Six to be Inducted into West Virginia State University ‘W’ Club Sports Hall of Fame

9/19/2023

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Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) athletic booster organization, the National ‘W’ Club, will induct six new members into the Sports Hall of Fame with a brunch beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the James C. Wilson University Union. 

The 2023 Hall of Fame inductees are Omar Booth, Oliver Cosby, Troy Eichelberger, William Epps, Jeffrey Good, and Ryan Taylor. 
            
Omar Booth, class of 1990, was a four-year member of the WVSU men’s basketball team. During his freshman year, the basketball team was runner-up in the NCAA Division II Championship. During his four years as a student-athlete, Booth produced more than 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points. He is currently number three on the WVSU all-time rebounds list. He is also number nine on the WVSU field goal percentage. 

Oliver Cosby, class of 1975, was a walk on football player at WVSU and received a partial athletic scholarship. He lettered his last three years and was co-captain of the football team his last two years at State. Cosby was known as one of the hardest hitting Yellow Jackets and is still on record as being among State’s top tacklers. One of his highlight moments was when he intercepted a pass against West Virginia Tech and returned it for a 59-yard touchdown. 
            
Troy Eichelberger, WVSU class of 1980, came to West Virginia State in the fall of 1978 to play football, after first attending East Central Junior College and Mississippi Junior College. While at WVSU, Eichelberger was a starter as a strong side defensive end for two years. He averaged 11.9 tackles per game and set a school record with 22 tackles against Fairmont State to then earn defensive player of the week. He made the All West Virginia Conference Defensive Team in 1978 and set the record for the most fumble recoveries in a season. He was part of the 1979 Football Team Southern Division Champs Coal Bowl. 

William Monroe Epps was the first WVSU baseball player to bat at the Calvin L. Bailey baseball field and to have the first extra base hit (double.) He attended WVSU from 1963 to 1967 and started and lettered every year while playing baseball at State. He earned WVIAC Second Team All Conference his junior year and was named co-captain his senior year. He was the lead off man for four years and the left fielder and played in every game. 
            
Jeffrey Good, class of 1977, was a four-year starter and letterman for the Yellow Jackets football team. He excelled at catching the ball out of the backfield and at running routes, so the coaching staff moved him to a slot receiver position. Good was second in touchdown receptions and yardage for two consecutive years. During his sophomore year, Good was sixth in the nation in punt yard returns. He finished in the top 10 again during his junior season. He was also among the leaders in the conference for kick return yardage for three years in a row. 
            
Ryan Taylor, class of 2006, was a four-year starter for the Yellow Jackets baseball team where he earned honors as two-time First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Region, and First Team All-American in both his junior and senior seasons. Taylor holds multiple WVSU season and career records including hits, runs, and doubles with 105 hits (season) and 305 hits (career); 85 runs (season) and 247 runs (career); and 72 doubles (career). Nationally, Taylor ranked first in runs, doubles, and total bases in the NCAA Division II rankings for the 2005/2006 seasons. Within NCAA DII, Taylor also ranked second in hits, fourth in RBIs, and sixth in home runs for the 2005/2006 seasons. 

The ‘W’ Club Hall of Fame ceremony brunch will take place at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, inside the James C. Wilson University Union on the WVSU campus. The event is open to the public. Tickets cost $15 and may be purchased at the door.

The ‘W’ Club Hall of Fame induction ceremony is taking place as part of Homecoming activities this week at WVSU. For more information on WVSU Homecoming activities, including registration, visit https://connect.wvstateu.edu/homecoming23.

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West Virginia State University is a public, land-grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.