The six newest members of the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame will be inducted in October highlighted by basketball’s Larry Blair and football’s Morgan Hout.
Blair and Hout join Henry Elliott (men’s track & field), Andrea (Wildrick) Hampson (women’s track & field), Samuel Johnson (men’s soccer), and Jeff Mincey (baseball).
The Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Oct. 9 at the Alumni Ballroom on the third floor of the Montview Student Union. Additionally, the six-member class will receive special recognition during the Louisiana-Monroe football game later that evening.
Blair played basketball at Liberty from 2004-2007 and remains as the program’s career leader with 2,211 points scored at the Division I level. His career was highlighted by his freshman campaign when he was named the 2004 Big South Freshman of the Year. His 29 points in the 2004 Big South Championship game catapulted the Flames to the program’s second ever NCAA Tournament berth.
He’s the only player in program history to earn All-Big South honors all four years of his player career and was a two-time VaSID all-state selection. Blair played six season of professional basketball overseas.
Hout was Liberty’s football coach from 1984-1988 as he helped guide the program from Division II to Division I. He coached 11 All-Americans and recruited 11 players who went on to play in the NFL, including the two highest NFL Draft selections in program history. Hout was named the 1988 VaSID Coach of the Year and Bobby Ross Coach of the Year as he guided the Flames to an 8-3 mark and No. 18 final national ranking in Liberty’s first season at the Division I level.
Elliott was part of the men’s track & field program from 1987-1989 and a two-time All-American, becoming Liberty’s first ever NCAA Division I Men’s All-American after he finished 7th in the decathlon at the national championship in 1989. Liberty won the Mason-Dixon Conference Indoor Track Championship titles all three years he was a member of the team.
Hampson was a member of the women’s track & field program from 1999-2002 and owns more NCAA Division I All-America honors than any other female student-athlete in the track & field program history. She joins fellow Hall of Fame honoree Heather Zealand as one of hte program’s two female performers to finish in the top two at a Division I national championship.
Johnson played soccer at Liberty from 1984-1986 as one of only two men’s soccer players to be a two-time All-American. He led the Flames in scoring during the 1985 season with 22 points as the Flames finished with a 14-2-3 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Virginia State Intercollegiate Tournament.
Mincey was a member of Liberty’s baseball team from 1974-1977 and a four-time team captain. A member of the inaugural team in 1974, Mincey helped lead the Flames to a 31-10 record in the program’s third ever season including a win over No. 17 South Carolina. He was the first-ever player in program history to be selected in the MLB Draft, picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round in 1976. Mincey returned to his alma mater as the team’s first-ever full-time assistant coach, serving on staff for 8 seasons.
