Link to Union Sports Hall of Fame

Make a reservation for this year's banquet

JACKSON, Tenn. - Union University has announced its class for the 2018 Sports Hall of Fame. The class will be inducted at the banquet to be held, Friday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Grant Events Center on the campus of Union University. 

The class will include four new inductees including Jimmy Connor (baseball), Coach Bill Henry (basketball), Coach Brian Dunn (softball/volleyball) and Amanda Hutchison Coyle (volleyball). In addition, 2017 inductee Stephanie Clark Shutes (basketball) will be presented her plaque and will give her acceptance speech at this year's ceremony. A death in the family during the week of last year's ceremony prevented her from attending.  

To purchase tickets for the Union Sports Hall of Fame banquet only, visit www.uuathletics.com/hofpay or you can contact Teresa Thomas in the department of athletics at 731-661-5130. If you know a deserving student-athlete, coach, or meritorious service person, please complete the nomination form online at www.uuathletics.com/hof. 

Stephanie Clark-Shutes -- Class of 2005, Induction Class of 2017 (Basketball)

Stephanie Clark-Shutes played two season of basketball at Union including the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. She was a key part of Union's second NAIA National Championship in 2005 and quarterfinal appearance in 2004. Clark-Shutes was a two time NAIA All-American and was twice named the TranSouth Player of the Year during her career. In 2005, she was named the MVP of the NAIA National Tournament. 

Clark-Shutes averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and one block per game in 66 career games at Union. She scored 20 or more points in a game 37 times in her 66 games, including a stretch of nine straight games in 2004. Her career high in points was 40 versus Martin Methodist in 2004, while her career high of 24 rebounds came versus Freed-Hardeman in 2005.

Clark-Shutes holds numerous school records including most rebounds in a game (24), most double-doubles in a season (29), most double-doubles in a career (44), most points in season (835) and most rebounds in a season (483). 

In addition to an outstanding playing career for Union, Clark-Shutes also spent two seasons (2006-08) as the assistant coach at Union for head coach Mark Campbell. During those two seasons, Union advanced to two NAIA semifinals.  

Currently, Clark-Shutes is the assistant coach for the University School of Jackson with her husband, Tony, serving as the head coach. USJ finished runner-up in the state tournament in 2017. She teaches middle school social studies and has one son, Zavior.

Jimmy Conner -- Class of 1964, Induction Class of 2018 (Baseball)

Jimmy Conner graduated with the Union class of 1964 after spending four years playing baseball from 1960 through the 1963 season. He was a part of the 1963 team that won the NCAA Division III National Championship. He was also a part of the 1961 team that finished runner-up in the national tournament. 

His 1963 team still holds the record for highest team batting average in school history for a season at .350. 

After his Union career ended, Conner played a season with the Buffalo Bison in the International League in 1963, followed by a signed contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964. In 1964, he helped lead the Salisbury Dodgers to the Western Carolina League Championship. During that season, he caught a perfect game from pitcher John Purdin and also was second on the team with a .334 batting average. In 1965, he played for the Santa Barbara Dodgers in the California League, catching Major League Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton numerous times. 

Conner returned to Jackson after his career and coached a Dizzy Dean team comprised of area college players from 1981-84. One of the several former Union players he coach included Union Sports Hall of Fame member Ronnie Giddens. His 1981 team won the Dizzy Dean World Series in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Amanda Hutchison Coyle -- Class of 2008, Induction Class of 2018 (Volleyball)

Amanda Hutchison Coyle played volleyball for Union from 2005-08. She finished her career second all-time at Union with 1,802 kills, a ranking which still stands today. Coyle was a member of the 2008 TranSouth Tournament Championship team that advanced to the schools second NAIA National Tournament. 

During her four years, her teams finished top-4 in the conference regular season three times, top-3 in the conference tournament three times, had one region tournament appearance, and one national tournament appearance.  

Coyle earned numerous honors including three all-region awards and four all-conference awards. She was also named the 2005 TranSouth Conference Freshman of the Year. Following her senior year, she was named to the AVCA All-Region and All-America teams. She also earned conference and region player of the week honors once as a sophomore, while also eclipsing 1,000 career kills as a sophomore.

Coyle currently holds the Union record for hitting percentage in a match (1.000), and has posted two of the program's top four best season hitting percentage in a season (.460, .448). She is second in Union volleyball history with blocks in a match (14), blocks in a season (207), and blocks in a career (541).  

Coyle was recruited and signed by fellow 2018 hall of fame inductee Brian Dunn. Coyle had the unique experience of playing in the 2008 NAIA National Tournament along with her younger sister Christa, a freshman at another university. 

She is married to Michael "Damon" Coyle. They have three children Riyah (8), Michael (7), and Elise (4). The Coyle's attend Love and Truth Church. She is the daughter of Keith and Julie Hutchison of Jackson and has one sister, Christa.

Brian Dunn -- Induction Class of 2018 (Softball, Volleyball Coach)

Coach Brian Dunn led the Lady Bulldogs softball program for to a 449-108 record over a nine year period. During his tenure, Union posted seven straight Top-10 national rankings. The Lady Bulldogs earned six TranSouth Conference Championships, four conference tournament championships, four NAIA Region XI Championships, three NCCAA National Championships, and six NAIA World Series appearances, including a third place finish in 2001 with a school record 63 wins.

In addition to coaching a top-ranked softball program, Dunn guided the Union Volleyball program to a 243-62 record over its first seven seasons, including the inaugural season in 1998. In seven seasons as volleyball coach, Dunn led Union to three TranSouth regular season championships, two conference tournament championships, and six straight NCCAA MidEast Region Titles. Union captured the 2003 NCCAA National Volleyball Championship and finished runner-up in 2001. In 2004, he led the team to the NAIA National Tournament with a top-10 NAIA finish. 

During his eight-year tenure as a coach at Union, Dunn coached 73 all-conference, 49 all-region, 28 All-American, and 35 scholar athlete award winners. Included in that list are 14 conference players of the year, nine region players of the year, and two national players of the year.

Dunn has earned 28 Coach of the Year awards, including being named the NCCAA National Coach of the year five times. 

After leaving Union, Dunn coached softball at University School of Jackson for the past 12 seasons capturing two TSSAA State Championship titles and two TSSAA Runner-Up finishes. In 2006, he coached the USJ volleyball team for one year to a program record of 43-6 wins.

Since 2015, Brian has served as a Bi-Vocational Music Minister for Brownsville Baptist Church in their contemporary services. Brian Dunn is married to the former Emily Garrett, a 1986 graduate of Union University. They have two daughters, Addison Grace (20) and Ashlee Claire (17). 

Bill Henry -- Induction Class of 2018 (Men's Basketball Coach)

Bill Henry coached Union's men's basketball programs at one of their most  success times in program history from 1964-70. He was also the athletic director at Union for a short time and coached the baseball team for one season. He coached Union during their previous membership in the NCAA. During that time, he coached the Bulldogs to three Western Division Conference Titles, a Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) Title, and an NCAA DII region tournament runner-up finish.

Henry led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II Region Tournament championship game in 1968 with a 22-3 record. His team lost narrowly to the eventual NCAA DII National Champion. The team's 22-3 record was the best record of any team in the state of Tennessee and was ranked in the top-20 small college rankings seven different times that season. Henry's 1968 team won the Western Division Title of the Volunteer state Athletic Conference (VSAC) and was VSAC Tournament Champions, the first VSAC tournament title in school history. 

In addition to his many victories and championships at Union, Henry was honored with the City of Jackson's 'Man of the Year' Award in 1970. In 1968, he was awarded the City Maker Award for outstanding contributions to the community. 

Henry worked in various roles at several different colleges including Florida (assistant basketball), Charleston Southern (basketball), Union (basketball, baseball, AD), Maryville (AD), North Georgia, Austin Peay (tennis), and Belmont (golf). He retired in 2005 after two decades as Senior Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director at the University of Tennessee. 

Henry is a member of the Lenoir City High School Hall of Fame, Carson Newman Hall of Fame, and now twice in the Union Sports Hall of Fame as a coach and with his 1968 basketball team. Several of his players including Ken Hane, David Marsh, Dan Rudesill, and Lonnie Searcy are in Union's Sports Hall of Fame. Henry passed away in 2014.

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