Norfolk State on Wednesday announced its 2025 athletics Hall of Fame class of eight people, half of them connected with basketball.

Current Spartans men’s coach Robert Jones, former players Ralph Tally and Pendarvis Williams and former women’s coach Larry Vickers made huge contributions on the hardwood.

Also to be inducted: Willard Bailey (football coach/administrator), Martha Bissah and Kenneth Giles (track and field/cross country) and Danielle Jones (softball).

The induction ceremony will be held Feb. 13, the evening before the NSU basketball teams host Delaware State. Tickets and location details for the event will be announced later.

Since taking over in 2013, Robert Jones is 236-159 with NSU, 135-45 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The three-time MEAC Coach of the Year has led the Spartans to five regular-season titles and three tournament championships.

Tally (1983–87) is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,575 points. He was a three-time CIAA Player of the Year and 1987 Division II National Player of the Year, according to the coaches. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987.

Vickers, a former NSU men’s player and assistant coach, was 177-99 as NSU’s women’s head coach, including 83-18 in his final three seasons — all ending in MEAC Tournament titles — before being hired by Auburn. He was the 2023 HBCU National Coach of the Year.

Williams (2010-14) finished with 1,646 points and is second in career 3-point baskets (217). After being named the 2013 MEAC Player of the Year and BoxToRow HBCU National Player of the Year, he competed in the NBA G League and overseas.

Bailey was NSU’s head coach from 1984-92 and athletic director from 1984-89. He guided the Spartans to a 52-40-1 record over nine seasons and was inducted to the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Bissah, a three-time NSU Female Athlete of the Year, captured 19 MEAC titles, 16 individual and three relay, and remains the only female in conference history to win three straight cross country crowns (2017–2019). In the 800 meters at the NCAAs, she placed sixth in 2018 and fifth indoors in 2019.

Giles, entering his 25th year as cross country coach and 21st as track and field head coach, Giles has helped the Spartans to 23 All-America awards and record-breaking success, including 17 MEAC cross country titles and multiple indoor-outdoor championship sweeps.

Danielle Jones was a 1996 All-CIAA Rookie Team honoree who hit .440 with 28 RBIs and stole 23 bases without being caught. In 1997, she hit .453 with 75 runs, 63 hits, and 35 steals, earning first-team All-CIAA and all-state honors.

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/10/22/norfolk-state-announces-8-for-hall-of-fame-4-with-basketball/