The inductees of the 2020 TSSAA Hall of Fame were originally set to be inducted at the annual luncheon in April of 2020. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that ceremony was postponed not one, not two, but three times. The nine inductees were officially recognized for the contributions to high school athletics at the induction ceremony that finally took place on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Murfreesboro.
Those inducted at this year’s luncheon were: Barbara Daush, administrator from Memphis; Turner Jackson, administrator from Cleveland; Clint Parnell, administrator from Nashville; Bobby Alston, coach from Memphis; Buck Coatney, coach from Knoxville; Carolyn Jackson, coach from Chattanooga; Jeff Morris, coach from Milan; Shelby Miller, official from Elizabethton; and the late Marion Wilhoite, contributor from Columbia.
Barbara Daush—Administrator in the Memphis area for over 40 years…President and Chief Executive Officer at St. Agnes Academy for 22 years…Head of Hutchison Lower School from 1990-1994…administrator and teacher at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School for 12 years…teacher at Lausanne Collegiate School from 1975-1978…Chair of the Board of the Southern Association of Independent Schools…Board of Directors and President of the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools…served on TSSAA Division II Committee and served for ten years as a liaison on the TSSAA Legislative Council and Board of Control…received a TSSAA Distinguished Service Award as an administrator…retired in 2016 but continues to do consulting work for search committees of independent schools
Turner Jackson—Teacher, coach, and administrator for 41 years…served as head wrestling coach for 2 years at LakeView Fort Ogelthorpe High School before going to Bradley Central High School in 1979…has coached wrestling, cross country, track and field, and softball during his tenure at Bradley Central…served 20 years as athletic director…Retired in 2015, but still teaching wellness and serving as school’s athletic director on 100-day contract…TIAAA Athletic Director of the Year…Region 3 A. F. Bridges Athletic Director of the Year…member of National Wrestling, Greater Chattanooga Sports, Bradley Co. Old Timers, and UTC halls of fame…TN Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year in 1976
Clint Parnell—Fifty-six years as an administrator in Middle Tennessee…taught and coached football, basketball, and track at Maplewood High School for 21 years...Assistant Principal at Whites Creek High School for 5 years and Ewing Park Middle School for 4…retired from Metro-Nashville Public Schools in 1992…became Principal and Athletic Director at Goodpasture Christian School in 1992 and served as Principal until 2005…has been an athletic administrator at Goodpasture for almost 30 years, having recently been appointed the Dean of Athletics…TSSAA Athletic Director of the Year in 2009…received a TSSAA Distinguished Service Award as an administrator in 2006…TSSAA basketball official in the 1970s
Bobby Alston—Administrator and coach at Memphis University School since 1977…has coached football at MUS since 1980, and became head coach in 1998…athletic director since 1997…has served as the school’s head track coach since 1983…Dean of Students from 1994 until 1999…coached football under fellow TSSAA Hall of Famer Jake Rudolph for 17 years…overall record of 180 – 76…has captured 4 TSSAA state football championships (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) and 3 Runner-up finishes (2012, 2013, 2018)…TSSAA Distinguished Service Award in 2000…TN Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2018)…TSSAA / NHFCA State of Tennessee Football Coach of the Year and TSWA Division II Coach of the Year in 2005-06…TN Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018… his track teams have won five TSSAA state championships and two team relay championships…TSSAA A. F. Bridges Award winner 3 times…TSSAA Regional Coordinator and has served on the TSSAA State Track and Field Advisory Committee
Buck Coatney—Head football coach at Fulton High School in Knoxville for 19 seasons (1992 – 2010)…compiled a 144 – 91 overall record…TSSAA state champions in 2003, 2004, and 2006…state runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2007…awarded the Tennessee Titans Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year in 2004…received the National Football Foundation’s Amateur Football Award, AP Coach of the Year, East TN Coach of the Year, and State Coach of the Year numerous times
Carolyn Jackson—Longtime girls’ basketball and volleyball coach at Brainerd High School…coached volleyball from 1975 until 1989 and basketball from 1973 until 2013…compiled 985 basketball victories and won the TSSAA State Basketball Championship in 1984…named TACA Coach of the Year 16 times…Brainerd High School gymnasium named the “Jackson-High” gymnasium for Carolyn and fellow TSSAA Hall of Famer Robert High…TSSAA volleyball official for 23 years…received a TSSAA A. F. Bridges Award as an official…received the “Scrappy Moore Award” in 1984, 1994, and 1998…inducted into the Brainerd High School and Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame
Jeff Morris—Head football coach at Milan High School for 22 years…coached football and baseball at Henry Co. High School for 9 years before going to Milan in 1994…Head football coach at Milan from 1996 until 2017…overall record of 222 – 69…reached TSSAA playoffs 21 times with a record of 53 – 19…his teams were state runners-up 4 times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)…TSSAA State Football Champions in 1998 and 1999…served as head coach of the Tennessee All-Star game in 2001…Tennessee Titans State Coach of the Year in 2003
Shelby Miller—TSSAA football and basketball official for 54 years…officiated basketball for 25 years before retiring in 1990…officiated 16 district, 15 regional, 11 sub-state, and 2 TSSAA state tournaments (1981 girls, 1984 boys)…has been selected to work the football playoffs for 42 consecutive years…officiated 5 TSSAA state football championships (1985, 1992, 1995, 2008, 2019)…still actively officiating football as Head Linesman…TSSAA A. F. Bridges Award for Official of the Year…inducted into the Carter County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016…National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 2017
Marion Wilhoite—Sports editor at the Columbia Daily Herald for 54 years (1962 – 2016)…reported fast-pitch softball league results from the age of 13 to 15…at age 15 he kept play-by-play sheets for the Herald Sports Editor for Columbia Central and Columbia Military Academy…State Prep Sportswriter of the Year by Lawrenceburg Quarterback Club in 1984…press box at Columbia Central HS named in his honor…charter member of City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department Hall of Fame…Metro Region 6 Hall of Fame…TSSAA Distinguished Service Award as Contributor...Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame…honored for 50 years of service to the TN Press Association…featured in a column in Sports Illustrated in 1989 for his unique brand of sports coverage, as he was well-known for being devoid of negativity
Due to the pandemic, there will not be a Class of 2021. The class of 2022 is set to be inducted on April 2, 2022. Nominations can be submitted It is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. CST. Nomination forms for the Class of 2022 are due in the TSSAA office by November 1. Forms are available at tssaa.org/hall-of-fame.
Please contact Heather Carter at hcarter@tssaa.org if you have any questions or need additional information.
