ORLANDO, FL – Two SC State Hall of Famers will be among five persons honored at the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Reception at Disney's Contemporary Resort Aug. 30.

ESPN sportscaster Jay Harris will serve as master of ceremonies for the event, which gets underway at 6 p.m. Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased online through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

Former SC State All-America defensive end and National Football League standout Harry Carson and retired Bulldog sports information director Bill Hamilton, will be joined by two representatives from Alabama A&M – former NFL wide receiver John Stallworth and former athletics director and longtime volleyball coach Betty Austin – and former North Carolina A&T and NFL defensive standout Elvin Bethea in being recognized.

Carson, Stallworth and Bethea are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Established in 2009, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Awards pays tribute to those individuals whose achievements have impacted Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), according to Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Events. Each honoree will be presented an HBCU Trailblazer Award in recognition of the impact made in his or her respective career, community or alma mater.

The event is part of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Weekend that pits a team from the MEAC against a SWAC opponent in a Sunday football matchup. This year, NC A&T of the MEAC takes on the SWAC's Alabama A&M at 11:45 a.m. Sunday. SC State, which has made two appearances in the game, met Alabama State in the inaugural contest, sponsored by ESPN Events, in 2005. The Bulldogs played Grambling in 2009.

Carson, a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, earned All-MEAC, All-America and other honors during his playing days at SC State (1972-75). The Florence, SC native was drafted in the fourth round of the 1976 college draft by the NY Giants and went on to an illustrious 13-year NFL career that included a Super Bowl Championship. He is enshrined in six halls of fame, including the one at his alma mater.

Hamilton, a Baltimore native who grew up in Chesterfield, SC,  became SC State's first sports information director in 1973 and spent 40 years in the position before retiring in 2013. He earned numerous awards and honors during his career and is enshrined in four halls of fame, including the one at SC State, where the football press box bears his name.
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