Aug. 8, 2011

Memphis, Tenn. - Memphis Athletic Department officials announced today that the grand opening for the Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway/University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame, located at 570 Normal Street, will take place on August 30, from 5:30 PM to 7 PM. The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will feature basketball great Penny Hardaway, Athletic Director R.C. Johnson and University President Dr. Shirley C. Raines, will take place on the front steps of the facility at 5:30 PM and tours of the facility will begin immediately.

"We are very excited to be able to have the official grand opening of the Penny Hardaway/University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame during the same week as our football season opener against Mississippi State," said Johnson. "The opening of this facility will certainly add to the ambiance of the week for Tiger fans and we want everyone to come out on the 30th and take the walk through Memphis athletic history."

The Hardaway/Athletic Hall of Fame became the centerpiece of the new Athletic Office Building addition, which opened in January of 2011. With the completion of construction of the building, efforts turned to compiling the 100-year history of athletics at the U of M and gathering artifacts collected by former lettermen and supporters.

Over 6,200 male and female letter winners have been identified since the school first opened its doors in the fall of 1912 and photographs of more than 4,000 of those student-athletes were collected for one of the four interactive databases. Memorabilia was gathered from many of the more than 400 inductees in the M Club Hall of Fame, including track national championship medals from Ed Hammonds, football jerseys from such noted players as Bob Rush, Keith Wright and Bob Ford, the basketball jersey of the late Larry Finch, the bat used by then-home run leader Terry Pressgrove and the boxing letter jacket of former Tiger football running back Frank Massa.

"I believe that our fans will be very surprised and pleased by some of the treasures we have found pertaining to Tiger history," said Associate Athletic Director Bob Winn . "This project would not have been completed on time without the efforts of Tammy DeGroff (Athletic Media Relations) and John Guinozzo. The assistance they provided and the hours they dedicated were paramount to the finished product.

"We have scoured literally every part of the Memphis campus and have uncovered some very old pieces from our past. For years we searched for the trophy from the Pasadena Bowl and the silver cup from the 1957 NIT," Winn continued. "We have found both of these items and they will be displayed in the Hall of Fame. We have the baseball from the only perfect game thrown in Tiger baseball annuals, as well as a part of the goal post from the victory over Tennessee in 1996. It is really gratifying that our former athletes are willing to share these pieces from their past with the University and Tiger Nation."

"The Hall of Fame will remain an ongoing project," Winn stated. "As with any museum, exhibits will periodically change and databases will have to be update with each graduating class. It is our hope that former athletes will visit or hear about the Hall of Fame and decide that it is the ideal location for displaying items from their playing careers."

The Penny Hardaway/University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame will be open on weekdays from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM and for several hours prior to selected athletic events hosted by the Tigers.

PARKING/TRAFFIC INFORMATION FOR GRAND OPENING:

In an effort to ensure safe and orderly pedestrian and vehicular traffic activity during the event, a minor adjustment to the traffic pattern will be made affecting only Normal Street.

- Beginning at 4:30 p.m., there will be no southbound traffic on Normal Street from Southern.

- Northbound traffic on Normal will be allowed only for those attending the event, who will be allowed to park in Lot 11 (next to the Athletic Office Building).

- Once Lot 11 is full, traffic will be directed to Goodman Street and the South Lot (#15) for parking.

- Shuttle service will be provided from the South Lot to the Athletic Office Building.

- There will be no on-street parking on Normal from 4:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.

University police officers will direct traffic in the area. Traffic patterns will return to normal as soon as possible based on safety considerations, possibly as early as 7 p.m.