FOREST, Va. - The Old Dominion Athletic Conference has announced the inaugural class of members inducted into the ODAC Hall of Fame in celebration of the league's 50th year of operation. This first class features honorees from all eight original charter members from 1976 – Bridgewater College, Eastern Mennonite College (now University), Emory & Henry College (now University), Hampden-Sydney College, Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg), Randolph-Macon College, Roanoke College, and Washington and Lee University. Each of those schools selected four members for inclusion.
RELATED - ODAC Release
Emory & Henry Inductees
Eleanor Hall Hutton - Hutton served as a teacher and a coach at E&H for 40 years. When she began her career in the Physical Education department in 1964, women's athletics was a fledgling endeavor. Hutton is largely responsible for expanding and strengthening women's sports at the college. She coached women's basketball, established club softball and volleyball programs and rejuvenated the school's field hockey team. She is perhaps most remembered for founding and coaching the E&H women's tennis program.
In tennis, Hutton compiled a 237-75 record. For her success as a tennis coach, she was voted the ODAC Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1986 and NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1986. Under her leadership, several athletes reached the national tournament. Hutton retired from coaching tennis in 1988. In addition to her tennis coaching accomplishments, she coached the women's basketball team to a 151-63 record in 14 seasons and the volleyball team to a 39-15 record in three seasons.
In addition to coaching and building women's athletics, Hutton served as dean of students in 1991 and spent six years as the faculty representative on the Board of Trustees. She is a past recipient of the James A. Davis Faculty Award and has been honored with the establishment of a scholarship in her name.
Robert J. "Bob" Johnson - Robert J. "Bob" Johnson served Emory & Henry College as its men's basketball coach and athletics director for 30 years. The winningest coach in program history with 370 victories across 27 seasons, Johnson is one of the legendary mentors in the history of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Johnson brought his military discipline to E&H and set a standard to follow for basketball programs across the country. He inherited a program in 1980 which had not had a winning season in 13 years. In his fifth season, the Wasps began a string of 12 years in which they won 12 or more contests, six of which were 20-win campaigns. E&H reached the ODAC Tournament Finals on five occasions, qualified for five NCAA Division III Tournaments and made it to the Sweet 16 in 1988 and 1993. The Wasps had another string of 10 or more wins in his last six seasons. Johnson retired from coaching at the end of the 2007 season to become the College's first-ever full-time athletics director. At the time of his retirement, Emory & Henry held most of the ODAC scoring records, both team and individual.
Johnson was the recipient of many awards including three ODAC Coach of the Year awards, three NCAA Division III South Region Coach of the Year honors and received the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division III Service Award in 2007. On January 19, 2008, Emory & Henry dedicated the playing surface inside the John Rutledge King Center gymnasium as "Bob Johnson Court." In 2009, the ODAC ensured that Johnson's legacy would be a lasting one across the league, designating the annual coaching award for men's basketball the "Bob Johnson Coach of the Year."
Lou Wacker - Louis A. "Lou" Wacker led Emory & Henry to an unprecedented 164 victories, 11 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships and five NCAA Division III playoff appearances in his 23 years as Head Football Coach.
Under Wacker's leadership, 136 Wasps were named to the All-ODAC First Team, 36 earned All-America honors and five were chosen as ODAC Player of the Year. The 1987 Emory & Henry team reached the NCAA Division III semifinals while the Wasps of 1992 were among the final eight in the country. From the final game in 1991 until the end of the 1998 season, Emory & Henry boasted a 37-game home winning streak, the longest in the country at the time.
At the time of his retirement, Wacker's 164 wins, 136 All-ODAC First-Teamers, 86 ODAC wins, 11 ODAC titles, five NCAA Division III playoff appearances, and five ODAC Coach of the Year honors were conference records. In 2014, the College honored Wacker by naming the home grandstand "Lou Wacker Grandstand" in appreciation for his accomplishments and dedication to Emory & Henry.
Anne Wright Crutchfield - Anne Wright Crutchfield commanded the paint as a forward and was the first woman in ODAC basketball history to be a four-year all-conference selection.
As a junior, Crutchfield led the Wasps to an 18-7 record and the 1988 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship. She is the only player in Emory & Henry women's basketball history to average more than 13 points a game in each of her four seasons. Crutchfield concluded her playing career for the Wasps with 1,262 points which at the time was atop the all-time scoring list.
After graduating from E&H, she worked with countless young people on and off the basketball court. Crutchfield spent 24 years teaching and coaching at Patrick Henry High School, Martinsville High School and Franklin County High School posting an overall record of 141-72 at the high school ranks. She led her teams to four district tournament titles, coached three VHSL all-state players and earned three district coach of the year awards.
Crutchfield returned to her alma mater in 2014 as the Head Women's Basketball Coach and compiled a 98-40 overall record, including 59-23 in ODAC competition, over five seasons. The 2017-18 squad reached the ODAC Championship Game and received a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament where the Wasps reached the second round. She then served as the College's Vice President for Athletics, guiding Emory & Henry through its successful transition to NCAA Division II and into membership with the South Atlantic Conference. Under her leadership, the university expanded its athletic offerings, constructed a $13 million multi-sport facility, and launched the Student-Athlete Success Program to support holistic student-athlete development.
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