Six former Lions to be inducted into UNA Hall of Fame

FLORENCE – The University of North Alabama will induct its 35th Athletic Hall of Fame class on Oct. 12, as part of UNA’s Homecoming celebration.

This year’s Hall of Fame Class includes six former Lion student-athletes. Following its creation in 1990, the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame has inducted at least four members each year. This year’s induction brings the total number of inductees into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame to 167.

• Demarcus Blount – Football
  The late Demarcus Blount, who passed away this year, set school and conference records for rushing touchdowns and he ranks as the fourth leading rusher in UNA history with 3,116 yards on 661 carries from 2002-2005. A four-year starter, the Pensacola native was the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year in 2002.
  Blount’s 57 career rushing touchdowns set UNA and GSC records and his 63 total touchdowns is the most in Lion football history. He helped lead UNA to a GSC Championship and two NCAA Playoff Semifinal appearances. Blount was named to the UNA Team of the Decade for 1999-08 and was a first-team selection on the GSC Team of the Decade for the 2000s. 
• Chad Boughner – Baseball
  A Florence native, Chad Boughner pitched for UNA baseball teams in 2009 and from 2011-2013. He closed his career as the winningest pitcher in school history with 31 career wins. He is also tops in most innings pitched in a career (331.0), most career strikeouts (280) and most career starts (52). He holds UNA records for most strikeouts in a season (115), most innings pitched in a season (114.2) and most starts in a season (16), all set in 2012. That season he ranked second nationally in the NCAA Division II in strikeouts, seventh in starts and 12th in wins.
• Starr Ferguson Jones – Women’s Basketball
  A two-year starting guard for North Alabama women’s basketball teams in 1993-94 and 1994-95, Starr Ferguson Jones, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., helped lead the Lions to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight as a junior, with UNA finishing third nationally.
  She earned first-team All-Gulf South Conference, as well as GSC Newcomer of the Year, and All-South Region Tournament honors in 1994. A first-team All-Gulf South Conference pick again in 1995, she is one of just 11 women’s basketball players to earn first-team all-conference honors twice, in North Alabama’s 45 years as part of the GSC.
• Jake Greer – Men’s Golf
  Jake Greer is one of just 11 student-athletes in school history to earn All-America and Academic All-America honors with the Lions.
  In 2009, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) selected the Birmingham native as the winner of the Phil Mickelson Award as the NCAA Division II Freshman Golfer of the Year. He earned all-conference honors each of his four years as a Lion. He was the South/Southeast Super Regional individual champion in 2009 with a 201 three-round total. He was selected All-American in 2009 (second-team), 2011, and 2012 (honorable mention).
• Matt Hancock – Baseball
  Currently the Rehab Pitching Coordinator with the San Diego Padres, Matt Hancock was a four-year letterman for the Lions as a pitcher from 2002-2005, and then spent 13 seasons on the UNA baseball coaching staff. He is one of six 20-plus game winning pitchers in school history, and he coached three of the other five.
  Hancock ranks among UNA’s all-time leaders in several categories: eighth in career innings pitched (207.1), fifth in career starts (29), and sixth in career appearances (58). He coached five of UNA’s nine all-time winningest pitchers in Chad Boughner (31-13), Trey Mitchell (23-10), Riley Sanderson (20-15) Brantley Claunch (18-13) and Tyler Joyner (18-7). 
• Harry Shelton – Baseball
  A West Point, Miss., native, Harry Shelton was a three-year starter for UNA baseball from 1984-1986 who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. He played six seasons of minor league ball before embarking on a 30-year career as a Major League Baseball scout, currently with the New York Mets.
  As a player, his 10 triples in the 1986 season still stand as a school record and his 15 career triples ranks second best in school history. Shelton’s 75 career stolen bases in 86 attempts ranks seventh in school history. His 58 games played in 1985 are tied for a school record. He was also an Iron Man at UNA, as his 162 consecutive games played from 1984-1986 set a school record.
  He was voted first-team All-Gulf South Conference in 1986, was a GSC All-Division selection in 1985 and 1986 and was second-team ABCA All-South Region in 1985. He helped lead UNA to its first Gulf South Conference baseball championship in school history and the first-ever NCAA Division II Playoff appearance in 1984. He was also the third player in UNA baseball history to be drafted.