CHEYNEY, Pa. – The Cheyney University Athletic Hall of Fame has announced that ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith will serve as the emcee of the 36th Annual Cheyney University Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday October 7, 2016 at the Springfield Country Club.
The Class of 2016 consists of: Anthony Frazier (men’s basketball) Mary Smith-Jones (women’s basketball), Anthony Thompson, Marty Capasso and Gerone Powell (football) and the late John Hardnett (men’s basketball).
Smith, who was a columnist at the Philadelphia Enquirer when he first met John Hardnett, wrote a stirring tribute to the life of his friend, when he suddenly passed away in May of 2010.
According to Cheyney University Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Don Hackney ’61, Hardnett was instrumental in Smith’s success by allowing him access to the great players who trained with and played under Hardnett.