Special to IFN

The Iredell County Sports Hall of Fame has announced its next class of inductees.

The Class of 2026 includes seven award-winning athletes who have had notable accomplishments after moving onto the next stages of their lives and careers. This inductees are Jean Berry, William “Bill” Bustle, Dr. Patrick Campbell, Dale Fox, Maria Hickman, Robert Long Sr., and Rick Lewis, who will be presented the 2026 Harold Johnson Community Partner Award.

The annual induction banquet is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 18 at the Statesville Event Center. A meet and greet reception will be held for new inductees and all previous honorees from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets for this year’s banquet are $60 per person ($55 in advance) and include a buffet-style meal. Tables for eight are available for $350.  For tickets email srossrankin@yahoo.com. 

Class of 2026

Jean Paul Berry

A former star athlete at Mooresville High School, Berry was an all-state performer in football in 1957-1958. He was selected for the 1958 North Carolina Shrine Bowl team as well as the East-West game. He also participated in track and wrestling at Mooresville High.

Berry followed his illustrious high school career with an award-winning career as a football player at Duke University. He played for Blue Devils from 1959 to 1962 and was selected to the All-ACC team after his junior and senior seasons. He was named a first-team All-American in football in 1962. Berry was a member of the Duke team that participated in the 1961 Cotton Bowl and was a member of three conference championship teams.

Berry was inducted into the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

After graduating from Duke, he worked for Reynolds Tobacco Co. in New York and Winston-Salem before a stint with McClean Trucking Company in Memphis, Tenn. In 1966 he married and moved to Germany to work with Pilot Life Insurance. In 1969, he returned to the United States and began a career in construction.

William H. “Bill” Bustle

Bustle passed away in 2008 at the age of 90 but left a lifetime of work dedicated to serving the needs of hundreds of athletes of all ages in eastern Iredell County. He was founder and chairman of the New Salem Recreation group. Sports included men’s and women’s baseball and softball leagues from the 1940s until the middle of the 1990s.

He was also founder and chairman of the East Iredell Little League, which he started in 1952 and later changed its name to New Salem Little League. He served as a coach with the league for over 40 years.

For his unrelentless community service he received numerous honors, plaques and trophies presented to him throughout the years by the East Iredell Lion’s Club, the New Salem Recreation Department and the New Salem Little League.

Bustle, with the help of his brother-in-law, and several other members of New Salem Methodist Church, constructed a field adjacent to the church and with support from REA Electric (now EnergyUnited) they built one of the nicest fields in the county with lights. Bleachers, a scorekeeper’s area with a PA system and a concession stand were all added soon after the lights went up and the field became a spot for community fellowship and sports fun for years to come.

Other churches joined with New Salem to form leagues for softball and baseball.

In 1952, as a member of the East Iredell Lions Club, he convinced the club to sponsor the new Little League program for New Salem.

Bustle was a 33rd Degree Mason with Lodge #27 in Statesville and the owner of Bustle Antiques. He was truly a hero in his community and volunteered tirelessly for over 50 years.

Bustle and his wife raised three daughters, and he was among the few who taught girls to play baseball.

Bustle’s three girls (Judy, Pat and Sandy) were part of their father’s life at the ballfield. Pat learned to strategically keep the scorebooks at an early age and called the game results in to be published in the Statesville Record & Landmark. Sandy spent much of her life on the ballfield, pulling for her daddy as a pitcher in men’s softball and helping him manage the Little League program. She and her father, together, coached a team for many years. One of Bustle’s most pleasurable years was to have a grandson (Joey) play on his team, along with two of his granddaughters (Stacey and Jamie).

Dr. Patrick Campbell

Campbell, a state champion cross-country and track star at Mooresville High, who graduated in 2008, is among the most honored high school track athletes in Iredell County history. He participated in cross-country and both indoor and outdoor track and field for the Blue Devils from 2004 through 2008.

In cross-country, Campbell was an all-conference performer for four straight seasons and was conference runner of the year in 2007. He was a regional champion in 2006 and received all-region honors in 2005 and 2006 and was all-state in 2006 and 2007. He set a school record of 15:12 in the 5K and was a Footlocker All-American selection in 2007.

As a member of the indoor track and field team, Campbell won state championships in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs in 2008 and also was a member of the state champion 4×800 meter relay team. During his time at MHS, he set school records in both the 1,600 and 3,200 and was the team MVP in 2007.

On the outdoor track he was just as dominant and was a member of the 4×800 conference champion relay team in 2006 and individual champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. He won regional championships twice in the 4×800 relay and twice each in the 1,600 and 3,200. Campbell was state champion in the 1,600-meter in 2008 and state runnerup in the 3,200 that same year. 

Campbell won conference meet MVP in 2008 and was the NPC runner of the year. He set school records in the 4×800 relay, as well as the 1,600 and 3,200.

Mooresville High selected Campbell as the Male Athlete of the Year in 2008 and he won the MHS Earl Campbell Award that year as well. He was a member of five state championship teams (two cross-country, one indoor track and two outdoor track).

Campbell attended N.C. State University on a partial scholarship and earned All-ACC honors in cross country and was a team captain for the Wolfpack. He was a member of two ACC championship teams in cross country, including a team that finished 10th in the NCAA in 2012.

Patrick is the son of Mike & Pat Campbell. He and his wife Emily are the parents of daughter Charlotte.

Dale Fox

Fox was an outstanding athlete at Statesville High School, participating in wrestling and baseball. The baseball teams he played on in 1969 through 1971 were three-time conference champions, and twice Dale helped lead the team to appearances in the WNCHSAA championship game. During his Greyhound career, Fox was an outstanding shortstop, making all-conference as a junior and senior and batting .420 during his senior year. He also played for the Statesville American Legion team, batting clean-up, in 1971 on the team which advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Rowan County.

Fox wanted to continue his baseball career so he walked on at Western Carolina. Once there he was given a scholarship almost immediately. After a tremendous freshman season when he led the team with a .347 batting average, Fox received a scholarship for the maximum amount for a player who was not a pitcher. For the Catamounts, Fox started every game for four years and finished with a .979 fielding percentage. He had a string of 113 straight at bats without striking out, and in 1972 he set a record with an on base percentage of 65 percent, which included 34 hits, 28 walks and two HBP. Fox made the NAIA District 6 All-Tournament team.

After graduating college, Fox stayed on for a year at WCU and was a graduate assistant and worked to receive a master’s degree. After college, Fox was invited to spring training with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, both tryouts arranged by Iredell County Hall of Famer Herman Starrette. Dale played semi-pro baseball for two years with the Broyhill Chiefs and helped lead the team to the state championship in 1973 when the Chiefs earned a berth in the semi-pro nationals in Wichita.

Fox returned to Iredell County and taught and coached in the Iredell County School system for 20 years. During that time, he was a head coach in wrestling, baseball, tennis and golf at North Iredell High and assisted in football, including with the 1987 Raiders team that went 11-1. He set the record at North Iredell for most wins in a season as the baseball coach that was broken recently by Randy Martin. He also coached several wrestlers who advanced to the state championships.

Fox served 20 years (1976-1996) with the Special Olympics of Iredell County and was a member of the Board of Directors for five years. He served as the Iredell County Special Olympics Spring Games coordinator as well as the NIHS Special Olympics coordinator from 1983 to 1996.

Fox advanced from teaching in the Iredell-Statesville Schools to administration and after serving as SIHS Athletic Director in 2000 he became the first principal at Third Creek Elementary.

Fox is the son of John Fox and Sue Millsaps Carter. He and his wife Leslie Wiseman Fox had four children, Katie Fox, Madison Wiseman, Emma Fox and Gus Fox.

Maria Hickman

North Iredell High graduate Maria Hickman has made great strides in the sports world since she was team captain of the Lady Raiders basketball team from 1996-98.

Hickman is currently the Executive Associate Athletics Director, SWA, and Director of Inclusive Excellence for the University of South Carolina Athletics Department. Her primary responsibilities include serving as the sport administrator for women’s basketball and beach volleyball. Hickman also has oversight of sport administrator meetings, creation and oversight of department diversity and inclusion committee as well as execution of departmental diversity action plan. In her role as senior woman administrator (SWA), Hickman participates in SEC governance. Hickman is currently a member of the NCAA Progress Towards Degree Waivers Committee.

Hickman arrived at the University of South Carolina in 2007 and served as an academic advisor for football. Throughout the years she was promoted to Director of Academics and assisted with building academic excellence while graduating student-athletes at a high percentage. She was promoted to Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Development on January 1, 2013, to oversee the Dodie Anderson Academic Center and the daily academic and student development operation for all student-athletes. In 2015, she was promoted to Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Development.

Hickman serves as a member of the athletic department’s senior staff and the University Athletics Advisory Council. She reports directly to the Provost Office.

Prior to South Carolina, Hickman worked at the University of Richmond from 2005-2007, where she served as an Academic Coordinator with the football, baseball, field hockey and lacrosse teams and asa Life Skills Coordinator.

A native of Statesville, Hickman graduated from Mars Hill College with a dual bachelor’s degree in business administration and sports management and earned her master’s degree in sports administration from the University of Louisville. She played basketball for Mars Hill and is the 23rd all-time leading scorer at Mars Hill with 1,084 points.

Robert Lee Long Sr.

Already a member of the Shaw University Athletic Hall of Fame, Long was an outstanding athlete at Morningside High School from 1964 through 1966 and was captain and quarterback of the Golden Tigers football team. He was named MVP after leading the Golden Tigers to the 2AA western baseball championship in 1966. He was voted the Morningside athlete of the year as a senior.

Long moved onto Shaw University in the fall of 1966 and played football for two years and baseball for all four years at Shaw. He was the starting catcher for two years, including the 1967 season, when Shaw won the CIAA baseball championship. In his junior and senior years at college, Long played other positions and posted a .387 batting average, earning him the All-CIAA as a utility infielder. He was the Shaw MVP in 1967.

On October 18, 2012, Long was inducted into the Shaw University Athletic Hall of Fame.

After graduating from Shaw, Long taught and coached basketball at Palmer Memorial Institute for two years (1970-72) and when Palmer closed in 1972, Long relocated to Catawba County, where he served as a coach and teacher in the Hickory Public Schools. He taught social studies and driver’s ed.

Long spent over 35 years in the Hickory Public Schools and coached football, basketball and baseball teams as well as girls softball.

Seeing a need, Long directed the extended School Day Program for teen mothers and the JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act). Long served as Dean of Students for the Alternative School Program for over 20 years.

Long and his wife of 43 years, Ursula Watson Long, have four children, Dana, Robert Jr., Roderick and Erica. He currently serves as head deacon at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Hickory.

Rick Lewis

Lewis, a resident of Statesville, is the founder, owner and promoter for Phenom Hoops and is the recipient of the Iredell County Sports Hall of Fame Harold Johnson Community Service Award for 2026.

Phenom Hoops has become one of the premier sources of high school basketball exposure. Phenom Hoops is a NCAA-compliant scouting service that offers a unique and valued opinion throughout the basketball landscape. The Phenom platform offers nationally recognized exposure camps, travel ball tournaments, and high school showcases with the chance to play in front of college coaches and scouts.

Lewis has coordinated and directed 30-plus travel ball events throughout the Southeast with 3,500 teams and over 30,000 student-athletes, including 17 events in North Carolina and three of the top 50 high school events in the United States.

The Phenom Hoops Scouting Service works for and with over 100 coaches and colleges since 2009, producing 24 reports per year to send to recruiters featuring over 100 student-athletes in each report.

Lewis and his group have hosted basketball tournaments for Lamelo Ball, Ish Smith, Mike Gminski, George Lynch and regional Phenom Hoops basketball camps across America.

After previously serving as an assistant coach to Iredell County coaches Danny Davis and Kent Blackwelder, Lewis went on to coach both girls and boys travel basketball teams from 2002 to 2011, including two McDonald’s All-Americans, two NBA players and over 10 players who made it to Division I colleges.

Former Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith said about Lewis, “Rick has been coordinating basketball events all over the State of North Carolina for decades. During that time, I was able to witness Rick helping many young players and coaches develop and enhance their skills. Rick is a caring individual with outstanding leadership qualities.”

Through his work, Lewis has built lasting relationships with most of the college coaches in the country and many individual players as well.

Class of 2027 Nominations

The Hall of Fame committee is already accepting candidates for the Class of 2027. Visit iredellsportshalloffame.org to download the nomination form.