FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Trip Durham, Executive Director
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
tdurham@ncsportshalloffame.org
THE NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
ADDS THREE TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RALEIGH, N.C.—The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (NCSHOF) added three highly-regarded sports administrators – Martina Ballen, Bobby Purcell and Gary Sobba — to its Board of Directors at the organization’s annual summer meeting.
Ballen, senior associate athletic director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Purcell, the longtime executive director of the Wolfpack Club at N.C. State, will serve three-year terms while Sobba, the former tournament director of Charlotte’s PGA Tour stop, begins a two-year term.
“We are absolutely thrilled these three have agreed to serve this great Hall of Fame,” said Rick Webb, president of the NCSHOF Board of Directors. “Their portfolios, experience in athletics, and vision for building successful organizations are unrivaled, and we look forward to their energies and contributions.”
Ballen is the chief financial officer for UNC Athletics, a position she has held since 2011. She graduated from North Carolina in 1980 with a degree in business administration and went on to earn her master’s degree from Wake Forest in 1984. The Southern Pines native has worked in the Carolina athletics department since 1987.
Purcell, who is a member of the NCSHOF (Class of 2021), has made an impact in several capacities since joining the N.C. State athletics department as a part-time assistant football coach in 1981. He was the executive director of the Wolfpack Club from 1991 until his retirement in 2020. Under Purcell’s leadership, the Wolfpack Club raised over half a billion dollars in support of Wolfpack Athletics. He now works as a special assistant to N.C. State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan.
Sobba ran the day-to-day operations for the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship (now the Truist Championship) for seven years. He spent the previous 15 years as Learfield’s General Manager for the Tar Heel Sports Network. He recently began a position as a professor of practice for the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sports Management at the University of South Carolina’s Charlotte campus. Each new member will be eligible for a three-year renewal of their seats once their current term has expired in accordance with the bylaws of the NCSHOF. The entire list of members of the Board of Directors, as well as the staff, can be found on the organization’s website (https://ncshof.org/our-leadership/).
61st Induction Celebration
May 2, 2025
Greensboro, NC
Although public nominations for the Class of 2025 have closed, year-round nominations can be submitted by visiting
https://ncshof.org/nominate/
