Georgia Tech has named its sports Hall of Fame class for 2018, a seven-person group that includes two-time NBA champion Chris Bosh and NFL veteran defensive lineman Michael Johnson. The other five in the class are Steven Blackwood (baseball), Adriane Lapsley Butler (track and field), Kristi Miller North (tennis), Chan Song (golf) and longtime fund-raiser Jack Thompson.
Blackwood played for two teams that won ACC regular-season titles (2004, 2005) and an ACC tournament title (2005) and reached the College World Series (2006). He was second-team All-ACC as a sophomore and first-team All-ACC as a junior. He is fourth all-time in school history in RBIs with 221.
Bosh was at Tech for one season, 2002-03, and was named ACC rookie of the year and second-team All-ACC for a team that played in the NIT. He was the fourth pick in the 2003 draft and went on to become a five-time NBA all-star, won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics with the U.S. basketball team and is a two-time NBA champion.
Johnson was a first-team All-American in 2008, when he recorded 17.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks, and led coach Paul Johnson’s first Tech team to a 9-4 record. Johnson registered 19 career sacks at Tech and has gone on to play nine NFL seasons.
Butler (née Adriane Lapsley) was a three-time All-American, a six-time ACC champion and was named All-ACC nine times in her career, 2003-06. She still holds the school indoor 55-meter dash record and also ran legs on three relays that still hold school records (4x100, 4x200 and shuttle hurdle). She has been a Tech assistant coach since 2007.
North (née Kristi Miller) holds the school records for wins in singles (152) and doubles (110) and led Tech to its first (and only) NCAA team championship, in 2007. She helped lead Tech to three ACC championships, was a six-time All-American, the 2008 ACC player of the year and earned the Honda Award for her sport in 2006. She also graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Song played on four teams that reached the NCAA championship and two that were national runners-up. Song was a two-time All-ACC player and a second-team All-American as a senior in 2005. He had 11 top-10 finishes in 49 career starts and was named to the ACC academic honor roll all four years at Tech.
Thompson has served 50 years at Tech, most of it spent leading fundraising efforts for the construction or renovation of every athletics facility on campus. His work has also secured gifts for scholarships for thousands of Tech athletes. He was honored with an lifetime achievement award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2011. Before his position in fundraising, he served as director of football recruiting, and helped recruit the first African-American athletes to Tech, including quarterback Eddie McAshan. He is now serving in a new role as special assistant to athletic director Todd Stansbury.
The seven Tech greats will be inducted Sept. 21 at the College Football Hall of Fame and then honored the following day at the Tech-Clemson game at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
About the Author
