Longtime women’s basketball coach and athletic director Teresa Phillips and football coach and AD Bill Thomas headline the Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame 2026 class, announced on June 17.
Phillips, who served as TSU’s women’s basketball coach from 1989-2000 and athletic director from 2001-2020, and Thomas, who was the Tigers’ football coach from 1984-88 and AD from 1986-94, joined 23 other former athletes, coaches, and administrators in the class.
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“This hall of fame class embodies the true spirit of TSU,” Tennessee State AD Mikki Allen said. “They didn’t just set records; they laid the very foundation of our winning tradition. We are proud to honor this legacy and pay tribute to the program’s greats who paved the way.”
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Phillips became TSU’s interim AD in 2001 and accepted the position full-time in 2002. In 2003, Phillips made history as the first woman to coach a men’s basketball game, replacing Nolan Richardson III, for a February game against Austin Peay. Richardson had been fired a month earlier.
Later that year, Sports Illustrated named Phillips one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. In 2014, during the NCAA Women’s Final Four at Bridgestone Arena, The Tennessean named Phillips one of “10 Legends in Women’s Basketball in Tennessee.”
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Phillips, a Chattanooga native who was Vanderbilt’s first Black female basketball player, is also in the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. She was an inaugural member of the Girls Preparatory School Sports Hall of Fame, the Lookout Mountain Sports Hall of Fame, the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame, and the Fisk University Hall of Fame.
Thomas, who died in 2019 and will be inducted posthumously, played linebacker at TSU (1967-70) under legendary coach John Merritt, then served as an assistant on Merritt’s staff from 1971-83. He replaced Merritt in 1984 and led the Tigers to an 11-0 record in his first season. Two years later, Thomas led TSU to a 10-2-1 record and the FCS playoffs. He finished with a 34-20-3 career record.
After spending 10 seasons as the coach at Texas Southern, Thomas returned to Tennessee State as athletic director in 1986.
Others in the class include Brent Alexander (football); Frankie Allen (men’s basketball coach); Catherine Armwood (volleyball); Terry Blocker (baseball); Curtis Burke (baseball); Clairwin Dameus (women’s track and field); Oliver Davis (football); Larry Dorsey (football); Johnny Franks (sports Information); Gregory Goodwin (men’s basketball); Kimberly Graves (women’s basketball) Sylvester Hicks (football); Tim Horton (men’s basketball) Eric Lindsey (men’s track and field); Granville “Sonny” Lyons (football); Jeffery McMillan (swimming); Samuel Puryear Jr. (men’s golf); Greg Robinson (baseball); Candance Saleaumua (volleyball); Catana Starks (men’s golf coach – posthumous); Dominique Ward-Johnson (women’s track and field); Lawrence Washington (men’s tennis); Robert Woods (football).
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The hall of fame induction ceremony will take place on Aug. 27 at Nissan Stadium. For tickets or more information, visit the TSU 2026 Hall of Fame.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former ADs Teresa Phillips and Bill Thomas headline TSU Hall of Fame