RALEIGH – Former Campbell basketball standout Fred Whitfield is one of 15 new members who will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on May 4.
 
Now the President, Chief Operating Officer, Alternate Governor and Minority Owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Whitfield was inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
 
Whitfield, who graduated from Campbell in 1980, will be joined in the 2018 N.C. Sports Hall of Fame induction class by Donna Andrews, Scott Bankhead, Hal "Skinny" Brown, Chris Cammack, Joey Cheek, Wes Chesson, Laura DuPont, Mindy Ballou Fitzpatrick, Bill Hayes, Jack Holley, Paul Jones, Mike Martin, Frank "Jakie" May and Joe West.
 
They will be enshrined during the 55th-annual induction banquet on the evening of Friday, May 4, at the Raleigh Convention Center. An afternoon news conference will be held on Thursday, May 3, at 4 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History, located at 5 East Edenton Street.
 
Ticket information for the banquet is available at ncsportshalloffame.org or (919) 845-3455.
 
The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1963. A permanent exhibit, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, is located on the third floor of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh and features significant objects and memorabilia donated by inductees. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
 
Whitfield will be the sixth coach or athlete associated with Campbell to be inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, joining Mike Caldwell, Fred McCall, Gaylord Perry, Jim Perry and Earl Smith.
 
A brief biography of each 2018 inductee follows; deceased inductees being inducted posthumously are indicated by an asterisk:
 
FRED WHITFIELD: Whitfield has teamed with Michael Jordan to give Charlotte one of the best-run franchises in pro basketball. President and chief operating officer of the franchise, which he joined in 2006, the native of Greensboro earned his undergraduate degree and M.B.A. from Campbell University.  Thousands of young people in Charlotte have benefitted greatly by his civic work over the years.
 
Source: NBA.com/hornets
A talented sports executive with experience as a player, coach, agent, sports marketer and basketball operations administrator, Fred Whitfield joined Hornets Sports & Entertainment (formerly Bobcats Sports & Entertainment) as President & Chief Operating Officer in July 2006. In this role, Whitfield oversees all business operations for the Charlotte Hornets and Spectrum Center, including the team's name change from Charlotte Bobcats in the summer of 2014 and the arena's rebranding in the summer of 2016 following naming rights partner Time Warner Cable's merger with Charter Communications.
 
Since coming to Charlotte, Whitfield has overseen the dramatic growth of both the franchise and arena. Along with overseeing the team's rebranding, Whitfield led efforts in recent years that resulted in securing $40 million in renovations for Spectrum Center. Additional accomplishments during his tenure with the organization include securing the 2019 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, reaching long-term agreements with Ticketmaster to serve as Spectrum Center's ticketing provider and Live Nation to book the arena's entertainment, hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention, simultaneously signing an arena naming rights deal with Time Warner Cable and a television broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports, and making the largest donation ever given to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools by a professional sports franchise. He also led the efforts to secure the 2017 NBA All Star Game and re-securing it after the repeal of HB2.
 
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Whitfield brings a portfolio that includes the Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc.; the Washington Wizards; Nike Basketball; Falk Associates Management Enterprises (F.A.M.E.); and a private law practice.
 
Before joining the organization, Whitfield most recently served as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for Jordan Brand, where he managed endorsements and sports marketing strategy. Jordan Brand's clients include and included some of the top athletes in professional sports. From 2000-03, Whitfield served as Director of Player Personnel and Assistant Legal Counsel for the Washington Wizards. While there, he was responsible for the team's salary cap administration, contract negotiations and overseeing player scouting. He is widely credited with facilitating the methods to correct the team's troubled salary cap situation, enabling that franchise to rebuild through trades and free agency.
 
Whitfield served as Director of Player Development for Nike Basketball prior to joining the Wizards. At Nike Basketball, he was responsible for scouting new potential endorsers, negotiating endorsement contracts and overseeing business and marketing strategies for more than 150 NBA players. His career in sports began as a player agent representing professional athletes with F.A.M.E. as Director of the Carolinas Region, based in Greensboro. Before joining F.A.M.E., Whitfield established and managed a successful law practice in Greensboro.
 
A graduate of Campbell University, Whitfield was an All-South, team MVP and basketball team captain player and was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. He earned a BBA degree in Economics and then completed his MBA at Campbell while serving as Assistant Basketball Coach for the Camels. From there, he earned a Juris Doctorate Degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law where he served as Student Bar Association President.
 
Whitfield also founded HoopTee Charities, Inc, a North Carolina based non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide scholarships for disadvantaged youngsters to attend camps and educational youth based programs across the country. In addition, for the past 33 years he has run, which he founded, the Achievements Unlimited Basketball School in Greensboro and Charlotte serving more than 10,000 kids, including many who attend on need-based scholarships. In recent years, Whitfield has received the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence (2011) and YMCA George Williams Award (Volunteer of the Year 2012), as well as the Key to the City of Greensboro (2013). He currently serves on the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board, Charlotte Sports Foundation Board of Directors, Campbell University Board of Trustees and Charlotte Executive Leadership Council.
 
Whitfield and his wife Mary reside in Charlotte.
 
DONNA ANDREWS: An outstanding golfer, Andrews won a major title on the LPGA Tour as well as five other tournaments during her time on the tour from 1990 to 2005. She finished in the top ten in money earned in a season three times. The Lynchburg, Va. native is now a teaching pro in Pinehurst.
 
SCOTT BANKHEAD: Bankhead, an All-American pitcher at North Carolina, had a 10-year major league career, including six with the Seattle Mariners with whom he won 14 games in 1989. The Raleigh native and Asheboro resident produced two of the best seasons in Tar Heel history.
 
HAL "SKINNY" BROWN *: Brown pitched for six teams in his major league career, which spanned from 1951 to '64. His best season came in 1960 with the Orioles. Baltimore battled the Yankees all summer for first place in the American League race before finishing second. Brown, born in Greensboro, went 12-5 with a 3.06 ERA that season.
 
CHRIS CAMMACK*: Almost 50 years after graduation, Cammack still ranks as one of N.C. State's best all-around baseball players. The Fayetteville native starred at third base for four years, earning all-ACC honors four times and set the Wolfpack record for single-season batting average with a .429 mark in 1969. He was also a point guard on a state championship high school basketball team at Fayetteville High.
 
JOEY CHEEK: Cheek, a Greensboro native, has won three Olympic medals in speed skating. He began as an inline skater as a teen before switching to speed skating. He won medals in the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games. He is also a well-known humanitarian, co-founding Team Darfur, an international association of athletes devoted to raising awareness of humanitarian crises related to the war in Darfur.
 
WES CHESSON:  Chesson, a native of Edenton, played for former Duke star Jerry McGee in high school at Holmes High and then went on to Duke himself. He was a star receiver and punter for the Blue Devils in the late 1960's.  By the time he graduated, he was the leading receiver in ACC history and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.
 
LAURA DUPONT *: A native of Louisville, Ky., Dupont moved to Charlotte as a teenager and quickly dominated the state's junior tennis tournaments. She attended North Carolina where she won the pre-NCAA national collegiate championship. After graduation she joined the WTA Tour, where she was a standout in both singles and doubles.
 
MINDY BALLOU FITZPATRICK: Fitzpatrick, a native of Sea Level, was a volleyball and basketball standout at West Carteret High School. She went on to become a collegiate basketball star at South Carolina, where she played from 1983-86 and was a three-time All-American. She later became a championship surfer.
 
BILL HAYES: Hayes spent 27 years as a college head football coach and won 195 games, including stints at North Carolina A&T (1988-2002) and Winston-Salem State (1976-87). After his coaching career, he served as athletic director at his alma mater, North Carolina Central, Florida A&M and Winston-Salem State.
 
JACK HOLLEY*: Holley was an outstanding athlete at New Hanover High School and graduated from Guilford College.  He coached an amazing 46 years at the high school level and his football teams won a whopping 412 games, which placed him in the top ten nationally at one time.  His stops included Tabor City and two long stints at Wallace-Rose Hill, among others.
 
PAUL JONES*: Jones, born in Thomasville and a graduate of East Carolina, compiled a brilliant basketball coaching record at Kinston High School. He spent 38 seasons there, from 1957 through '95, and his teams won 662 games and 18 conference championships along with two North Carolina High School Athletic Association state titles and four runner-up finishes.  He also coached a team to a state title in baseball.
 
MIKE MARTIN: Martin has built one of the greatest collegiate baseball programs in the country in his 38 years at Florida State. The Gastonia native has the most wins and the highest winning percentage of any active coach. Under his direction, Florida State has become a fixture in the national polls and NCAA Tournament play.
 
FRANK "JAKIE" MAY*:  A Youngsville native, May had a 14-year major league career. The lefthander pitched for three National League teams between the 1917 and 1932 seasons. He had 72 major league wins, including 15 for Cincinnati in 1927, and finished his career with a 3.88 ERA.  
 
JOE WEST: West was born in Asheville, graduated from Rose High in Greenville and played football at Elon. He is the longest tenured umpire currently working in major league baseball, with over 40 seasons, and prior to his induction in the Hall has worked in six World Series, nine League Championship series and three All-Star games.