July 25, 2008
The selection committee of the Alabama A&M University Athletics Hall of Fame has released the names of nine individuals who will join the ranks of the coveted group of some 100 outstanding athletes and "Normalites" in the 133-year-old university's athletic chronicles. The "Normal Nine" will be inducted at the AAMU Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony Friday, August 29, at 7 p.m. in the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center on the AAMU campus. The Class of 2008 honorees include Michelle Byas, Huntsville, Ala., basketball; Thomas Groce, Mobile, Ala., baseball; Tony Lamont Hairston, Mobile, Ala., football, track and field; Craig Lottie, Willowbrook, Ill., basketball; Ira Mims, Bessemer, Ala., basketball; Thomas Newsome, Arlington, Va., football; Edward Phillips, Dayton, Ohio, basketball; Joseph Savage, Madison, Ala., football; and Press Parham (posthumously), Huntsville, Ala., basketball coach.