The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2018 Hall of Fame Class

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference will induct five members into the 2018 Hall of Fame Class, the League announced today.  Receiving honors will be former Lincoln Memorial University and Tusculum College president Dr. Nancy B. Moody, Carson-Newman alum Cedric Killings, Tusculum alum Corey Russell, Catawba alum Nick Sabol and Wingate alumna Dr. Lindsay Hinson-Knipple.  The honorees will be formally inducted into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame at the Hall of Fame Banquet in Greenville, S.C. on May 31, 2018.

"This is an extremely impressive group of inductees," said SAC commissioner Patrick Britz. "We are honored to have them become members of the SAC Hall of Fame, as they are all excellent examples of the outstanding tradition of academic and athletic excellence that the SAC has established."

Dr. Moody served as president of two different South Atlantic Conference institutions, Lincoln Memorial (2001-2009) and Tusculum (2009-2017), and was an active member of the SAC President's Council for more than 12 years. Under Dr. Moody's leadership Lincoln Memorial joined the SAC in 2007. She served as Chair of the SAC Strategic Planning Committee in 2009, was Chair of the SAC President's Council in 2013 and 2014, and was a member of the Executive Committee for six years.

In addition to her service to the SAC, Dr. Moody was a member of several NCAA Committees, including the Division II President's Council (2008-12), the Division II Academic Requirements Task Force (2012-13) and the Budget and Strategic Planning Committee (2011). She also served as the Chair of the Division II Convention Planning Committee (2010).

Dr. Moody was a very active member of the higher education academic community. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Colleges Association from 2008-11, a Board of Trustee member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) from 2012-14, and she served as Chair of SACSCOC from 2015-17. Dr. Moody was also Chair of the Tennessee Independent College and University Association (TICUA), and a member of the TICUA Board of Directors from 2004-12.

During her illustrious career, Dr. Moody was the first female to be elected President of Lincoln Memorial University. She was the first female to be elected Chair of TICUA, and she was first female to be elected President of Tusculum College. She was the first female to be 'elected' as chair of SACSCOC, and she is the first female president to be elected/inducted into the SAC Hall of Fame.

Killings, a 2000 graduate of Carson-Newman, is considered the most dominating defensive players to ever wear a Carson-Newman uniform. He was a three-time All-American, three-time All-SAC Defensive Lineman and was named the 1996 Defensive Freshman of the Year. He started all 54 games of his Carson-Newman Career and is the Eagle's record-holder for consecutive starts, and he ranks in the top-10 in Carson-Newman history for both tackles for loss (29) and sacks (14.5) in a career. He has the distinction of being one of a handful of players to ever play in three NCAA National Championship games.

A member of the Carson-Newman Athletic Hall of Fame, Killings played seven seasons in the NFL from 2000-07 with stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins and Houston Texans. Since retiring from the NFL, he has served as an assistant football coach at Carol City High School where he is not only coaching kids to become better players, but he is turning high school boys into men. Killings is also an active participant in the Miami Dolphins summer program, which is predicated on enhancing player safety and teaching proper techniques.

Russell graduated from Tusculum College in 2009, after one of the best playing careers of a quarterback in Tusculum history. He led the Pioneers to three straight winning seasons as a starter, including the 2008 campaign where the Pioneers captured the SAC Championship, and made their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. His 11,315 career total offensive yards are the second-most in school history, third in the SAC record book and are 27th-most in NCAA Division II history. He passed for 9,887 yards, second in Tusculum history and fourth in SAC history, while also rushing for 1,428 yards, most ever by a Tusculum quarterback and fifth overall. He accounted for 103 career touchdowns (82 passing, 21 rushing), the second most in Tusculum history and third in SAC history.

He smashed the school record books in 2008 as he led the Pioneers to a 9-4 record, a SAC title, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs and ended the year with a No. 16 national ranking. In 2008, he was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the both the SAC and the NCAA Super Region 2. He was a consensus All-American and was a national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, where he finished sixth in the national voting. He established 15 Tusculum records in 2008, including a pair of NCAA Division II marks, 674 offensive plays and 13 games with 300 or more total offensive yards. He was selected to play in the 2009 Valero Cactus Bowl and both Tusculum and the SAC named him the Male Athlete of the Year in 2009.

After graduating from Tusculum he joined the staff at his prep school alma mater, Cumberland Gap High School, where he teaches world history and is the head football coach.

Sabol was a four-year member of the Catawba College men's golf team and is considered one of the best golfers in the College's history. He was a four-time All-SAC First Team selection from 1995-1999, earning both SAC Player and Freshman of the Year honors in 1995. He also led Catawba to its first SAC Men's Golf Championship and first golf title since 1973.  The 1995 team was the first men's golf team to compete in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. During Sabol's career, the Indians were SAC Tournament Champions twice, 1995 and 1998, and they were SAC runner-up in 1996 and 1997.

Individually, Sabol was the SAC Tournament Champion in 1995, posting the best round in Catawba history by a freshman or at a SAC Tournament, with a 66 in the second round of the tournament. He was named a National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) honorable mention All-American in 1995 and 1998. He was also named the NGCA Division II Freshman of the Year in 1995, and in 1997 he was an Academic All-District selection. During his career, Sabol won four tournaments, posted a career scoring average of 75.33 in 113 rounds, had 23 top-10 finishes, completed 12 rounds under par, had 62 rounds with a score of 75 or lower and had 23 rounds of par or better. The best season of his career came in 1998 when he posted a 74.32 scoring average and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship as an individual.

Upon graduating from Catawba in 1998, Sabol spent a year on the Hooters Mini-Tour before becoming a professional golf instructor. Currently, Sabol is the professional golf instructor at the Rowan Road Driving Range in Cranberry Township, Pa.

Dr. Hinson-Knipple, who will receive the SAC Distinguished Alumni Award, was a standout volleyball player for the Wingate Bulldogs from 2000-04. She was a two-time Academic All-American and was also named the SAC Women's Volleyball Scholar-Athlete in both 2002 and 2003. She received the Conference's highest honor in 2004 when she was named the SAC President's Award winner; she also received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was the recipient of the Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete Award from the Sertoma Club in Columbus, Ohio. Also in 2004, she received the Geddings Athletic Leadership Award and the Haskins Scholarship Award for the senior student-athlete with the highest GPA at Wingate.

On the court she led the Bulldogs to the SAC Tournament Championship and helped them earn their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2003. She finished her career ranked No. 2 all-time at Wingate in digs with 1,689, fifth in digs per set with 3.65 and sixth in digs in a season with 511 during her freshman year.

After graduating from Wingate, Dr. Hinson-Knipple has established a very successful OB/GYN practice and is currently a partner at Women's Care Florida. In 2008, she received the Arthur Clements Excellence in OB/GYN Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the Florida State University College of Medicine. She was named the Outstanding OB/GYN Resident Teacher for the University of Florida in 2009 and 2010.  She was the primary investigator on research entitled, "Single-dose Postpartum Therapy for Chorioamnionitis," which was published in Obstretrics and Gynecology. She also has research pending publication by the University of Florida entitled "Mode of Delivery for Infants with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia."

Dr. Hinson-Knipple is also a very active member of the community serving as a member of Team Freedom, which was founded to raise awareness and support for the anti-human trafficking organization Hope for Justice. She is a foster parent and a former Tampa Urban Young Life high school student mentor. 

The 2018 South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame Banquet will take place as a part of the Conference's Spring Meetings in Greenville, S.C. 

- #makeSACyours -