Charlotte, N.C. (December 16, 2024) – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the nation's oldest historically Black athletic conference, is proud to announce the 2025 John B. McLendon Hall of Fame Class.  Among those being inducted will be Fayetteville State's Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach, Olympian Inez Turner. The 2025 CIAA Hall of Fame Class is set to be enshrined on February 28, 2025. The enshrinement ceremony is slated to begin at 9:00a.m. EST at the Baltimore Convention Center Ballroom, in Baltimore, MD.

The event will be a part of the week-long schedule of events encompassing the 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament, being held Friday, February 25-March 1 in Baltimore, Maryland. Ticket packages and information about the induction ceremony are available on the John B. McLendon CIAA Hall of Fame page at, also at https://ciaatournament.org.

The newest members of the CIAA Hall of Fame were chosen from a list of nominees who were submitted by their respective institutions and selected by the CIAA Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
 
Inez Turner | Fayetteville State University | Track and Field | Coach
Inez Turner's tenure as head coach of Fayetteville State's cross country and track & field programs has led to a multitude of awards and accolades, as she continues to lead the program today. Turner joined the CIAA 14 years ago and has led her teams to 24 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in that time. She initially got her start with Winston-Salem State, where she secured championships for both the men's and women's cross country programs including four for the women and one for the men. Additionally, the indoor track & field team won three championships, and the outdoor team won one championship under her leadership.

Since joining FSU, Coach Turner has led the Broncos to 15 CIAA championships across three different programs over the past eight years. The men's cross-country team won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, while the women's team has secured seven consecutive championships since she joined the staff in 2017. Additionally, the university won its first indoor championship title in 2020 and has continued to dominate since then, winning all subsequent indoor and outdoor championships.

For each of the 24 championships won, Coach Turner has been honored as the CIAA Coach of the Year. At FSU, she has coached 35 CIAA event champions and 14 NCAA All-Americans. The Broncos have seven CIAA Athletes of the Year and four Championship MVPs. She has over 28 All-Americans with WSSU as well. Her success in her tenure with the Broncos led to her being enshrined into the Fayetteville State University Hall of Fame in 2024.

Coach Turner has an extensive background in track and field with previous coaching positions at the New York Track Club and North Carolina A&T State University. During the summer of 2023, Inez Turner helped lead her native country of Jamaica's U18 and U23 youth athletes to 32 North American, Central American, and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) Track & Field Championship medals in Costa Rica. She began a remarkable running career at Barton Community College where she achieved 16 National Junior College All-America honors. Turner still holds several school records at Barton. She won the 1993 Division I NJCAA Championship in the 800m run, setting a championship record that still stands. Turner also represented Jamaica in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and garnered numerous other accolades during her career. 

The other 2025 Hall of Fame Honorees include: Bowie State University's, Arlene Creek, Shaw's Kiarsha Curtis, Virginia Union University's Sherman Lea, Virgina State University's Samantha Mackey Edwards, North Carolina Central University's Kyle Serba, and Winston-Salem State University's Sharon Tanner.