Division II Football Hall of Fame

October 11, 2005

HATCHER, MOORE AND SHELL COMPRISE CLASS OF 2005 FOR THE DIVISION II FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

FLORENCE, Ala. -- Three of the all-time greats of NCAA Division II football will be honored on December 9 as the seventh class of inductees into the Division II Football Hall of Fame in Florence, Ala.

Chris Hatcher of Valdosta State, Ronald Moore of Pittsburg State and Donnie Shell of South Carolina State comprise the 2005 class of inductees and will bring the total number of inductees to 17.

The trio were chosen by a 20-member selection committee and the selection was announced Tuesday by Division II Football Hall of Fame voting coordinator Dee Corum.

Hatcher, Moore and Shell will be inducted on December 9 as part of a combined Harlon Hill Trophy and Division II Football Hall of Fame Banquet at 6:30 p.m. at the Florence Conference Center.

The initial class of inductees in 1999 included running back Johnny Bailey of Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville), quarterback Jeff Bentrim of North Dakota State and the late Walter Payton of Jackson State University. In 2000, defensive lineman Harry Carson of South Carolina State University, defensive lineman Pierce Holt of Angelo State University, and wide receiver John Stallworth of Alabama A&M were inducted. In 2001 the third class was comprised of tight end Brent Jones of Santa Clara University, linebacker Greg Lloyd of Fort Valley State University and quarterback Ken O'Brien of the University of California-Davis. Quarterback Scott Brunner of Delaware, receiver Andre Reed of Kutztown and linebacker Jessie Tuggle of Valdosta State comprised the 2002 class. Former Texas A&M-Kingsville and Washington Redskins standout Darrell Green was inducted in 2003, and former North Dakota State and Buffalo Bills standout Phil Hansen was inducted in 2004.

The Division II Football Hall of Fame is housed at Braly Municipal Stadium, which has hosted the Division II Football Championship Game since 1986.

The 33rd annual Division II Football Championship Game will be played at Braly Stadium at 3 p.m. on December 10, 2005, and the Harlon Hill Trophy presentation to the Division II Player of the Year, and the Hall of Fame inductions are part of the Shoals area's championship week activities.

The Division II Football Hall of Fame is sponsored by Coca-Cola, The City of Florence, Trustmark Construction, TNT Fireworks and the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa.

Tickets are $45 each or $360 for a table of eight and are available by calling the Shoals Chamber of Commerce (256) 764-4661 or the UNA Sports Information Office at (256) 765-4595.

Hatcher and Shell become the second inductees from each of their respective schools into the Division II Football Hall of Fame. Hatcher joins fellow Valdosta State graduate Jessie Tuggle, who was inducted in 2002. Harry Carson, a former teammate of Shell at South Carolina State, was inducted in 2000. Moore is the first inductee from Pittsburg State.

Hatcher, a Macon, Ga., native, has reached the highest levels of Division II football as both a player and coach. As a quarterback at Valdosta State in 1994 he led his team to the second round of the Division II playoffs and was the winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II National Player of the Year. In 2004, as head coach at Valdosta State, he led the Blazers to the Division II National Championship with a win over Pittsburg State in the championship game. As a player, Hatcher compiled a 29-10-2 record and led the Blazers to their first NCAA post-season playoff appearance. He was a two-time consensus All-American pick and holds 11 school, nine Gulf South Conference and eight Division II records. From 1991-94 he completed 1,001 of 1,451 pass attempts for 10,878 yards and 116 touchdowns. He was a two-time recipient of the Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophy (1993, 1994), was a member of the GSC Team of the 1990s, was an NCAA Top Eight Award winner (1994) , was one of 16 post-graduate scholarship recipients from the National Football Foundation and was named CoSIDA Academic All-America National Player of the Year (1994). Hatcher was elected in his first year of eligibility to the Valdosta State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and was elected to the Macon Sports Hall of Fame as well. He began his coaching career in 1995 as a student assistant at VSU under Hal Mumme. He then coached quarterbacks and receivers as an assistant coach at Central Florida in 1996 where he coached All-American and NFL first-round draft pick Daunte Culpepper. From 1997-98 he was a graduate assistant quarterback coach at the University of Kentucky where he coached All-American and No. 1 draft pick Tim Couch. After serving as a full-time assistant at Kentucky in 1999, Hatcher became head coach at Valdosta State in 2000. He has led his VSU teams to records of 10-2, 12-1, 14-1, 10-2, 13-1 and 5-1 over the last five and a half seasons for an incredible 64-8 record as a head coach. All five of his Blazer teams have advanced to the Division II playoffs. He has a 46-3 record in Gulf South Conference games and has led VSU to four GSC titles in five years. Hatcher has been selected GSC Coach of the Year three times (2000, 2001, 2002), Division II Regional Coach of the Year three times (2001, 2002, 2004) and National Coach of the Year in 2000 by the American Football Quarterly and in 2004 by the American Football Coaches Association. He was also selected to coach at the Hula Bowl all-star game following the 2004 season. In addition to having coached numerous all-conference and All-American players, Hatcher coached a two-time Hill Trophy winner in quarterback Dusty Bonner in 2000 and 2001. He and his wife Lori, a VSU graduate in early childhood education, have a son, Tyler Christopher.

Moore, a Spencer, Okla., native, helped lead Pittsburg State to two national championship games, one national title and was the Harlon Hill Trophy winner as national player of the year in 1992. He ranked second in Division II in rushing with 239 carries for 1,864 yards and 26 touchdowns and a 169.5 average per game. He led Division II in scoring with 27 touchdowns for 166 points and a 15.1 average. He also ranked eighth in kickoff returns with a 27.7 average on 14 returns and averaged 7.8 yards per carry and 217.6 all-purpose yards per game. Moore was selected first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and Kodak, the Associated Press and every other recognized Division II All-America team. His average of 169.5 yards per game is the highest ever at PSU. His 7.8 yards per carry is the best in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association history. His 26 rushing TDs and 27 total TDs set school and conference single season records and his 166 points scored also set PSU and MIAA records. He finished his career with a school-record 4,299 regular-season rushing yards in 43 regular-season games. He finished 16th on the NCAA Division II all-time career chart and third on the MIAA all-time rushing list. Moore topped the 100-yard mark 14 times in his last 15 outings and 28 times in his career. He was a two-time All-MIAA selection and helped Pitt State to a school record 24 consecutive wins, including the 1991 NCAA Division II national championship. He rushed for 1,040 yards as a junior in 1991 and scored 14 touchdowns on a team that featured another 1000-yard back in Darren Dawson, and the Harlon Hill Trophy winner Ronnie West. He had 1,013 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore. While in college he also served as president of PSU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Moore played seven years in the NFL with the Cardinals, Jets, Rams and Dolphins. As a rookie in 1993 he rushed for 1,018 yards with the Cardinals and scored nine touchdowns. He played with Arizona from 1993-95, played with the Jets in 1995-96, the Rams in 1997 and the Dolphins in 1998. He currently resides in Midwest City, Okla., with his wife and children. He is a police officer and is also a minister.

Shell, a native of Whitmire, S.C., was a standout performer as a linebacker and defensive back at South Carolina State College (now University) during his collegiate career from 1970-73. As a senior the 5-foot-11 Shell was the dominant player at his position in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, earning All-MEAC honors. He was also named to the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Courier All-America teams. He also starred on the baseball field at South Carolina State. At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Shell signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steeler (1974) of the National Football League. During an illustrious career with the Steelers, which spanned eleven seasons, he started every year, earned All-Pro five times and helped Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl Championships. He was selected to the Steelers All-Time Team and to the NFL Silver Anniversary Super Bowl Team. He played in more than 200 games as a Steeler and made 51 interceptions - making him the only strong safety in NFL history to record 50 or more interceptions. He has also been voted to the NCAA Division II Team of the Quarter Century and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network (SBN) Black College 100-Year Anniversary squad. Shell was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame at South Bend, Ind., in 1998. Earlier, he was enshrined in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and the South Carolina State University Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was one of 15 finalists for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. Since 1994, Shell has served as Director of Player Development for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL. In this capacity, he has earned the "Best Player Programs" award from the NFl in 1998 and 1999 and garnered the "Most Outstanding Player Programs" honor from the NFC in 2000. In 2002, the NFL Player Development created the Winston/Shell Award in in his honor for being one of the pioneers in player development and always having one of the most creative programs in the NFL. A 1974 graduate of South Carolina State with a degree in physical education and a minor in biology, Shell went on to earn a master's in guidance and counseling from South Carolina State in 1977. The 53-year-old Shell and his wife Paulette, also an S.C. State graduate, have three children, all of which attended SCSU. April was the first female drum major at the university, Dawn played basketball for four years, and Donnie is a sophomore on the Bulldog football team. The family resides in Rock Hill, S.C.