Guilford College Announces 2008 Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Greensboro, N.C. — Guilford College will recognize five alumni, including four student-athletes, as the 37th class inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame Sept. 13. Leslie Bowerman Blincoe ’82 of Virginia Beach, Va., Joe D. Floyd, Sr. ’53 of High Point, N.C., Brenda Davis Goble ’94 of Terre Haute, Ind., Michael Ian Hutcheon ’89 of High Point, N.C., and Max O. Welborn, Sr. ’52 of Yadkinville, N.C. are this year’s inductees.

The group will be formally inducted at a 4:00 p.m. ceremony in Guilford’s Dana Auditorium and honored prior to the start of the Quakers’ football game versus Methodist University later that night. Individuals who wish to attend the ceremony should contact Guilford’s athletics department at 336-316-2190.

Blincoe starred for coach Gayle Currie’s volleyball team from 1978-81 and earned All-NAIA District 26 honors as a senior. She also received All-Carolina Intercollegiate Athletics Conference recognition and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1981 conference tournament. The Quakers had 92 wins over the Raleigh native’s career, including 31 victories in 1980 that led to the District 26 Tournament title and an NAIA Tournament berth. She is married to Ralph Blincoe ’81 and resides in Virginia Beach, Va.

Joe D. Floyd, Sr. Joe D. Floyd, Sr.

Floyd grew up in Jamestown, N.C., and was a four-year letter winner in football and baseball for the Quakers in the 1950s. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army where he also played football. Floyd spent a few years coaching and officiating high school sports in central North Carolina before earning his Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1964. He embarked on a successful law career and presently owns his own practice in High Point, N.C. A member of the North Carolina Bar Association, he has served as president of the High Point Bar Association and treasurer of the Guilford County Bar Association. Floyd is an active member of the Quaker Club, Guilford’s athletic booster organization, and Guilford’s Alumni Association. He has hosted annual reunions of former Guilford student-athletes from 1950-60 since 1998. He enjoys spending time with his three grandchildren and travelling with his wife, Bonita.

One of Guilford’s finest student-athletes, Goble starred on the Quakers’ basketball and volleyball teams from 1990 through her graduation in 1994. She was the 1993 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Volleyball Player of the Year and a three-time, first-team All-South Region selection as a middle hitter. The Orlando, Fla., native holds Guilford’s career records for kills, hitting percentage, and solo blocks. On the basketball court, Goble was the ODAC’s Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994 and a three-time honorable mention Kodak All-American. She still holds Quakers’ career records for rebounds and double-doubles. Goble received the North Carolina Collegiate Award for Excellence in 1993 and the Nereus C. English ’26 Athletic Leadership Award in 1992.

Brenda Davis Goble Brenda Davis Goble

After earning bachelor’s degrees in sports medicine and sport management, Goble moved to Washington and Lee University where she spent two years as an assistant volleyball and women’s basketball coach. She went to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1996 and started the school’s volleyball team from scratch and holds the position today. Goble also coached the women’s tennis squad for seven seasons. As the school’s senior woman administrator (SWA), she helped Rose-Hulman receive an ‘A’ rating in gender equity from the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Hutcheon was a two-time All-American golfer for coach Jack Jensen from 1985-89 and helped the Quakers to four NAIA Championship Tournament appearances. As a senior, Hutcheon led Guilford with a third-place individual showing as the Quakers claimed their first national golf crown. He played on Guilford’s second-place NAIA teams in 1986 and 1987 and finished 11th individually in 1988 as the Quakers claimed sixth place. A two-time All-NAIA District 26 and All-Carolinas Conference honoree, Hutcheon won two individual medalist titles, including his first college event, the 1985 Aubrey Apple Invitational. He ranks 18th among Guilford’s career stroke average leaders (76.5) and won the 1989 English Award.

Michael Ian Hutcheon Michael Ian Hutcheon

After graduating from Guilford, Hutcheon played three years on the Canadian Golf Tour and has worked at the Jamestown (N.C.) Park Golf Club since 1992, the last 12 years as its head professional. The Thunder Bay, Canada, native captained his high school hockey team and remains an active recreational player and coach.

Welborn served as the manager of Guilford’s men’s basketball team in the early 1950s and represents the fourth generation of his family to attend the school. His three children continued the tradition, and two of them were involved in Guilford athletics. Max (Niel) Oniel Welborn, Jr. ’75 was an athletic trainer for the football team, manager of the basketball team, and a member of the golf team. Charlie Lee Welborn ’81 played basketball for the Quakers. After graduating from Guilford, Max Welborn taught history and coached basketball at Yadkinville (N.C.) High School before pursuing a career in the auto industry, which included a stint as owner of professional stock car team. He served as president of the Quaker Club in 1979-80 and attended such historic events as the men’s basketball NAIA Tournament runs in 1968 and 1973. An avid fan of Guilford athletics, he has been a long-standing supporter of the college, especially of those students from Yadkin County. He owns Max Welborn Auto in Yadkinville.

This year’s class raises Guilford’s Athletics Hall of Fame membership to 204. Past inductees include NBA stars M.L. Carr ’73 and World B. Free ’76, major-league baseball players Ernie Shore ’13, Rick Ferrell ’28 and Tom Zachary ’18, and professional golfer Lee Porter ’89