FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julie Lawhon-Marks, Deputy Director
jlawhon@ncsportshalloffame.org
March 9, 2026
SAMPSON TO DEFER INDUCTION INTO N.C. SPORTS HALL OF FAME
RALEIGH – University of Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson has deferred his induction into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame to 2027 due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict.
Sampson had previously committed to be one of the honorees at the 21st annual Dick Vitale Gala on May 1 to raise money for pediatric cancer through the V Foundation. That event in Sarasota, Florida is the same night as the NCSHOF Induction Celebration.
According to the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, the Pembroke, North Carolina native now will be inducted in ceremonies on April 30, 2027 in Greensboro.
The 2026 N.C. Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration will be held on Friday May 1 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro with ten individuals being inducted into the Hall. PGA Tour great Chip Beck, Olympic speed-skating medalist Heather Bergsma, NC Central and Cincinnati Bengal star Louis Breeden, college basketball coaching legend Leonard Hamilton, UNC basketball great Tyler Hansbrough, Winston-Salem State and Pittsburgh Steeler running back Richard Huntley, tennis star John Isner, coaching legend Norvell Lee, UNC and MLS soccer standout Eddie Pope and one of the nation’s top high school wrestling coaches Jerry Winterton.
Tickets to the event can be purchased here.
