Hampton University track & field great, and Olympic gold medalist, Francena McCorory will be inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class, the conference office announced recently.
A native of Hampton, Va., McCorory won three NCAA championships as a Lady Pirate, winning the 400-meter dash in the 2009 and 2010 indoor seasons, as well as the 2010 outdoor season. Her 2010 NCAA indoor performance set a new collegiate and American record at 50.54.
She was a four-time All-American, as named by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Her MEAC success began during the 2008 outdoor season, when she took conference titles in the 400-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay. McCorory won the outdoor MEAC title in the 400-meter dash in three straight years (2008-10), and she won indoor 400-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay titles in 2009 and 2010.
McCorory also won MEAC titles in the 200-meter dash in 2009 (outdoor) and 2010 (indoor).
To date, McCorory holds two MEAC records: 53.22 in the indoor 400-meter dash – set in 2009 – and 51.54 in the outdoor 400-meter dash (set in 2008).
McCorory currently holds four school records at Hampton, two for the indoor season and two in the outdoor season. She is the current record holder in the indoor 400-meter dash (50.54), indoor 500-meter dash (1:09.16), outdoor 200-meter dash (22.92), and outdoor 400-meter dash (50.58).
McCorory earned her first Olympic gold medal in London in 2012 as part of the 4×400-meter relay team, and she repeated that feat this past summer in Rio, having run for Team USA in the semifinal heats.
She was also the 400m gold medalist at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Joining McCorory in the MEAC Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will be Bethune-Cookman softball great Amber Jackson, Bethune-Cookman football standout Rashean Mathis, South Carolina State football player Robert Porcher, and Howard defensive great Tracy White.
“I’d like to congratulate the 2017 Hall of Fame class for all their accomplishments both athletically and professionally,” said Dr. Dennis E. Thomas, MEAC Commissioner. “The honorees have made significant contributions to their families, communities, institutions, and this conference. They are to be commended.”
The MEAC Hall of Fame highlights former student-athletes, coaches, university and conference administrators, as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1970. Enshrinees were selected by a 13-person committee made up of administrators and representatives from member institutions.
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981 during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, N.C. Since its establishment, the MEAC Hall of Fame has enshrined 138 people, including the Class of 2017.
The five-member class will be officially inducted on Thursday, March 9, 2017 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va. They will then be recognized that evening during the 2017 MEAC Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Tickets for the induction brunch are $35 per seat or $300 per table (10 people). Tickets are available through the MEAC office; call them at (757) 951-2055. For more information on Hampton University athletics, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at hamptonpirates.com.
