GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG athletics department will induct four former student-athletes into the Athletics Hall of Fame November 12, 2016, marking the 16th class in program history. UNCG will honor two former men's basketball student-athletes in Courtney Eldridge and Jay Joseph along with two former softball student-athletes in Lara Long Smith and Leigh Irwin in the 2015 class.
This year's Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in The Terrace at the Greensboro Coliseum November 12, 2016 at noon. The Hall of Fame is open to the public and tickets are $50 for adults, $25 for children under 12, which can be purchased by contacting Rachael Farlow at 336-334-5156 or rkfarlow@uncg.edu.
Eldridge was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 1998-2002 and helped the Spartans post three winning seasons during his career, including a 20-win campaign in 2001-02. He was part of the Spartans 2001 NCAA Tournament team that won the Southern Conference Tournament title and finished with a 19-12 record on the year. As a senior, he led the Spartans to the SoCon North Division co-championship and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a 20-11 record.
Eldridge was a two-time SoCon First Team selection (2001 & 2002) as well as a two-time SoCon All-Tournament recipient (2001 & 2002). He is the Spartans' all-time leader in assists with 584 and led the team all four years in assists. He holds the UNCG single-season records for assists with 182 in 2002 and also owns the second (179) and eighth (142) highest marks in program history. Eldridge is ninth all-time in UNCG scoring history with 1,329 career points and third all-time with 395 career free throws made. He is second in program-history with 226 steals and led the team in steals for three straight seasons.
Joseph was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2000-04, including teammates with Eldridge for two years. He also was part of the Spartans 2001 NCAA Tournament team that won the Southern Conference Tournament title and finished with a 19-12 record on the year. As a sophomore, he led the Spartans to the SoCon North Division co-championship and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a 20-11 record.
Joseph ranks second all-time in UNCG history in scoring with 1,646 career points. He is second all-time with 596 career field goals made and second with 1,335 career field goal attempts. He ranks 11th in program history with 474 rebounds and is sixth all-time in games played with 119. He ranks fourth in 3-pointers made with 261, leading the team from distance for three straight years. He was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2001 and his 412 points scored that season is the most by a UNCG freshman in program history.
Long Smith was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 1995-98. She led the Spartans to a 150-99 (.602) record during her career; including the two seasons with the most wins program history with 49 in 1995 and 40 in 1997. During her career, she guided the Spartans to the Big South regular season championship twice (1995, 1996) and the Big South Tournament title in 1997. Additionally, the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Regional in Columbia, S.C., in 1997.
Long Smith was named the 1998 Southern Conference Player of the Year and was a two-time all-conference selection (1995, 1998). She finished her career atop the charts with a .370 batting average, which currently ranks second in program history. She holds the UNCG career record with 55 doubles and owns the top two single-season marks with 21 (1998) and 20 (1997). She is eighth all-time in career hits (203), ninth in career runs scored (107) and sixth in career RBI (111).
Irwin was also a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 1998-2001 and was a teammate of Long's her freshman year. She guided the Spartans to a 131-114 record (.535) during her career, including four 30-plus win seasons. She led UNCG to a 37-win season in 2000, the fourth highest-total in program history.
Irwin was named the 2001 SoCon Player of the Year and was a two-time All-SoCon selection (2000, 2001). She was named to the NFCA All-Region Second Team in 2000 when she posted 71 hits, the third most in a UNCG single-season. She holds the UNCG career record for stolen bases with 102, leading the team for three years. She finished her career third in games started (243), eighth in runs scored (108) and ninth in hits (196).
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All-Time UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
