Month: January 2026

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Mike Turk will be recognized as the 2026 Starr-Sullivan Achievement Award recipient at the 58^th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

Named in honor of two extraordinary men from Alabama, Bart Starr and Pat Sullivan, the Starr-Sullivan Achievement Award recognizes a former collegiate quarterback that exhibits exemplary character and has made a significant contribution in his community.

A graduate of Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Turk was a walk-on quarterback for Troy State University in the spring of 1984. While at Troy, Turk became one of the most decorated players in school history. He led the program to NCAA Division II national championships in 1984 and 1987. His teams were 40-8-1 in four seasons. Turk was selected as an All-Conference performer in the Gulf South Conference three times and was runner-up for the prestigious Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the nation’s top Division II performer. He was a consensus All-America selection as a senior and was named GSC Freshman of the Year in 1984. Following his senior year, Turk was named the Division II Offensive Player of the Year by Football News. He was the first person to be chosen as the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Small College Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Year in the same season.

Mike Turk became Huntingdon College’s second head football coach in May 2004 and has been at the helm for every win in program history, including the program’s 100^th win in 2018. Arriving on the heels of Huntingdon’s winless first season (0-7 in 2003), he has turned the program into a consistent winner with a 153-66 record. In 22 seasons, Turk has guided the program to its first win (2004), first winning season (2005), first playoff appearance (2009), first regular-season national ranking (2012), first conference championship (2015) and first playoff victory (2015). In 13 seasons as a member of the USA South, Turk has led the Hawks to a 75-16 conference record and has won seven conference championships.

Turk joins Brodie Croyle (2020) and Stan White (2022) as the only recipients of the Starr-Sullivan Achievement Award who have been honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

The 58^th Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Rece Davis will be recognized as the 2026 Distinguished Alabama Sportsman at the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 58^th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

Rece Davis, one of the sports industry’s preeminent hosts and a mainstay on ESPN for more than 25 years, is the host of ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning College GameDay Built by The Home Depot. He is also a host for premier college football events including the College Football Playoff National Championship and the NFL Draft on ABC, in addition to select play-by-play assignments for college football and basketball. A regular contributor to SportsCenter and other ESPN shows and platforms, Davis also serves as the host of the College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings Show. During the basketball season, Davis is the host of College GameDay Covered by State Farm, a role he has occupied since the show debuted in 2005. He anchors coverage from the annual State Farm Champions Classic and NCAA Men’s Final Four, and he has also served as host of the NBA Draft on ESPN for more than a decade.

Davis, a native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, graduated cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the school of communications in news and public affairs. Davis was named the University of Alabama School of Communication Broadcast Department’s outstanding alumnus for 2001. In 2019, Davis was inducted into the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame.

Davis joins an impressive list of others who have been honored as Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Distinguished American Sportsmen. They are: Bob Hope (1988), Hugh Culverhouse (1991), Former President George H.W. Bush (1992), Charles O. Finley (1993), Larry D. Striplin, Jr. (1998), Bill Ireland (2000), Roy Kramer (2003), Jim Wilson, Jr. (2005), Michael E. Stephens (2006), Joseph Gibbs (2008), Nick Bollettieri (2009), Rick Woodward (2010), Don Logan (2011), Ron Froehlich (2015), Mike Slive (2015), Edgar Welden (2016), Pete Derzis (2017), Jimmy Rane (2018), Daniel Moore (2019), Robbie Robertson (2020), Angus R. Cooper II (2021), John McMahon, Jr. (2021), Gene Hallman (2022), Bob Barrett (2023), Mark Womack (2023), and Jeff Underwood (2025).

The 58^th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Jon Johnson will be recognized as the 2026 Mel Allen Media Award recipient at the 58^th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

The Mel Allen Media Award was created to honor media members in the State of Alabama who have made a lifetime contribution to sports through their work as a media member. The award is named after the 1974 ASHOF Inductee Mel Allen, of Birmingham, who was known as the “Voice of the New York Yankees” for two decades.

After graduating from Gadsden High School, Jon Johnson received his Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University in 1985. He spent 37 years as sports editor of the Dothan Eagle newspaper/website after stints as a sports writer at the Alabama Journal in Montgomery and Wiregrass Today in Dothan. Johnson was recognized with the Distinguished Alabama Community Sports Journalist award by the Auburn University School of Communication and Journalism in 2011. He was inducted into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Alabama Sports & Adventure Hall of Fame in 2024.

Johnson has served as past president of the Alabama Sports Writers Association, state chairman for the Heisman Trophy voters and Southeast chairman of the Associated Press Sports Editors. Johnson is the current president of the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame, a selection committee member for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and a contributing writer for Troy University Athletics.

Johnson joins a distinguished list of others who have been honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as Mel Allen Media Award recipients. They are: John Pruett (2014), George Smith (2014), Tom Roberts (2015), Ron Ingram (2017), Cecil Hurt (2019), Paul Finebaum (2020), Rubin Grant (2021), Mark McCarter (2022), Rick Karle (2023), Randy Kennedy (2024), and Buddy Davidson (2025).

The 58^th Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###