SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Former Wofford football coach Mike Ayers highlights the four-member South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame's induction class of 2022. Also being enshrined are South Carolina wide receiver Sidney Rice, Clemson athletic trainer Fred Hoover and Winthrop basketball player and former UNC Charlotte director of athletics Judy Wilkins Rose.
After a year-long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame's Induction Banquet honoring the classes of 2022 and 2020 is set for Monday, May 23 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The 11-individuals will be forever enshrined with the Palmetto State's highest athletic honor.
The SCAHOF Banquet is the largest annual celebration of Palmetto State sports stars under one roof. The traditional introduction of past inductees, the "Walk of Legends", is one of the event's highlights. The affair, which includes a reception and dinner, begins at 5:30 p.m. Table sponsorships may be purchased online at https://www.scahof.com/purchase.
For three decades, Ayers guided the Terriers from the NAIA and NCAA Division II ranks to Division I and the Southern Conference. Along the way, the team made appearances in the Division II Playoffs in 1990 and 1991, the Division I FCS Playoffs in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017, and claimed Southern Conference titles in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2017.
The story of Mike Ayers as head coach at Wofford began in 1988. The young, energetic coach had built East Tennessee State into a Southern Conference contender. On Dec. 22, 1987, he was introduced as head coach. Ayers' impact on the Terriers was immediate. He transformed that 1-10 Wofford team into a .500 squad in 1988 and then led the Terriers to an NCAA Division II playoff berth in 1990.
Ayers was the head coach of a Terrier team that, over the last two decades, was the epitome of success within the Southern Conference. Since the start of the 2003 season, Wofford posted a 69-37 mark in league play, a winning percentage of .650 to lead the conference. He instilled his own intensity, character and pride into his teams. In his last 11 seasons as head coach, the team reached the FCS Playoffs seven times. Wofford players were named as SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and taken the Jacobs Blocking Trophy home twice as well.
In the Southern Conference, he is third all-time in victories and seasons, behind only Jerry Moore (Appalachian State) and Wallace Wade (Alabama, Duke). Overall he posted a 207-139-1 record with the Terriers.
Ayers was inducted into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2018 and will be eligible for the Wofford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.
