Speakers
At the Raleigh Sports Club, we bring our members a wide and very impressive variety of speakers to our weekly meetings. On any given week, you could hear from the head coach of a NCAA champion basketball team, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, or the receiver who made the winning catch in last week’s game.
Here’s just a small sampling of some of the great sports figures that have spoken at the Raleigh Sports Club:
- Chuck Amato – Head Football Coach at NC State
- Elliott Avent – Head Baseball Coach at NC State
- Dick Baddour –Director of Athletics – UNC Chapel Hill
- Eddie Biedenbach – Head Men’s Basketball Coach, UNC -Asheville
- Mack Brown – Head Football Coach at UNC Chapel Hill
- Vic Bubas – Former Duke University Men’s Basketball Coach
- John Bunting – Head Football Coach at UNC Chapel Hill
- Ezzard Charles – former heavyweight boxing champion
- Bill Cowher – Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach; former NC State football standout
- Bobby Cremmins – Former Georgia Tech. & Appalachian State basketball coach
- David Cutcliffe – Head Football Coach, Duke University
- Bill Dooley – Director, NC Sports Development Office
- Charles “Lefty” Driesell – Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Georgia State, formerly at Maryland and Davidson
- Phil Ford – Asst. Basketball Coach at UNC Chapel Hill
- Lee Fowler – Athletics Director at NC State
- Carl Franks – Head Football Coach at Duke University
- Roman Gabriel – Former NC State and NFL football great
- Pete Gillen – University of Virginia Men’s Head Basketball Coach
- Dave Glenn – Editor of ACC Area Sports Journal
- Gail Goestenkors – Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Duke University
- Adam Gold – Sports talk show host, WRBZ 850 The Buzz
- Fred Goldsmith – Head Football Coach at Duke University
- Otto Graham – Former NFL all time great of the Washington Redskins
- Harold “Red” Grange - nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost”; college & professional football halfback.
- Jim Grobe – Head Football Coach at Wake Forest University
- Kellie Harper – Head Women’s Basketball Coach at NC State
- Sylvia Hatchell – Head Women’s Basketball Coach at UNC
- Terry Holland – Athletic Director, Virginia
- Lou Holtz – Head Football Coach at the University of South Carolina
- Jim “Catfish” Hunter – North Carolina native and baseball Hall of Famer
- Ned Jarrett – Retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.
- Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice – Former UNC and NFL football great
- Chuck Kaiton – Voice of the Carolina Hurricanes
- Mike Krzyzewski – Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Duke University
- Keith LeClair – ECU baseball coach
- Meadowlark Lemon – Former Harlem Globetrotter
- Abe Lemons – Former Basketball Coach at Oklahoma City University and the University of Texas
- Steve Logan – Head Football Coach at East Carolina University
- Joe Louis – Former world heavyweight boxing champion
- Sidney Lowe – Head Men’s Basketball Coach – NC State
- Rollie Masimeno – Former Men’s Basketball Coach - Villanova, UNLV, and Cleveland State
- Joanne P. McCallie – Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Duke University
- Frank McGuire – Former Head Basketball Coach at USC and UNC
- Jack McKeon – Former manager - Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics
- Bones McKinney – Former Head Basketball coach at Wake Forest
- Mick Mixon – Play-by-play radio announcer for the Carolina Panthers NFL
- Jerry Moore – Head Football Coach at Appalachian State
- Jack Murdock – Former Wake Forest Basketball Player & Coach
- Stan Musial – Three time NL MVP - St. Louis Cardinals and Hall of Famer
- Byron Nelson – All–time golf great
- Tom O’Brien – Head Football Coach at NC State University
- Mike O’Cain – Head Football Coach at NC State University
- Dave Odom – Head Basketball Coach at University of South Carolina, former Coach at Wake Forest University
- Jesse Owens – US Olympic track and field hero
- Billy Packer – CBS basketball analyst and former Wake Forest basketball great
- Satchel Page – Former Negro League great; member of baseball’s Hall of Fame
- Benny Parsons – NASCAR great
- Digger Phelps – Former basketball Coach at Notre Dame University
- Skip Prosser – Head Men’s Basketball coach at Wake Forest University
- Bobby Richardson – former NY Yankee second baseman; World Series MVP
- Brooks Robinson – Former Baltimore Oriole great and Hall of Famer
- Lenny Rosenbluth –All-American UNC Basketball player, 1957 NCAA Championship Team
- Bobby Ross – Former college and NFL head football coach
- James “Twiggy” Saunders – former showman of the Globetrotters
- Herb Sendek – Head Men’s Basketball Coach at North Carolina State University
- Paul Simson – Amateur Golfing great; NC Sports Hall of Fame
- Enos Slaughter – Baseball Hall of Famer
- Dean Smith – Former head men’s basketball coach at UNC
- James “Bonecrusher” Smith – Former world heavyweight boxing champion
- George Steinbrenner – Owner of the New York Yankees
- John Swofford – Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference
- David Thompson – Former NC State and NBA basketball allstar
- Carlton Tudor – Asst. Sports Editor, The News & Observer
- Bob Uecker – Milwaukee Brewer commentator and former major league player.
- Jim Valvano – Former Head Men’s Basketball Coach at NC State University
- Dick Vitale – ESPN basketball analyst; former Head Coach of the Detroit Pistons
- Dr. Leroy Walker – Former President of the US Olympic Committee
- Bucky Waters – Former ACC Basketball Player & Coach, TV Commentator
- Earl Weaver – Former Baltimore Orioles manager
- Roy Williams – Head Men’s Basketball Coach – UNC Chapel Hill
- Ted Williams – Former Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer
- Debbie Yow – Director of Athletics, NC State University
- Kay Yow – Women’s Head Basketball Coach at NC State University
2011-2012 Speakers
February 8, 2012
Coach Elliott Avent– Head coach of NC State baseball team since 1997, has compiled the most wins of any head baseball coach in State history. He has lead his teams to 11 NCAA regionals, coached 13 All-Americans and was the ACC and National Coach of the Year in 2003. Baseball America has ranked State’s current 13 new players as the 4th best recruiting class in the country. Avent says, “Adding exceptional talent is a key to being able to compete in the ACC.”
February 15, 2012
Bubba Cunningham – In Nov. 2011, UNC Chapel Hill named their new AD, Lawrence (Bubba) Cunningham. “I absolutely love the place,” he said in his first news conference at UNC. “The people here are absolutely outstanding.” He previously served as AD at Ball State University from 2002-05 and for the University of Tulsa from 2005 until accepting the position at Chapel Hill where he has recently made his first major hire in football coach Larry Fedora.
February 22, 2012
Bob Alejo – NC State Assistant Athletics Director for Strength and Conditioning and coordinates the day-to-day efforts of the men’s basketball team. Alejo was formerly at UCLA and with the Oakland A’s. Alejo holds the advanced NSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach distinction, and is an accomplished lecturer and author. He was the strength and conditioning coach of the 2008 US Olympic Gold Medal-winning men’s beach volleyball team.
February 29, 2012
Coach Mike Fox – Into his 13th season as Head Baseball Coach at UNC – Chapel Hill he has guided his alma mater to the most successful period in school history and firmly established the Tar Heels as one of the nation’s preeminent college baseball programs - 4 straight trips to the College World Series and 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
March 7, 2012
To be determined – Check back soon.
March 14, 2012
Steve Bryant – Baseball is the passion of the owner of the Carolina Mudcats, minor league baseball team who play at Five County Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility providing affordable wholesome family entertainment. The Mudcats have received awards for unmatched excellence at the Double-A level. Hear Steve tell how he relocated the Mudcats from Georgia to Zebulon, NC in 1991, and laid the groundwork for an incredible minor league success story.