As the former basketball players and coach walked into the Meridian High School gymnasium on Friday, they smiled while pointing to the banner mounted on the wall and began reminiscing about the past.
This was the team that was known as the State Basketball Champions of the 1978-1979 school year. They were a team to watch. With 33 wins and 5 losses, they put Meridian High School on the map by winning the first and only state basketball championship. This was of course with the help of local fans and determined coaches, Billy Joe Brantley and Dr. Don Evans.
Now 31 years later, they are ready to give back to the school that made them champions. The players, 1979 classmates, coaches and their families established an endowment with Meridian Community College Foundation. All players and classmates are encouraged to participate.
This endowment will only be beneficial for MHS Student Athletes through the Meridian Community College Foundation.
Kathy Brookshire, Director of Institutional Advancement at MCC, did not
hesitate to be a part of the idea when she heard about the endowment.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” Brookshire said. “This endowment was also done to honor the coaches and players and remind us that their legacy will live on.”
Two of the players on that dynamic team who embrace the endowment development are Daryl Trotter and Wayne Williams.
Trotter, a junior, who played guard at that time, said he enjoyed wonderful times as a Wildcat basketball player.
Williams, an alumnus of MCC and the current family and community engagement coordinator for the McMinn County Schools in Athens, Tenn., also reflected on his times as a senior guard and was excited about the team giving back.
“As a team we wanted to commemorate the event that happened 30 years ago,” he said. “Again, this is a team effort. Not in just terms of athletic support but in terms of educational support.”
Evans, who was among the players during this interview, was happy to be a part of this wonderful development.
“Williams, a 1978 MHS graduate, had this idea for a scholarship to be established to help future MHS athletes, especially basketball players,” Evans said. “This is how the Meridian High School Class of 1978 endowment was established.”
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Former MHS basketball players set up endowment at MCC
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