Six-member class to be inducted into EMCC Sports Hall of Fame during Homecoming weekend

SCOOBA – In conjunction with East Mississippi Community College's Homecoming festivities this coming weekend (Oct. 20-21) on the Scooba campus, six new members will be formally inducted into the EMCC Sports Hall of Fame.

EMCC's 2017 Sports Hall of Fame inductees will be honored with a Friday night (Oct. 20) reception and banquet to be held at the F.R. Young Student Union.  The six-member class is also scheduled to be recognized Saturday afternoon (Oct. 21) at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field during halftime activities of the nationally ranked Lions' 2 p.m. Homecoming football contest against the Coahoma Tigers.

The 2017 induction class of the EMCC Sports Hall of Fame consists of Jose Casanova, Ravon Cumberland, Ruth Johnson Ethridge, Randall Mackey, Jay Miller and Marcus Wood.

East Mississippi Community College will also honor the school's 2017 Alumnus of the Year (Pat Webb) and Distinguished Service Award winner (Nick Clark) during Homecoming weekend in Scooba.  Webb and Clark will be honored during EMCC's alumni/friends luncheon set to take place Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the F.R. Young Student Union on the Scooba campus.  The award recipients are also slated to be recognized during Homecoming halftime festivities of Saturday afternoon's EMCC-Coahoma football contest.

For additional information about EMCC's 2017 Homecoming weekend on the Scooba campus, please visit www.eastms.edu or www.EMCCAthletics.com.

EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S 2017 SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CLASS

JOSE CASANOVA – Currently enjoying a highly successful career in commercial real estate in the Birmingham area following a nationally recognized venture in commercial equipment sales, Jose Casanova was twice named the most valuable defensive lineman in the Mississippi junior college ranks at East Mississippi Junior College while playing for current EMCC Director of Athletics Dr. Randall Bradberry.  The 1982 NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American then became a two-year starter for coaching great Frank Beamer at Murray State University in Kentucky.  While establishing himself in commercial sales for a pair of fitness equipment sales companies, Casanova has utilized his real estate license to channel his energies toward the commercial real estate division for the past 12 years.  

RAVON CUMBERLAND – Reared in the Coy community of Preston, Ravon Cumberland excelled in both academics and athletics at Prince Chapel School and Lynville High School before playing point guard on Coach Keyes T. Currie's basketball team at East Mississippi Junior College.  With a lifelong interest in business and a math education degree from Mississippi State, he became the owner of Cumberland General Stores in both the Lynville and Preston communities.  Having also taught and coached at the junior high and high school levels during his career, Cumberland later spent 21 years as a fireman at Naval Air Station Meridian before retiring in 1988.  He continues to reside on the family homestead in the Lynville community, where he works as a beef cattle and timber farmer.     

RUTH JOHNSON ETHRIDGE – Born in Lauderdale County and currently residing in Collinsville, Ruth Johnson Ethridge spent 36 years making a difference in the lives of thousands of students as an influential English teacher in Louisiana as well as in the Magnolia State.  Following her graduation from Center Hill High School in 1949, she attended East Mississippi Junior College on a basketball scholarship, where she played two seasons in addition to working in the school cafeteria, serving as editor of the school's student newspaper and being an active member of the BSU among other activities.  Having earned her bachelor's degree in business and a master's in English from Southern Miss, Ethridge followed 15 years teaching in Mississippi with a 20-year stint as an English instructor at East Jefferson High School in Metairie, La., before retiring in 1989.

RANDALL MACKEY – Recruited to EMCC out of Bastrop, La., after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Randall Mackey helped lead Coach Buddy Stephens' EMCC Lions to a 19-3 composite record as a two-time NJCAA All-America quarterback.  After leading Bastrop High School to three straight state championships, Mackey capped his EMCC career by quarterbacking the 2009 Lions to their first-ever MACJC  state title.  He threw for 5,940 career yards and 56 touchdowns while adding 1,065 career rushing yards and nine scores on the ground at EMCC before heading to Ole Miss.  Mackey started 15 total games at three different positions for the Rebels, accounting for 2,027 career all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns.  He currently coaches quarterbacks at his high school alma mater.    

JAY MILLER – Noxubee County native Jay Miller played and coached football at EMCC before moving on to make his mark among the coaching ranks of the MACJC.  He was signed by legendary coach Bob "Bull" Sullivan and helped lead the Lions to a two-year mark of 16-4.  A graduate of Mississippi State, Miller began his 26-year coaching career within Mississippi's community college system with a two-year stint as EMCC's defensive coordinator.  After helping guide Mississippi Delta CC to a pair of state runner-up finishes (1989 & 1991) as an assistant coach, he directed Itawamba CC to back-to-back (1994-95) MACJC North Division titles as the Indians' head coach.  Miller then returned to MDCC in 2003 for a final stint as the Trojans' head coach before retiring in 2012.   

MARCUS WOOD – Former EMCC standout player and assistant coach Marcus Wood has made the successful transition from the football sidelines to the administrative ranks at East Mississippi Community College.  Having served on Buddy Stephens' EMCC coaching staff for the past nine years (2008-16), Wood now oversees the College's fundraising efforts as Executive Director of College Advancement.  Prior to his recent career move, the Starkville native helped guide the Lions to three national championships, five state titles and eight division crowns.  A 20-year coaching veteran of Magnolia State gridirons with prior prep coaching stints at Gulfport, Columbia, Philadelphia and Meridian, Wood played for and coached under Hall of Fame football coach Tom Goode at EMCC.