WATCH LIVEJACKSON, Tenn. – Union University is pleased to announce that five former athletic standouts will be inducted into the Union Sports Hall of Fame this year. The 2015-16 class will included Peggy Birmingham, Ken Hane, Jessica Henson, Jim Scott and Lonnie Searcy. The hall of fame ceremony this year will be Friday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Carl Grant Events Center on the campus of Union University.
For more information on the Union Sports Hall of Fame, including past inductees and a nomination form, visit
www.uuathletics.com/hof.
Peggy Birmingham, '70 (Women's Basketball Coach, Tennis Coach) 
Peggy Birmingham is a 1970 graduate of Union University. At that time, there were no women's sports at Union. As a student, Birmingham requested permission and received approval to play for the Union men's tennis team. She became a key member of the varsity team.
After graduation, Birmingham returned to Union and helped start several women's sports including basketball and tennis at the varsity levels. She coached the women's basketball team from 1972-81, posting a 198-57 record. Union won state, conference and region championships under Birmingham, and were ranked nationally in the top-10.
In 1976, Birmingham was named the Kellogg's Coach of the Year for Tennessee. That same year, Birmingham's Union team defeated Pat Summitt's Tennessee team three times. Birmingham led Union to three Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) Titles and was named the VSAC Coach of the Year.
Birmingham coached women's tennis at Union from 1972-73 and again from 1981-83. Her teams were nationally ranked, earned VSAC Western Division titles and posted three top-15 finishes (#11, #13, #9) in the national tournament. She earned VSAC Tennis Coach of the Year honors as well.
While at Union, Birmingham also helped start club teams for women in volleyball and softball. In addition, she coached the men's tennis team from 1973-77. Union awarded Birmingham the Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award in 1980.
Birmingham was chosen as the Outstanding Young Women of the Year and was the Director of Special Olympics in Madison County. In 1996, Birmingham was selected to be the chaplain for the summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 2007, she was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame.
Birmingham presently lives in Lebanon, Ky. She has additional degrees from the University of Tennessee and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Ken Hane, '68 (Men's Basketball, Cross Country, Track) 
Ken Hane is a 1968 graduate of Union University where he earned 12 varsity letters in men's basketball (4), cross country (4) and track (4).
As a freshman at Union, Hane averaged 11.7 points per game and won the Charles Schular Award for outstanding player of the 1964 Homecoming game.
During the 1967-68 season, Hane played for the men's basketball team that went 22-3, , the best record in the state of Tennessee and one of the best in the nation. Union won the VSAC Western Division Title and the VSAC Tournament Title that season. Hane averaged 17.5 points per game, before being injured in the last regular season game of the year. He set the school record at the time with 41 points in a game. Hane was voted to the VSAC All-Conference team in 1968-69.
Hane was a member of the 1967-68 Union's men's basketball team that was inducted into the Union Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a teammate of fellow inductee, Lonnie Searcy. Four members of the 1967-68 men's basketball team are now members of the Union Sports Hall of Fame (Ken Hane, David Marsh, Dan Rudesill, Lonnie Searcy).
Also, while at Union, Hane was successful in other sports beside basketball. He finished second in the TIAC Cross Country Meet with a time of 18:46. In track, he set the school record in the mile run with a time of 4:24 and also set the record in the high jump at six feet, six inches.
After his Union career, Hane was invited to play in the Annual Tennessee/Kentucky Senior All-Star Game. He was also drafted by the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association.
Since Union, Hane had taught and coached in Jackson, Tenn. at Beech Bluff High School, in his home state of Illinois and now in Florida. His is currently the Athletic Director, basketball coach and teacher at Redland Christian Academy in Homestead, Fla.
Hane is married to Union alum Linda Joyce Yarbro and they have two children, Tami (Manes) who lives in Memphis and Michael who lives in the Florida Keys. Hane has seven grandchildren.
Jessica Henson, '04 (Women's Basketball) 
Jessica Henson is a 2004 graduate of Union University where she played four seasons for the women's basketball team.
Henson was on pace to be a four-time NAIA All-American before an injury early in her senior year ended her career. She was named NAIA All-American three times, as a freshman, sophomore and junior. In 2003, Henson was named the NAIA/WBCA Player of the Year, averaging 17 points and six rebounds per game as a junior. She was named the TranSouth Conference Player of the Year twice, TranSouth Newcomer of the Year once and was a three time first team all-conference performer. Henson was also named to the WBCA Kodak All-America team three times.
Henson is a member of the 1,000 point club at Union, finishing with 1,687 points. She was averaging 11 points per game as a senior when she was hurt early in the season. Henson averaged 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals per game for her career. Her best season was 2003 as a junior when she scored 604 points, grabbed 193 rebounds, dished out 109 assists and hit 106 three points in 35 games.
Henson's best game was a 41 point performance, leading Union to an overtime win at Campbellsville in 2003, 81-74. Her teams at Union finished with a combined record of 131-17, hitting the 30-win mark in each of the four seasons season. Henson led Union to three TranSouth Conference Regular Season Titles and three TranSouth Tournament Titles. Union played in the NAIA National Tournament in each of Henson's four seasons, including a semifinal appearance in 2002 before losing in overtime to the eventual national champion.
In May of 2003, Henson was one of sixty college basketball players in the nation, all divisions, to be invited to try out for a spot on one of the USA Basketball women's squads.
Jim Scott, '60 (Baseball, Men's Basketball) 
Jim Scott played for the men's basketball and baseball teams at Union University from 1955-59. He was also played basketball for the Catskills Basketball Summer League from 1957-58.
Scott started at second baseball for the Bulldog baseball team as a freshman, sophomore and senior. He posted a .403 batting average as a sophomore in 1957. He helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1959 Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) Western Division Championship, earning a spot in the NCAA Region Tournament in Springfield, Ohio. As a senior in 1957, Scott was named All-VSAC Western Division at the second base position.
Scott was invited to the Giants minor league spring training in Sanford, Florida in 1958. He also played for the Cleveland Indians in the Alabama-Florida League in 1959. Scott served as the Union assistant coach for the baseball team in 1960.
Since graduating from Union in 1960, Scott has held numerous positions in the business world and Jackson community. He served as the President of the Union University Alumni Association in 1967. He was the Executive Vice President of Jackson National Bank, Volunteer Bank and then BancorpSouth Inc. from 1972-96. In 1996, Scott became the President of the Bank of Jackson, a position he held until 1999. Scott has also served as the President of the Jackson Rotary Club and was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Lonnie Searcy, '70 (Men's Basketball, Track) 
Lonnie Searcy is a 1970 graduate of Union University where he was a member of the men's basketball team from 1966-70. He was the first African-American student and student-athlete at Union University in 1966.
Searcy set the school record for rebounds in a game with 28 in 1966-67, before it was broken by his teammate with 31 in a game the same year. Searcy was named to the Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) All-Conference Western Division in 1967-68 and was named to the VSAC All-Tournament team the same season. Union posted a 22-3 record that season, the best in the state of Tennessee and one of the best in the nation. Union won the VSAC Western Division Title and the VSAC Tournament Title that season.
In 1968-69, Searcy was named MVP of the VSAC Western Division. He helped lead Union to the NCAA College Division South Region Tournament played in Jackson, Tenn. Union finished second in the tournament with Searcy being named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team.
Searcy's play helped Union men's basketball to their first ever win over Memphis State in 1968-69 and then help Union post a second straight win over Memphis State the next season. Searcy was again voted to the VSAC All-Conference Western Division Team and VSAC All-Tournament team in 1969-70. In 1970, Searcy was selected as an Outstanding College Athlete of America.
Searcy's 1967-68 men's basketball team was inducted into the Union Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. He was a teammate of fellow inductee, Ken Hane. Four members of the 1967-68 men's basketball team are now members of the Union Sports Hall of Fame (Ken Hane, David Marsh, Dan Rudesill, Lonnie Searcy)
Searcy is a member of Union's 1,000-point club. He also participated two seasons for the Union Track Team (broad jump) from 1968-70.
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