Samford Athletics Announces 2027 Hall Of Fame Class

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Athletics Department announced the members of its 2027 Athletics Hall of Fame class Wednesday morning.

The 2027 class, the 10th in the Hall of Fame's history, consists of the 1935 football team, Terry Bowden (football), Robert Evans (baseball/football), Mollie Hanson (softball) and Marc Salyers (men's basketball).

"We are extremely proud to welcome the 10^th class into the Samford Athletics Hall of Fame," Samford Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Martin Newton said. "Since we started the Hall of Fame in 2017, we have inducted many outstanding student-athletes, coaches and teams, and this year's class is certainly no exception. The people represented in this class are some of the finest Samford has to offer, and we are proud to now be able to call them Hall of Famers."

The members of the 2027 Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted at a ceremony on May 2.

The Samford Athletics Hall of Fame opened in 2017. The first nine classes consisted of some impressive names, including Bobby Bowden, Cortland Finnegan, Jimbo Fisher, John Brady, Pat Sullivan, Jaquiski Tartt, James Bradberry, Devlin Hodges, Karisa Nelson and Michael Pierce, among many others.

In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, Malcolm Miller is being honored with the John C. Pittman Lifetime Achievement Award. Miller is a 1950 graduate of Samford (then Howard College). Since his graduation he has been a tremendous supporter of Samford University and Samford Athletics. He has supported many areas of Samford University over the years, and he has been named an Alumnus of the Year for the university for his accomplishments and generosity.

A short bio on each of the 2027 induction class members is below.

1935 FOOTBALL TEAM
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2027
The 1935 Samford (then Howard College) football team put together one of the most impressive seasons in program history. The Bulldogs won a Dixie Conference championship, posted a record of 7-1-2 and turned in one of the most legendary performances in a game in program history. After dropping the season-opening game to Mississippi State, Samford tied defending national champion Alabama, 7-7, in Tuscaloosa. The team also earned wins over Mississippi College, Loyola-New Orleans, Stetson, Murray State, Troy State, Western Kentucky and then wrapped up the season with a 7-0 win over Birmingham-Southern in a joint homecoming game at Legion Field. The team was coached by Samford Hall of Famer Billy Bancroft and one of the key players was fellow Hall of Famer Norman "Shorty" Cooper.

TERRY BOWDEN, FOOTBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2027
Terry Bowden was the head coach of the Samford football team from 1987 to 1992. He helped lead the program's move from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS). His first team in 1987 went 9-1 in the program's final Division III season. His 1991 team was one of the best teams in Samford history. That squad went 10-1 in the regular season, which is still tied for the best regular season in program history. The team then reached the semifinals of the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, finishing with a 12-2 overall record, the best overall season record in program history. He left Samford following the 1992 season to become the head coach at Auburn, winning his first 20 games with the Tigers. He later went into broadcasting, including working for ABC Sports as a studio analyst and color commentator. Later, he served as the head coach at North Alabama, Akron and Louisiana-Monroe.

ROBERT EVANS, BASEBALL/FOOTBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2027
Robert Evans played both baseball (2000-03) and football (1999-2002) for Samford. He was inducted into the Samford Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He currently ranks fourth in school history in career hits with 249, and third in career doubles with 50. Evans also ranks 10th in career games played (211). In addition to his exploits in baseball, Evans was also a standout in football for the Bulldogs. He played defensive back, finishing his career with 269 tackles, including a team-best 104 tackles as a senior in 2002. He also shared the team lead that season in interceptions with three and he led the team as a sophomore in 2000 with four interceptions. He played professional baseball in the Boston Red Sox organization and is now the head football coach at Vestavia Hills High School.

MOLLIE HANSON, SOFTBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2027
Mollie Hanson was one of the best pitchers in the history of Samford softball when she played for the Bulldogs from 2013 to 2016. She was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2016 when she led the Bulldogs to the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles. She earned first team All-SoCon honors in 2016 and a second-team All-SoCon nod in 2015. She set a school record for wins in 2014 with 23, and she then tied her own record with another 23 wins in that championship season in 2016. She also holds the career record for wins with 72, which is 18 more than the next closest player. After her playing career ended, Hanson went into coaching. She has spent time on the coaching staffs at Samford, Mercer, Florida Gulf Coast, UAB and Wallace-Hanceville.

MARC SALYERS, MEN'S BASKETBALL
INDUCTEE CLASS OF 2027
Marc Salyers played basketball at Samford from 1997 to 2001. He helped lead the program to back-to-back TAAC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. He currently ranks sixth in school history in scoring with 1,604 career points. He also ranks third in program history in rebounding with 662 career boards. He scored a career-high 537 points in the 1999-2000 season, 498 points in 2000-01 and 403 points in 1998-99. He led the team in scoring as a junior and senior and in rebounding as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was a two-time first-team All-TAAC selection. After finishing his playing career at Samford, Salyers played professionally overseas from 2001 to 2014.

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