Virginia Union University inducted seven into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in a ceremony which took place on Friday, September 25, in the Dr. Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center on the VUU campus in Richmond, Va.

Hugh Brown, Walter Cowan, the late Russell Donan, Ben Miles, Cornell Moore, Corinne Thomas and Stanley White entered the Hall of Fame.

HUGH BROWN
Hugh Brown entered VUU in 1948 on a football scholarship.  The 1948 team won the unofficial Black College National Championship when the Panthers upset Florida A&M 39-19 in the Orange Blossom Classic in Miami, Fla.  After being discharged from the Air Force, he returned to Virginia Union in 1953 on a full football scholarship.  As a senior, Brown was named captain of the team in 1955.  He graduated in 1957 with a degree in Commerce.  He is retired from the United States Department of Human Services.

WALTER COWAN
Walter Cowan played football for three years for Virginia Union from 1953-57.  Recruited by Thomas Harris out of Bristol, Va., he was an outstanding player who played offense, defense and on special teams.  He was Honorable Mention All-CIAA in football.  As a punter, he averaged 40 yards per punt.  In 1955 he rushed for three touchdowns.  He was just as successful in the classroom, he majored in biology, graduating in 1958.  Cowan taught biology at Detroit-area high schools as well as Wayne State University.  He retired as Secondary Science Supervisor in the Detroit Public School System in 1995.  He resides in Old Hickory, Tenn.

RUSSELL DONAN
Russell Donan was an assistant coach under Thomas "Tricky Tom" Harris from 1950 through 1956.  He served in the Navy during World War II, volunteering for submarine duty.  He returned to school and earned a Masters' Degree and taught high school in Rappahannock, Va.  From 1962 until 1984, he worked for the City of Richmond Department of Recreation and Parks, where he was instrumental in getting a gym built for Black students.  Donan retired in 1984 and passed away on June 5, 1992.

BEN MILES
Ben Miles took over announcing duties for Virginia Union football and basketball games from the legendary Jellye Brinkley in 1985.  For the next 30 years, he has become the Voice of the Panthers, announcing almost every football and men's basketball game played by VUU.  He will celebrate his 30th anniversary in the 2015 season.  Miles retired in 2000 after spending nearly 40 years in radio in Richmond, Va.  He managed Power 92, Magic 99 and The River, spending almost a decade as station manager of Power 92.  In 1992, Miles was elected President of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, the first African-American to hold the post. In 1996, Miles received the association's Calvin T. Lucy Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor accorded a member.  In 1994 he was inducted into the Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame (The Frank Soden Award), and in September 1997 into the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame. In 2000 he was honored by the Richmond Association of Black Journalists.

CORNELL MOORE
Cornell Moore enters the Hall of Fame as an Athletic Supporter after graduating from VUU in 1961.  In the spring of 1960, and in coordination with other groups of students, Cornell organized the Virginia Union student-athletes, mostly the football and basketball players, and on several occasions they marched to downtown Richmond and organized sit-ins at the segregated lunch counters.  The idea was not to react to the insults. Moore had the toughest of any of the captains. He was a master at keeping the ranks of the student-athletes orderly.

CORINNE THOMAS
Corinne Thomas was known as Ren Turner during her playing days for the Lady Panthers women's basketball team.  She was recruited by Tricky Tom Harris out of Washington, D.C., in 1976 and led the Lady Panthers in rebounding and was second in scoring during her freshman year.  She was named to the All-CIAA Team as a sophomore after leading the team in scoring and rebounding.  Thomas was named captain in 1978 and was named to Second Team All-CIAA.  She was the first head coach of the Lady Panther Volleyball Team and coached VUU's first All-CIAA Volleyball Player (Daisy Allen).  After graduation, Thomas has worked in the Richmond, Va., area with at-risk youth as a counselor, Big Sister and unofficial "Mother Figure."  She currently works for the County of Henrico as a counselor at the James River Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

STANLEY WHITE
Stanley White was a member of Tricky Tom Harris' first recruiting class.  He played football for four  years at VUU.  He was an outstanding running back and set several rushing records while at VUU.  As a senior he led VUU to a 13-0 upset of Bethune-Cookman in Jacksonville, Fla., and a 4-4-1 record.  He played four years and received four consecutive Honorable Mentions to the All-CIAA Team.  White ran track at VUU, and was a top sprinter in the 100-yard dash in 1953.  In 1950 he led Virginia Union to a 10-7 win over Virginia State, marking the first time VUU had beaten VSU in 17 years.  He played both ways on the gridiron, playing safety as well as running back.  He was a good cover guy and tackler.  He ran back kickoffs and punts as VUU led the CIAA as a team in rushing in 1951.  He majored in Chemistry,  and  spent 36 years as a lab specialist in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Medical College of Virginia.  He resides in Richmond, Va.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony was emceed by Sean Robertson of WTVR (Channel 6) in Richmond, Va. 

The 2015 inductees will also be honored in a pre-game ceremony before the football game between VUU and Johnson C. Smith University on Saturday, September 26, in Hovey Field.

The Virginia Union University Department of Athletics congratulates the Hall of Fame Class of 2015!