2026 DSU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductions

The Delaware State University Athletics Hall of Fame has inducted its Class of 2026, which included 13 former student-athletes, a baseball team, and, for the first time, a longtime equestrian horse.

For images from the Nov. 6 Hall of Fame ceremony, click on the link below:

DSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductions, 2026 Photos

The following inductees were honored in the ceremony, held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center:

• Norman Dempster – A distinguished four-year letterman in Hornet football (1972-1975), in which he established himself as a premier defensive back, earning two All-MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) selections and leading the conference in interceptions and blocked punts. His athletic ability and leadership made him an important contributor to the Hornets during his collegiate playing career.
• Thomas Dunn – One of the top performers in the history of DSU track & field, he specialized in the decathlon and heptathlon. He won the 2007 MEAC Outdoor Decathlon Championship and established DSU records in both events. Dunn was a two-time Del State outdoor track & field team Most Outstanding Performer (2006 and 2007) and won the same award for indoor track & field in 2004. He was also a four-year member of the DSU men’s cross-country team.
• Darren Felton – A member of the Hornets’ MEAC championship squads in 1988 and 1989, Felton is the only starting quarterback in DSU football history to lead the program to two consecutive conference titles. He currently ranks seventh all-time in passing yards and touchdown passes in team history. Felton was honored as the MEAC Player of the Year by the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., and selected to the 1989 All-MEAC First Team.
• Jeff Greenly – A member of the MEAC Championship 1989 Hornet baseball team, Greenly was one of the most feared hitters in school history, boasting a career .421 batting average over his four years. He is one of the top all-time players in the MEAC with 143 runs batted in. His .453 batting average as a sophomore in 1989 ranked sixth in the nation among all NCAA Division I players.
• Kendra Mayers Gunter – A 2011 Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference long jump champion and NCAA championship qualifier, she made it to the nationals on the strength of her career best leap of 6.18 meters at the NCAA East Regional. She achieved three first-place finishes in the long jump, triple jump, and the 400-meter dash at the 2009 University of Delaware Winter Invitational, and won multiple events at various regional meets.
• Uhuru Hamiter – A dominant defensive lineman for the Hornets in the mid-1990s, he was a two-time sacks leader in 1993 and 1994. His 19 career sacks rank sixth in the Hornet record book. After earning All-MEAC honors twice (1993 and 1994), Hamiter was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and later the New Orleans Saints. He also competed in the NFL European League for the England Monarchs.
• William Hill, Jr. – After a stint in the U.S. Air Force, Hill became a all-time Hornet basketball great in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He scored a career 1,020 points. He earned All-MEAC First Team honors in 1979-80 and All-MEAC Second Team honors in 1981-82. His .531 field goal percentage (134 for 251) during the 1979-80 season is the seventh-best in team history for players with at least 100 field goals in a season.
• Ricky Meekins – Inducted as both a former student-athlete and coach, Meekins captured the MEAC individual cross-country championships, along with the MEAC outdoor individual 1500-meter and 3000-meter titles, all during the 1982-83 school year. He also won 1000-meter and 1500-meter titles in 1985. He helped lead the Hornets men to MEAC Men’s Cross-Country championships in 1982, 1984, and 1985. As a coach, Meekins was named MEAC Men’s Cross-Country Most Outstanding Coach after the Hornets’ 1989 championship.
• Brooke Moore – Named to the 2016 National Collegiate Equestrian Association All-America First Team, one of only four riders nationally to earn the highest honor in Horsemanship that year. She posted a 10-0 record in her senior year, including victories in every United Equestrian Conference Tournament ride. Her résumé includes multiple NCEA Rider-of-the-Month and Rider-of-the-Week honors, All-UEC First Team honors, and three Delaware State Horsemanship Rider-of-the-Year awards.
• Michael Murray – As the fourth-best rusher in Hornet football history with 2,951 yards from 1989-1991, he was the team’s rushing leader and a major contributor to two of Del State’s MEAC championship teams. During that period, he had twelve 100-yard rushing games. He posted the Hornets’ fifth-best single-season total with 1,200 rushing yards in 1991 and ranks seventh in school history with 21 rushing touchdowns.
• Darrin Shine – As the point guard during the greatest three-year stretch of Hornet men’s basketball, Shine was the floor general who set the tempo for the squad that won the MEAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in the 2004-05 season. During that three-year period, the Hornet men won three straight MEAC regular-season titles. Shine finished his Hornet career with 420 assists and led the team in assists during his three seasons.
• Samuel “Cowboy” Slay – In addition to playing defensive back for the Hornet football team from 1966-1970, he also ran the quarter mile and the Mile Run, setting at the time in 1967 a DSC mile record time of 4:06. He later served on the DSU Athletics Hall of Fame Vision Committee, helping to preserve the University’s sports legacy.
• Jay Threatt – The Hornets’ basketball career leader in assists (458) and steals (253), Threatt was a two-time NCAA Division I statistical champion during his three seasons with the team. He was tied for third in MEAC history in career steals and led the Hornets in steals in each of his three seasons. His school-record 458 assists rank ninth in the MEAC history.
• “Gotta Lovett Lyle” – For the first time ever, a DSU Women’s equestrian team horse has been inducted into the DSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Lyle served for 18 years as a Hornet equine athlete. Lyle was a dual-event athlete, excelling in both reining and horsemanship competition, earning numerous National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Horse-of-the-Month awards. His student-athlete riders consistently received Most Outstanding Performance awards in both disciplines. Lyle also appeared in countless community events, from camps and clinics to homecoming parades, and as the horse carrying the flag bearer during opening ceremonies at Hornet home meets.

In addition, the Hall of Fame Committee made a special presentation to Jimmie and Tina Strong, credited with being the visionary force behind the reestablishment of the DSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Also, Frank Marshall presented a $50,000 donation to the DSU Foundation in memory of his late wife, Mary Marshall. The couple was inducted into the DSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 as top contributors to the University’s Athletics Program.