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NFL veteran Don Carey among 2019 Norfolk State Athletics Hall of Fame class

Posted at 3:02 PM, Jul 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-19 15:03:17-04

Strong safety Don Carey. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

NORFOLK, Va. (Norfolk State communications) – The Norfolk State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced its 2019 Hall of Fame induction class on Thursday. The first NSU Athletics Hall of Fame class since 2010 features former legendary coaches James Sweat (women’s basketball), LaVerne Sweat (women’s track/cross country) and Marty Miller (baseball), basketball player David Pope, football players Kevin Talley and Don Carey, wrestler Kirwyn Adderley and bowler Thea Aspiras.

The group will be honored during an induction dinner on Friday night, Sept. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the NSU Student Center. The class will also be recognized the following day during the Spartans’ 2019 home football opener against Virginia State University at William “Dick” Price Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

James Sweat led the Spartan women’s basketball team to prominence at both the Division I and II levels. He posted a 346-218 record coaching the Spartans from 1998-2007 and remains the winningest coach in program annals. Sweat’s teams won five CIAA championships and made five Division II regional appearances. NSU won a school-record 33 games in 1990-91, advancing to the Division II Final Four and earning Sweat national Coach of the Year honors. Sweat led NSU to the only MEAC title and Division I tournament appearance in women’s basketball program history to date in the 2001-02 season.

Like her husband, LaVerne Sweat came to NSU in 1988 and embarked on a storied coaching career. Sweat led NSU to 18 CIAA track and cross country championships and two MEAC track titles from 1988-2005. She was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Decade in 1991 and was CIAA Coach of the Year every year from 1988-97. Sweat also brought distinction to NSU when she was selected to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2000 Sydney Games. She is a member of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, among many other honors.

Marty Miller has been associated with NSU for more than 50 years, from his days as an All-American baseball athlete in the 1960s, to a 30+ year coaching career and most recently as the University’s athletics director since 2004. He owns a program-record 718 victories as head baseball coach from 1973-2005. He led the Spartans to 17 CIAA championships, won 15 CIAA Coach of the Year Awards and owns a CIAA-record 584 wins. The 2000 MEAC Coach of the Year, Miller transitioned to his role as athletics director in December of 2004 and has presided over a department which has won 24 MEAC titles and 10 Talmadge Layman Hill men’s all-sports awards, in addition to numerous academic and facility improvements. He was inducted into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame as a player in 2004.

David Pope starred for the Spartan basketball program from 1980-84. He is still second in NSU history with 2,339 career points and first in field goals made, with 950. A two-time CIAA Player of the Year, Pope was an NABC All-American as a senior in 1983-84. He still ranks among the top 10 in program history in field goal attempts, free throws, rebounds, free throw attempts, steals, rebounding average, scoring average and blocks. He led NSU in scoring all four of his seasons and was a third-round NBA Draft selection of the Utah Jazz. Pope passed away in 2016 and had his No. 34 jersey retired earlier this year.

Kevin Talley (2001-04) was a two-time All-American linebacker for the NSU football program. Talley led the nation (Division I-AA, now FCS) with 195 tackles as a junior in 2003, which still stands as an NCAA record. He earned second-team All-America honors that year, the first Spartan football player to do so at the Division I level. He led the country in tackles per game in 2004 (125 in nine games) and tied the I-AA/FCS national single-game record with 30 stops in a game against Savannah State. Talley was a first-team All-American by three organizations and was Black College Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Jaguars defensive back Don Carey (NSU)

Don Carey (2005-08) was a two-time All-MEAC defensive back in 2007 and 2008. He tallied 10 interceptions in his career, and tied for the MEAC-lead with five picks as a senior in 2008. Carey ended his career with 173 tackles, 34 pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, two blocked extra points and two defensive touchdowns. He was the first player in school history to be invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game and was NSU’s first NFL draftee in the Division I era when the Browns selected him in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. Carey played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Jaguars and Lions.

Kirwyn Adderley (1985-89) was NSU’s first two-time All-American wrestler and posted a career record of 93-33 while competing at the 134-pound weight class. A three-time CIAA champion, Adderley placed sixth at the Division II championships as a junior and was runner-up as a senior in 1989. Adderley, who was undefeated in the regular season his senior year, would then accept an invitation to compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships based on his performance at the D-II tournament, the first Spartan and CIAA wrestler to get that honor. He posted a 27-1 career record against CIAA competition.

Thea Aspiras, who becomes the first bowler to earn induction into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame, rewrote the record books during her four-year career (2010-14). She was NSU’s first-ever bowling All-American, earning second-team honors as a freshman and honorable mention as a junior. She was a four-time first-team All-MEAC selection and the 2011 MEAC Rookie of the Year. Aspiras led NSU to its first and only MEAC bowling championship to date in 2012, in addition to four MEAC Southern Division titles. Aspiras holds school records for career average (198.0), total pin fall (38,608) and single-season average (201.7 in 2012-13).

Tickets for the Hall of Fame induction dinner will go on sale Aug. 1 at the NSU Ticket Office on campus and online at http://www.nsuspartanstickets.com. To purchase a table, contact Melody Webb in the NSU Department of Athletics at (757) 823-8404 or email mmwebb@nsu.edu.