The University of Tennessee will be well represented in this year’s Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame induction. And that will include the guest speaker.
Lady Vols legend Candace Parker will be the featured speaker for the dinner and induction ceremony, which will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center on June 25.
Parker, who led the Lady Vols to national championships in 2007 and 2008, will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville two days later.
This year’s hall of fame class also will include Tennessee softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly, former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis, and numerous other athletes with UT connections.
John Chavis: Tennessee’s longtime defensive coordinator under coach Phillip Fulmer was twice named national assistant coach of the year.
Chavis’ defense gave up only 14.5 points per game during UT’s unbeaten, national championship season in 1998. His defense also stood out even when the Vols weren’t successful overall.
In 2005, when Tennessee went 5-6, it gave up just 18.6 points per game. And in 2008, when the Vols were 5-7, they allowed only 16.7 points per game.
After leaving Tennessee, Chavis was a defensive coordinator at three other SEC schools – LSU, Texas A&M and Arkansas.
Jeremaine Copeland: Like Chavis, Copeland had a prominent role in Tennessee football’s great run in the 1990s.
With Peyton Manning at quarterback, Copeland led the Vols with 58 catches in 1997 and started on the national championship team the next year.
He made all-state in both football and basketball at Harriman but achieved his greatest success as a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League. He was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2025 after a career that included 623 catches for 75 touchdowns and 10,031 yards.
Michelle DePalmer-Williams: She was an All-American tennis player at Tennessee in 1981 and went on to play pro tennis. But she achieved national fame in the sport before then.
At 15, DePalmer was ranked No. 1 junior in world ages 15-18. She remained in the top five throughout her junior career.
Her pro career included several wins over Andrea Jeager, who was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world on the WTA tour.
DePalmer is married to Bob Williams, who is also one of the inductees in this year’s hall of fame class.
Steve Mayo: He’s one of the most accomplished amateur golfers in Knoxville.
Mayo, who attended West and UT, won a record 11 Cherokee Country Club championships between 1973 and 1998. He also won two Cherokee CC senior championships (2005, 2008) and was inducted into the Cherokee CC Wall of Fame in 2023.
He won the Knoxville Tournament of Champions at Holston Hills Country Club in 2004 and 2005.
May had pro success on the Florida Space Coast Tour, a precursor to the Hogan Tour. He won six times and was the leading money winner twice.
Rick Russo: Knoxville’s award-winning television sports anchor from WVLT has been covering area sports for 39 years.