Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the University of Tennessee’s Athletic Hall of Fame has announced eight new member who comprise the Class of 2025.

The inductees are:

Eric Berry, Football, 2007-09.  Berry was the first and only two-time Unanimous All-American in Volunteers history, and was the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award winner.  A three-time All-SEC Selection, Berry won the 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 & 2009 Jack Tatum Award winner.  At Tennessee he recorded 14 Interceptions, and went on to have a very successful professional career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jenny Connolly, Women’s Swimming & Diving, 2009-12.  Connolly compiled 14 SEC Medals and 5 NCAA Medals and is one of the most successful backstroke and butterfly swimmers in Tennessee history.

A.W. Davis, Men’s Basketball, 1962-65.  Davis was a two-time All-SEC Selection, and would later serve Tennessee as a Coach and then an Analyst.

Mike Masters, Men’s Swimming & Diving, 1985-88.  Masters was a 12-time All-American, two-time SEC Champions and won the Bronze in the 1987 100m Freestyle.

Lauryn McCalley, Women’s Swimming & Diving, 2001-05.  McCauley won the 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year and was a five-time All-American diver. 

Lindsay Schutzler, Softball, 2004-07.  A three-time All-American, Schutzler hold the school record for Hits (362), Triples (20), At-Bats (946) and Games Played (296).  She led the Lady Vols to their first Women’s College World Series appearance.

Mike Sposa, Men’s Golf, 1988-91.  A two-time All-SEC Selection, Sposa was the third Volunteer to win the individual SEC Title.

Tony White, Men’s Basketball, 1983-87.  White is the only player in Volunteer history to lead the team in scoring and holds the single-game record for points (51) in school history.

The event will take place on April 11-12 this year.

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

Eric Berry played his college ball at Tennessee, where he was one of the most prolific Defensive Backs in school history.  With the Volunteers, Berry was a two-time Consensus All-American and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, so it was little wonder that Berry was the first Defensive Back taken in the 2010 Draft.

It was the Kansas City Chiefs who took Berry with the Fifth Overall Pick, and he immediately went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie as the Chiefs’ starting Strong Safety.  Berry only played one game in 2011 due to injury, but he returned healthy in 2012, again going to the Pro Bowl that season and the one after, which netted him a First Team All-Pro.  

Berry got hurt in 2014, and after he returned, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.  He was cleared of cancer in the summer of 2015, and he returned that year, healthy and dominant.  Berry was a First Team All-Pro in both 2015 and 2016, and he was a Pro Bowl Selection five times in the decade.  Achilles problems limited him to only three games over the next two seasons, and he was released in March 2019.  Berry's ability to return and play so much despite all the setbacks is a testament to his courage.

The Safety was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team and would collect 14 Interceptions with 445 Combined Tackles over his career.