SIX INDUCTEES SET TO JOIN UT MARTIN ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME ON SEPTEMBER 14

The Class of 2024 for the University of Tennessee at Martin Athletics Hall of Fame has been announced as this year’s induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14 in the Russell Duncan Ballroom inside the Boling University Center on campus.      

Jack Bendure (men’s basketball, 1969-72), Kara Bergenty (equestrian, 2009-13), Tom Britt (broadcaster, 1981-2021), Joe Gibbs (football, 2006-09), Hunter Richardson (golf, 2014-18) and Leonard Williams (football, 1990-91) make up the Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Those six will be officially enshrined at an 11 a.m. luncheon in conjunction with the Skyhawk football “Hall of Fame Game” against North Alabama at 6 p.m. at Hardy Graham Stadium.         

A Columbus, Ohio native, Bendure was part of UT Martin’s first-ever conference championship squad in men’s basketball as the then-Pacers claimed the 1969-70 Volunteer State Athletic Conference crown. He still ranks as the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots (183), single-season blocks (78 in 1969-70) and single-game blocks (11 against Union on Jan. 17, 1970). He was an All-Gulf South Conference performer during his senior season, nearly averaging a double-double (12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) over his final two years in a UT Martin uniform.       

Bergenty is the first member of the Skyhawk equestrian program to be inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame. Hailing from Farmington, Conn., she was the first UT Martin rider to earn All-American accolades in back-to-back seasons, securing a spot on the honorable mention fences team as a junior before notching a second-team award in flat during her senior campaign. She racked up 43 career victories and a dozen MOP’s in the Jumping Seat discipline in her Skyhawk career, shattering the program’s single-season fences record for highest average score (78.5) in 2011-12.          

Britt was a mainstay for four decades on the Skyhawk Sports Network, calling action on the airwaves throughout West Tennessee on numerous UT Martin flagship radio stations. Serving as play-by-play announcer for over 1,000 Skyhawk games, the Beech Bluff, Tenn. native took over as the longest tenured NCAA Division I women’s basketball play-by-play radio broadcaster in 2019 while ranking amongst the leaders in football play-by-play announcers in the country at the time. Included in his 52-year career in local media were 30 years as a news anchor and producer at WBBJ TV, an ABC/CBS affiliate based in Jackson, Tenn.           

A two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree from Brilliant, Ala., Gibbs logged 31 consecutive starts on the offensive line to close out his Skyhawk career. He did not allow a single sack in 23 starts over his final two seasons, including a senior campaign where he boasted All-American and All-OVC first team status at right tackle. UT Martin went 20-11 in OVC play during his playing tenure, including the 2006 season where the Skyhawks won their first-ever OVC title. His stellar career led to NFL opportunities with the St. Louis Rams in 2010 and Green Bay Packers in 2012.      

Richardson was the first UT Martin golfer to garner All-OVC accolades in four consecutive seasons, starting with the 2014-15 Freshman of the Year award and culminating in back-to-back Golfer of the Year honors. He ranks fifth in NCAA Division I history with 12 career tournament victories, including two straight medalist finishes at the OVC Championship in 2016 and 2017. He helped the Skyhawks to their first-ever OVC title in 2016 and broke the league record for career OVC Golfer of the Week awards (15). The Clarksville, Tenn. native became the first UT Martin representative to play in a PGA Tour event when he took part in the Barbasol Championship in July 2019.           

Hailing from New Orleans, La., Williams was a dynamic quarterback in the program’s final two seasons at the NCAA Division II level. He rewrote the record book during his career, leaving the program ranking first in career touchdown passes (40), second in career passing yards (4,518), second in career total offense (4,850 yards), second in career 300-yard passing games (four) and third in career pass completions (305). As a senior, he passed for a then-school record 24 touchdowns while throwing for 2,554 yards (then the second-highest mark in school history).