Meet 2024 Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, including Heath Shuler, Michelle Marciniak

Lady Vols basketball is well-represented in the 2024 Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame class. There's lots of ties to Tennessee football, too.

Former Knox News sports writer Dan Fleser will be inducted alongside Michelle Marciniak , who he covered as she led legendary coach Pat Summitt's Lady Vols to the 1996 national championship. Gwen Jackson, who played for Summitt from 1999-2003, will receive the Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award at the 43rd induction ceremony on Aug. 22.

The "College Football Today" team of former coaches Rick Neuheisel and Houston Nutt, along with host Adam Zucker from CBS, are the guest speakers. The event takes place at the Knoxville Convention Center. Tickets are available at www.gkshof.org .

Here is a look at this year's 10 inductees:

Dan Brooks

Dan Brooks was one of the top defensive line coaches during his 33-year career that took him to North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Clemson. He was an assistant for the Vols when they won the 1998 national championship, and won a second title at Clemson in 2016.

Brooks coached 30 NFL draft picks, seven in the first round, and helped produce three All-Americans. He coached in 27 bowl games and 412 college games total. He coached for 14 years at Tennessee, where he also helped the Vols win two SEC titles. Brooks played at Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

Connie Calloway

Connie Calloway took up archery in 1977 and became one of the most decorated archers in the country, winning awards over four decades. Calloway, 75, won all four competitions she has entered in the 50-and-over division this year, including the Women's Open Masters at the Lancaster Archery Classic in January.

Her accolades include Archery Shooters Association Shooter of the Year twice, the ASA Spot Shooter of the Year and National Field Archery Association Shooter of the Year in 2010. She has won the NFAA National Indoor title three times. Calloway set four national records when she won the NFAA national outdoor competition in 1989. She also won the Vegas World Archery in 2000, but one of her greatest achievements was winning the 2000 Lancaster Classic in the 60-and-over division that included more than 100 men.

Eddie Courtney

Eddie Courtney retired in March after leading Farragut football for 28 seasons. He was first hired as an assistant in 1977 before taking over the program in 1996. Courtney recorded 204 career victories, which ranks fifth among active coaches in the state. He coached more than 200 college signees, 47 all-state players, six Mr. Football finalists, and six NFL players.

Courtney led Farragut to 28 playoff wins and was named region coach of the year four times. He was the PrepXtra Coach of the Year in 2016 and received the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Pat Summitt Ignite Award in 2017. He was inducted to the Tennessee Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the 2020 class.

Dan Fleser

Fleser covered the Lady Vols for the News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He covered all but one of Summitt's eight national championships, writing about legendary players like Daedra Charles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker.

Fleser was the predominant Lady Vols beat writer for decades and was inducted to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame in the Class of 2022 and the USBWA 2024 Hall of Fame class. He was also honored by the GKSHOF in 2021 and won the WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Award in 2008.

Victoria Gillenwater

Victoria Gillenwater owns Scenic View Farm, which was founded by her parents in 1980. The farm breeds and trains American Saddlebreds, Friesians and Hackney horses.

Gillenwater and her horses have won more than 70 competitions, including 20 world championships. Gillenwater's championships were won in saddle seat, hunt seat, dressage hack and driving. She won four world champion titles at the 2018 IFSHA World and Grand National Championship Horse Show. Her accolades also include  three individual gold medals along with gold and silver team medals at the U.S. Saddle Seat International.

Russ Johnson

Russ Johnson's career with Tennessee track and field was highlighted becoming the SEC indoor pole vault champion in 1998. He still ranks third in program history at 18 feet, 6.5 inches. Johnson was a three-time first team All-American and competed at the USATF Championships.

Johnson went on to coach at his alma mater as a volunteer assistant for 13 seasons. In 2015, Johnson was unanimously named the National Collegiate Coach of the Year by the USA Track and Field Pole Vault High Performance and Development Committee.

Michelle Marciniak

Marciniak is one of the best point guards in Lady Vols history. She still ranks in the top 10 in all assists and steals categories and owns the school record for steals in a single game (11). Marciniak played at UT from 1993-96, transferring to play for Summitt after spending her freshman year playing at Notre Dame for Muffet McGraw.

Marciniak led Tennessee to two straight NCAA title games. She was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four as a senior when Tennessee won the 1996 national championship. She went on to play in the ABL and WNBA for six seasons.

David Martin

David Martin was a key piece of Tennessee football from 1997-2000 as a wide receiver, helping the Vols win the first BCS national championship in 1998.

Martin was selected in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he was moved to tight end. His 11-year NFL career also included stops with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. Martin accumulated 1,562 receiving yards on 159 catches. He averaged 9.8 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.

Martin is married to former Tennessee track star Kameisha Bennett, who was a five-time All-American. She was inducted to the GKSHOF in 2019. Martin now coaches tight ends at Maryville College.

Heath Shuler

Heath Shuler's successful career with Tennessee football led him to be the 1993 Heisman Trophy runner-up. The quarterback scored a school record 11 rushing touchdowns in 1992, which still ranks No. 2 in program history.

Shuler's name is still all over the UT record book. He set the record for consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass (18), which stood until Hendon Hooker broke it in 2022. Shuler is No. 9 for passing touchdowns in a season (25) and No. 8 for career passing touchdowns (36) and is No. 12 all-time in career total yards (4,472).

He was the third overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft by Washington and played four seasons before a foot injury forced him to retire.

John Wright

John Wright's 26-year career as a football official began because of a dare. He started in the Knoxville Football Officials Association in 1994 and later officiated 11 years in the SEC. In 17 years in the collegiate ranks, Wright officiated over 100 games.

The Knoxville native also officiated the NAIA mid-South Conference, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Sun Belt Conference before the SEC. Wright officiated the Southwest Classic in Dallas and called two Football Championship Series NCAA quarterfinal playoff games.

Wright is now on the sidelines at Catholic High School games where he works in player development.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll . If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it .

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Meet 2024 Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, including Heath Shuler, Michelle Marciniak