenburg director of athletics Dave Harris, Russ Blunt of Durham’s Hillside High School, long-time Greenville Rose athletic director and NCADA executive secretary Richard “Bud” Phillips; former High Point athletic administrator A.J. “Tony” Simeon, and Norma Harbin of Winston-Salem, the first female athletic director at a 4-A school in North Carolina.
Willie Bradshaw of Durham, Mike Brown of Wilmington, Jack Groce of Boone, Red Hoffman of Wilkesboro, Leon Brogden of Wilmington and Homer Thompson of Winston-Salem joined the Hall in 1996. The 1997 inductees included Ruth Pool of Durham, Bill Eutsler of Rockingham, Shu Carlton of Gastonia, Gilbert Ferrell of Wilson and Thell Overman of Wallace, while in ’98 the Hall welcomed Jim Blake of Durham, Wat Holyfield of Raleigh, Carroll King of Raleigh, Benny Pearce of Fayetteville, Jerry McGee of Elizabeth City and Dudley Whitley of Rocky Mount.
The 1999 inductees were Dave Johnson of Charlotte, Glenn Nixon of Clayton, Bob Sawyer of Greensboro and George Whitfield of Greenville, while in 2000 Don Patrick of Newton-Conover, Bill Carver of Fayetteville and Simon Terrell of Chapel Hill joined the Hall.
The 2001 inductees included Carl Bolick of Charlotte, Herman Bryson of Winston-Salem, Ed Peeler of Shelby and Chip Gill of Durham. The 2002 honorees were Dick Knox of Chapel Hill, Jack Musten of Winston-Salem, Don Saine of Gastonia and Sue Shinn of High Point.
In 2002 Tim Brayboy of Cary, Hilda Worthington of Farmville, Roger Thrift of New Bern, Spike Corbin of Wilmington and Richard Murray of Ahoskie were inducted. The 2003 honorees included Mac Cumbo of East Flat Rock, Boyce Dietz of Bryson City, Roger Dixon currently of Myrtle Beach, SC., Debbie Jones of Charlotte and Jim Hayes of Charlotte. The 2004 induction class included Alton “Tunney” Brooks of Lumberton, Paul Gay of Sanford, Joel Long of Raleigh and Dave Thomas of Goldsboro.
The 2005 honorees were Cheryl Brewer of North Moore and Mac Morris and Phil Weaver of the North Carolina Coaches’ Association in Greensboro, and in 2006 the inductees were Ralph Holloway of Morehead City, Harold Robinson of Williamston and Doyle Whitfield of Dudley.
Last year Tom Brown of Maiden, Vicki Hamilton of Charlotte, and Joe White of Charlotte were honored.
