WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Former SC State football and track and field standout Philip Murphy will be among five persons inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame Friday during a 9 a.m. brunch at the Benton Convention Center. The ceremony is being held in conjunction with the MEAC Basketball Tournament (Mar. 5-10).
Joining Murphy, a Middletown, Connecticut native ,in the 2012 Class will be Amber Alford of Florida A&M (softball 1997-99), Jermaine “JD” Hall of Bethune-Cookman (football 1988-92), Alisha Hill of Howard (basketball 1996-98) and Tarvis Williams of Hampton (basketball 1997-01). Hall is being honored posthumously.
"We are delighted to recognize another class of noteworthy inductees who have made a substantial and indelible impact to their communities, institutions and our conference," said Dennis E. Thomas, MEAC Commissioner, when announcing the Class in January. "I'd like to applaud the 2012 Hall of Fame Class for all of their accomplishments both athletically and professionally."
Murphy said he was pleased with his pending induction and gave credit to his SC State coaches and teammates and his high school coaches.
“It's a great honor,” Murphy said. “And, it's a testament to all the great teams I played on and the teammates I played with. I also pay tribute to all the great coaches I had from high school through college. I owe a great deal of gratitude to Coach Larry McHugh and the staff at Xavier High School and Coach Willie Jeffries and his staff at SC State University).”
Murphy earned the top defensive accolade in the MEAC as a senior in 1979 when he was named Defensive Player of the Year. That same year, he was named an All-MEAC First Team selection, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) I-AA All-American, Sheridan Broadcasting Network (SBN) All-American, Kodak First Team All-American, Associated Press Third Team Little All-American and Defensive MVP of the Senior Bowl.
In 1980, he was chosen in the third round of the National Football League draft by the Los Angeles Rams and went on to a productive pro career.
He was also a standout thrower in track and field for the Bulldogs. Murphy holds the school record in the shot put at 57-2 ft. His mark in the event was also an MEAC outdoor track and field record from 1979-2007. Murphy was a four-time MEAC outdoor track and field champion in the shot put and two time MEAC outdoor track and field champion in the discus. He was inducted into the SC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and named to the school's Centennial (1907-2007) Football Team. He is also in the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame and the Xavier High School Hall of Honors.
The MEAC Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes, coaches, university and/or conference administrators as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1969. Enshrinees were selected by a 13-person committee made up of administrators from member institutions.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981, during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, North Carolina. Since its establishment, the Hall of Fame has enshrined 113 people, including the Class of 2012.
Murphy, who joins 16 other inductees from SC State in the prestigious hall, will be presented by his 22-year old daughter, Rebecca Murphy, a senior and Dean's List student at Temple University.
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