It was great sadness that we learned that Basketball Hall of Famer Hal Greer passed away. He was 81 years old.

From Huntington, West Virginia, Greer made history as the first African American to play for Marshall, which was also made him the first black collegiate basketball player in the state of West Virginia. Greer would dominate for the Thundering Herd and would named First Team All-MAC in 1958. He would then be drafted 13th overall by the Syracuse Nationals that year.

As a professional Hal Greer would enjoy steady improvement and in 1961 he would be named to his first of 10 straight All Star Games. Prior to the 1963-64 season the Nationals would relocate to Philadelphia and become the 76ers and Greer was the team’s star and would be joined two years later by Wilt Chamberlain. In his first seven seasons in Philadelphia Greer would average more than 20 Points per Game and from 1963 to 1969 he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. He would continue to play for Philadelphia until 1973.

Greer is the all-time leader in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history in Games Played, 2 Point Field Goals and Points Scored. In 1976 Greer would become the first former Sixer to have his number retired by the team. He was also named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Hal Greer at this time.

We have another significant retirement in the National Football League as Buffalo Bills Guard Richie Incognito announced his retirement from the game due to health issues. He had indicated last season that he might play one more season but after meeting with his doctor he elected not to continue.

A 3rd Round Draft Pick in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams, Incognito would crack the roster in the 2006 season and he would start every game albeit at three different positions (Center, Left Guard and Right Guard). He would settle in at the Right Guard slot and fared well, however he was one of the most penalized players in the league in 2009, many of which were silly penalties due to his inability to control his anger. This was not a surprise to many who had followed the Offensive Lineman throughout his career as he was involved in numerous fights during his time at the University of Nebraska and was kicked off the team. The Rams and their coach, Steve Spagnuolo grew tired off Incognito and would be placed on waivers. The Buffalo Bills would claim him and he played the last three games of the season there.

Incognito would sign with the Miami Dolphins for one season and after a respectable performance as their starting Left Guard and would promptly be signed to a three year deal shortly after. In that timeframe he would earn his first Pro Bowl Selection (2012), though he made more headlines by being accused by teammate Jonathan Martin of excessive bullying and he was suspended by the Dolphins midway through the 2013 season.

After sitting out the 2014 season, Incognito would resign with the Buffalo Bills and would arguably go on the best run of his career. From 2015 to 2017, Incognito would be named a Pro Bowler and would start every game for the organization.

With four Pro Bowls and 150 Games in the NFL Richie Incognito retires with a very good (though certainly controversial) career.

While he is unlikely to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame he would be eligible for Canton in 2023.

The University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame has announced their seven member class for their Class of 2018 which will consist of five former student athletes and two very well known coaches.

The class consists of:

Darin Erstad: Baseball 1993-95 & Football 1994. The future two-time MLB All-Star would be a Finalist for the Golden Spikes Award in his senior year where he batted .410 and would become the first Cornhusker to be named the Conference Player of the Year. Erstad would also notably be the Punter on the 1994 Championship Football Team.

Peaches James: Softball 2001-04. James was the first four time first team All-Conference selection and was also a former finalist for the National Player of the Year.

Sarah Pavan: Volleyball 2004-07. From Canada, Pavan is a two time National Academic All-American of the Year, to date the only one to accomplish such a feat.

Mike Rozier: Football 1981-83. The two time Pro Bowl Running Back would win the coveted Heisman Trophy in 1983. The Cornhuskers would lose by one point in the 1984 Orange Bowl in the defacto Championship Game.

Tom Schlesinger: Gymnastics 1985-88. Schlesinger would become the first Nebraska gymnast to be an Academic All-American. He would also become an Olympian.

Bob Devaney: Head Football Coach 1962-72 & Athletic Director 1967-92. Devaney was the Head Coach for the Huskers from 1962 to 1972 and he would win the National Championship back-to-back in 1970 and 1971. He would also win eight Big Eight Titles. He served as the AD from 1967 to 1992.

Tom Osborne: Head Football Coach 1973-97 & Athletic Director 2007-13.   Osborne was an Assistant Coach for Nebraska from 1964 to 1968 and would later be the Offensive Coordinator from 1969 to 1972. He would than be hired by Devaney to replace him as the new Head Coach and he would take the Cornhuskers to three National Championships (1994, 1995 & 1997). Like Devaney he would become the Athletic Director in 2007 after being the Assistant AD for over a decade.

Devaney and Osborne become the first coaches to enter the Hall.

This group becomes the fourth class to the Hall.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame.

During UFC 223, the UFC Hall of Fame announced that Bruce Connal would be the first member of the Class of 2018. Connal will be inducted in the Contributors Wing, though this will be posthumous as he passed away at 61 unexpectedly this past March.

Connal might not be a name known to most fight fans but the longtime producer was one of the most beloved figures in the company. He had produces over 300 live UFC events for the company and he will join Jeff Blatnick, Bob Meyrowitz and Joe Silva in the Contributors Wing.

He will be inducted this summer during International Fight Week.