UNA Hall Of Fame Induction Saturday

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The 33rd class of inductees for the University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted on Saturday, September 24, as part of UNA’s Homecoming celebration. The ceremony is free and open to the public and is held at 9:00 a.m. in the Performance Center, inside the Guillot University Center on the UNA campus. The UNA Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 includes former baseball player and retired Colonel Riley Brewer, former Lion men’s basketball standout Freddie Copeland, 2003 Harlon Hill Trophy winner and current Southern Mississippi Head Football Coach Will Hall, former women’s basketball player and seven-time state champion head coach Jana Killen, former Lion soccer captain and current assistant coach Hollie Loud and the all-conference kicker on UNA’s three football national championship teams, Jamie Stoddard. Following its creation in 1990, the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame has inducted at least four members each year. This year’s induction brings the total number of inductees into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame to 155.

RILEY BREWER(Baseball 1979-82): A catcher on UNA baseball teams from 1979-81, Brewer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UNA in 1982 and an accounting degree from UNA in 1990. He retired in March of 2020 from a 36-year career in military service that included 23 years of Active Federal Service. Colonel Brewer’s last military assignment was in the National Guard Bureau, J6/CIO Directorate, Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Division, United States Army. His military awards include Signal Corps’ Bronze Order of Mercury, AFCEA IT Joint Officer of the Year for 2017, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (5), Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM, Army Achievement Medal AAM, Good Conduct Medal Air Force GCMDL AF, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal AFRM-M, Army Reserve Commendation Achievement Medal ARCAM, National Defense Service Medal NFL DEF SVC MDL, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon AF LF SVC RBN and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal GWOTSM. In 2018 he was honored at the Pentagon when he was awarded a world-wide joint military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard) IT award - the AFCEA IT Joint Officer of the Year. It’s one of the highest honors a soldier can receive and was a salute to Warfighters for their service and dedication, and recognizes the contributions and sacrifices they have made in defending the nation. AFCEA DC recognizes service members that have made a significant contribution to the Warfighter through the use of information technology. Special consideration is given for decisive bravery. Brewer was also the recipient of UNA’s 2020 Military Service Award, presented by the UNA National Alumni Association.

FREDDIE COPELAND(Men’s Basketball 1976-77): A native of Booneville, Miss., Copeland played basketball at UNA in 1975-76 and 1976-77 on teams with a combined 43-13 record. In his first season at UNA, the Lions went 19-6 for the most wins in school history. He averaged 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. He averaged 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, leading the team in rebounding and field goal percentage and finishing second in scoring. The next year, 1976-77, Copeland was selected All-GSC and UNA went 24-7 and advanced to the Final Four. He averaged 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds and led the team in rebounding, steals (2.5) and assists (3.7). Not only did his 62.3 field goal percentage lead the team, but it set UNA and Gulf South Conference records. He averaged 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds. UNA hosted an NCAA Regional at home for the first time and posted wins over Southern University of Baton Rouge (105-88) and Troy (77-70). The Lions then hosted Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo at Flowers in the NCAA Quarterfinal and won 67-64 in OT. UNA lost to Randolph Macon in NCAA semifinal in Springfield, Mass., 82-67 but then won a consolation game over Sacred Heart (93-77) to finish third in nation. Copeland was also named to the Birmingham Post-Herald All-Alabama Small College Basketball team and was team MVP. Copeland had enlisted in U.S. Air Force after his high school graduation and served a four-year tour (1969-73), including two years in Vietnam. He served as a communications specialist, encrypting and decrypting top secret communications, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal on June 27, 1971. In 1973 he enrolled at Northeast Mississippi Community College and played basketball and then joined the UNA program in 1975.He graduated from UNA in 1977 with a degree in Sociology. He then got a Master’s degree in Administration from UNA in 1978 before beginning a life-long career in the aluminum business. Some of his corporate positions included - Vice President for Corporate Human Resources/Labor Relations at Wise Alloys, 2012-14 (Muscle Shoals), Vice President of Casting Operations at Alabama Casting Reclamation, 2011-12 (Muscle Shoals), Special Project Manager Recycling Specification Aluminum Alloys North America, 2007-09 (Beachwood, Ohio) and Vice President of Operations at Wabash Allloys 2001-07 (Wabash, Indiana). He retired in 2015.He is a 2012 inductee into the Northeast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame. His son Freddie Copeland, Jr., also played basketball at North Alabama and is a 2006 UNA graduate with a degree in Business Administration. His son Adrian is a 2010 UNA graduate with a degree in Computer Information Systems Enterprise.

WILL HALL(Football 2002-03): Hall, a native of Amory, Miss., is in his second season as head football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi, after serving two years as offensive coordinator at Tulane. He played quarterback at North Alabama from 2002-03 and won the 2003 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. He was also selected first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Daktronics, Football Gazette and D2Football.com as a senior in 2003. That season he led UNA to a 13-1 record that included a Gulf South Conference Championship and a semifinal appearance in the Division II Playoffs. That record included the first perfect 11-0 regular-season in school history. He led the NCAA Division II in passing efficiency in 2003 with a 173.3 rating, completing 267 of 372 passes for 3,531 yards and 30 touchdowns - all school records. He was a two-time Gulf South Conference Player of the Week and a two-time Division II National Player of the Week in 2003. He played in the Cactus Bowl NCAA Division II All-Star Game following his senior season. Hall set school records for most touchdown passes in a game (4), completions in a game (30), total offense in a season (3,998), passing yards in a season (3,531), completions in a season (267), pass attempts in a season (372), completion percentage in a season (71.8), touchdown passes in a season (30), touchdowns responsible for in a season (35), career passing yards (6,166), career TD passes (42), completions in a career (471), pass attempts in a season (693), career completion percentage (68.0). Hall has previously been inducted into the Northwest Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame. He played professionally for the Tupelo Fire Ants of the National Indoor Football League in 2004. His collegiate coaching career includes head coaching positions at West Alabama, West Georgia and Southern Miss. He was also an assistant coach at Presbyterian (2004), Henderson State (2005), Southwest Baptist (2006),Arkansas–Monticello (2007), West Alabama (2008-10), Louisiana (2017), Memphis (2018), and Tulane (2019-20). He won three Gulf South Conference Championships as a head coach (2012, 2013, 2015), led four of his teams to the NCAA Playoffs and was a two-time GSC Coach of the Year. A 2003 graduate of North Alabama, Hall, and wife Rebecca, have two sons – Tripp and Pete.

JANA KILLEN(Women’s Basketball 1984-86Graduate Assistant Coach 1986-88): A native of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Killen was the point guard on UNA women’s basketball teams from 1984-86, helping lead the team to the 1984-85 Gulf South Conference championship team, while earning all-tournament honors. She earned 8.2 points as a junior and 8.5 as a senior, scoring 452 career points with 114 rebounds, 95 steals and 178 assists. She had a 75.6 career free throw percentage. She received her bachelor’s degree in math, health and physical education from North Alabama, then earned a master’s degree in physical education from UNA. After two years as a graduate assistant at UNA, she accepted her first teaching and coaching position in 1989 at Deshler High School in Tuscumbia and is still at Deshler 33 years later. While teaching at Deshler, she has served as the head coach in volleyball, softball and girls’ basketball. She also has coached tennis at Deshler and continues to coach basketball and volleyball today. This past season, Killen led the Deshler girls’ basketball team to a 34-1 record and a state championship. It was her seventh state title as a head coach. Her varsity basketball coaching record is 842-213 with seven state championships and six state runner-up teams in 33 seasons. Her teams have won 13 regional championships and more than 26 Area championships during her career. Deshler won four consecutive Class 4A state championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. That was followed by back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. The Tigers’ state runner-up finishes were in 2002, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018, and 2020. Killen’s basketball teams have had only one losing season in 33 years. She has had 11 teams with 20 or more wins per season and 13 that won 30 or more. Her teams have averaged 24 wins per season with strings of four and eight consecutive 30-plus wins per season. This year’s team finished the season with an 18-game winning streak. Killen’s volleyball record is 918-460 with two state runner-up teams in 2007 and 2017. The Tigers have won more than 15 area championships and have had only five losing seasons in 33 years. In 2006-07, her girls reached the Class 4A state semifinals and finished 56-10. Ten of her teams won 40 or more matches per season and another six won 30 or more. Her team last fall also made earned a berth in the Elite Eight state tourney. She added tennis to her coaching duties from 2004-17, producing a state runner-up in 2015. She coached softball from 1989-2001 and has also coached swimming. She was selected Tuscumbia City Schools Teacher of the Year in 2021 for her work and dedication in teaching math. Killen has received numerous coaching honors included being selected state Coach of the Year three times. She has received 13 Florence Times Daily Coach of the Year awards. Killen was one of 12 individuals enshrined in the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021, and she was previously inducted into the Colbert County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2021, the court in the Deshler High School gymnasium was named in her honor.

HOLLIE LOUD(Soccer 2008-11)( Soccer Assistant Coach, 2016-Present): A four-year starter for UNA women’s soccer teams from 2008-11, Loud started a school record 86 consecutive matches for the Lions and was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference honoree. A native of Bristol, England, Loud returned to UNA as assistant soccer coach in 2016 after four seasons as assistant coach at the University of West Alabama and has helped guide the Lion program through its NCAA Division I transition. A starter on UNA’s first Gulf South Conference championship women’s soccer team in 2011, Loud was a team captain four straight years and helped lead the Lions to three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Her 20 career goals scored still rank 12th best in school history and she added 14 career assists. A 2011 Academic All-Gulf South Conference honoree, Loud earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UNA in 2012 and added a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from West Alabama in 2016. In her first season back at UNA as a coach, the Lions went 8-8-0 overall and followed that with a stellar 13-4-2 campaign in 2017 that included advancing to the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament. In 2018, Loud helped direct the Lions to an 11-9-1 overall mark in the program’s first season of Division I competition. UNA won two matches in the ASUN Conference Tournament and advanced to the championship match before falling 3-2 to Lipscomb. In 2019, Loud coached the ASUN Conference scoring champion in Shelby Wall, and another All-ASUN Conference team member in Kate Wiseman. In 2018, UNA had four players earn All-ASUN Conference honors, along with two members of the All-Freshman team and three All-ASUN Tournament team selections. Loud has earned an Advanced National Diploma from the United Soccer Coaches and also completed United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping Level 1 & 2. She is also a graduate of the 2018 NCAA Women Coaches Academy class #44 that was held in Denver, Colo. While at West Alabama, Loud assisted with both the men’s and women’s soccer programs. She worked in recruiting and player development and coordinated the school’s soccer clinics. UWA won men’s GSC championships in 2014 and 2015 and the women’s team received the inaugural GSC Fair Play award in 2015. While many of UWA’s players received conference and regional awards, the teams also won the interdepartmental award for community service and an NSCAA Team Academic Award in both 2014 and 2015. Loud helped form the Demopolis Elite Soccer Club and continues to work with several other youth soccer associations and camps, including the Shoals Soccer Club.

JAMIE STODDARD(Football 1993-95): The starting place-kicker on three consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship teams in 1993, 1994 and 1995, Stoddard helped the Lions post a combined 41-1 record in his three seasons in the program. A native of Florence, Ala., he was selected first-team All-Gulf South Conference in 1993 and 1994 and second-team All-GSC in 1995. He was the team’s leading scorer in 1994 and 1995 with 84 points in ‘94 and 74 in ‘95. He also set school records for extra-points made (62) and attempted (68) in a season and most points scored by a kicker in a season (98) in 1993. He was selected for UNA’s 50th Anniversary team for 1949-1988 and UNA’s Team of the Decade for 1989-98. Stoddard kicked the game-winning field goal in double-overtime in a 27-24 win over Valdosta State in the second round of the 1994 NCAA Division II Playoffs. His career numbers include making 166-of-185 extra-points, 30-of-47 field goal attempts and scoring 256 total points. The PATs attempted and made are both still school records. Stoddard transferred to UNA from the University of Arkansas prior to the 1993 season. After three years at UNA he received early acceptance to the University of Tennessee-Memphis dental school, where he graduated. For the last 18 years he has been a dentist in Florence at Cox Creek Family Dentistry. He and his wife Julie, son Trey and daughter Macy reside in Muscle Shoals.