Hall of Fame Dinner and induction is Friday evening

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- When the Ohio Valley Conference added women’s volleyball to its sponsored sports in 1983, Tennessee Tech stepped forward to dominate the league by winning four consecutive Southern Division championships. One of the most prolific players during that span was defensive specialist Angie Duncan Hyche, who was a standout not only on the court but also received national recognition for her academic success.

In recognition of her success as a Golden Eagle, Duncan Hyche is one of five people who will be enshrined into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, Nov. 4, as the school honors its athletic legacy with the 37th annual induction ceremony.

The 2011 Hall of Fame Class will be honored during Homecoming weekend, Nov. 4-5. The induction will take place at the Hall of Fame Dinner Friday evening, and the group will also be recognized at the Homecoming football game Saturday against Murray State.

A native of Kingsport, Tenn., Duncan Hyche capped her career by being named first-team Academic All-America as well as first-team all-OVC.  Beginning with an honorable mention on the Academic All-America team as a sophomore, she was a second-team Academic All-America choice as a junior. She also was named as one of three OVC female Scholar-Athlete winners as a senior, graduating in 1987 with a degree in biology and boasting a 3.98 grade average for her career.

After filling a reserve role as a freshman, the 5-foot-7 Duncan became a starter in her sophomore season for coach Sharron Bilbrey and provided defensive leadership throughout her career. As a sophomore, she ranked fourth in the OVC and 16^th in the nation in dig average, and earned a spot on the OVC all-tournament team. As a senior, she captured first-team all-OVC honors and was named to the all-tournament team for the second time.  She was a member of several Honor societies and was a finalist for the prestigious Derryberry Award (which she lost to her future  husband, Eric).

In 1988, when the OVC celebrated its 40^th anniversary, Duncan was one of 21 student-athletes from Tennessee Tech named to the All-Time All-OVC team.

Married for nearly 24 years to her college sweetheart, Angie and Eric (‘87 electrical engineering), have two daughters – Emma (17) and Lydia (14).

Upon graduation, the couple moved to Atlanta where Angie worked as a micro-bacteria research biologist in the Centers for Disease Control, concentrating on leprosy and tuberculosis. She received her teaching certificate and taught high school science for one year, the attended graduate school, receiving her master’s degree as a Physician’s Assistant in 1992 from Emory University. She worked as a P.A. in Pediatrics at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.

Since starting a family, Angie has spent the past 17 years as a mother and homemaker. In 2000, they moved back to Kingsport where she does volunteer work with area schools and her church. She has also gotten involved as a volunteer in the local community theatre, the Kingsport Theatre Guild. Her entire family is now involved, and Angie has had numerous acting roles in more than a dozen plays, including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Secret Garden and A Christmas Story. She also acted in the world premier of The Red Velvet Cake Wars at the Johnson City Community Theatre.

Joining Duncan Hyche in the Class of 2011 are football standouts Ralph Broyles, James “Redbone” McMillan and Chad Evitts, and tennis record-setter Esra Bayburt Roan. With their induction, the Hall of Fame will grow to 159 since it was established in 1975.

Tickets to the Hall of Fame Dinner and the Homecoming football game are available by calling (931) 372-3940, or through the Athletics ticket office in Eblen Center. Reservations must be made for the dinner, and tickets are $25 each. Reservations may also be made online at TTUsports.com.