May 11, 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jerry Tolley, a former East Carolina record-setting student-athlete and two-time national champion football coach at Elon, is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame Thursday.

Other 2011 honorees include stock-car racing star Dale Jarrett, high school basketball coach Larry Lindsey, late Wake Forest announced Gene Overby, college tennis coach Tom Parham, North Carolina's first nationally-certified high school athletic trainer Al Proctor and NFL player Ricky Proehl.

The newest class will be enshrined at the 48th annual induction banquet Thursday evening in the main ballroom of the North Raleigh Hilton Hotel following an afternoon news conference at the North Carolina Museum of History, home of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

Banquet ticket information is available by visiting www.ncshof.org or by dialing (919) 845-3455.

Tolley set standards in football and track at East Carolina, some of which still stand, including the record for most interceptions in a game, single-season and career kickoff return average. However, his greatest success was as football coach at Elon College (now Elon University) where Tolley's program won four South Atlantic Conference titles, three District 26 championships and a pair of national titles in 1980 and 1981. In NAIA playoff games, his record is an unprecedented 8-1.

During his tenure at Elon, Tolley coached 53 all-conference performers, four of which became conference Most Valuable Players, and 18 All-America selections. He earned coach-of-the-year honors at the district, area, regional, state and national levels.

Before a similiar honor by the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2009, Tolley was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991 and in the ECU Educators Hall of Fame in 2008. In addition, he received the East Carolina University Health and Human Performance Centennial Leadership Medallion in 2008 in recognition of his outstanding leadership.

Tolley joins fellow Pirates Charlie Adams (ECU Hall of Fame), Carlester Crumpler (ECU Hall of Fame and current staff member), Paul Gay (ECU Hall of Fame), Bobby Hodges (ECU Hall of Fame), Terry Holland (current ECU athletics director), Leora "Sam" Jones (ECU Hall of Fame), Earl Smith (ECU Hall of Fame), Clarence Stasavich (ECU Hall of Fame), George Whitfield (ECU alumnus, former ECU assistant coach) and Kay Yow (late alumna) as members of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.