HILTON HEAD, SC—Former Winthrop men's basketball coach Gregg Marshall and baseball standout Jason Colson were among the five people who were inducted into the 2012 Big South Conference Hall of Fame during Thursday night's awards dinner and Hall of Fame ceremony held at the Westin Resort in Hilton Head. 

With the induction of the 2012 Class, the Big South Conference Hall of Fame now numbers 49 members. 
 
In nine seasons as Winthrop's head men's basketball coach, Marshall won seven Big South Tournament crowns (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007); six Regular-Season championships (1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) and finished 194-83 overall, becoming the League's all-time record-holder at the time for overall victories.  He remains the record holder for highest winning percentage in Conference history at 70 percent.  Marshall was 104-24 in Big South games for a winning percentage of 81.3, the highest in League history and the second-most Conference wins at the time, and he went 19-2 in nine Big South tournaments. 

Marshall took over the Winthrop men's basketball program in April 1998 after the squad finished 7-20 the previous season, and led the Eagles to a 21-8 overall record and the Big South regular-season championship in his first year -- culminating with the Big South Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.  He directed Winthrop to four-straight Big South Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in his first four seasons (1999-02), the first coach and men's basketball program in League history to accomplish the achievement.  Marshall won an additional three-straight Conference titles from 2005-07. 

A four-time Big South Coach of the Year honoree, Marshall led Winthrop to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2007 First Round win over Notre Dame -- the Big South's first-ever First Round victory.  He posted five 20-win seasons at Winthrop (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007), guided Winthrop to a Big South single-season record 29 wins in 2006-07 and 14-0 Big South record -- the first team to go undefeated in Conference play, and defeated high profile programs Missouri, Clemson, Georgia, Providence, Marquette, Mississippi State, Missouri State and Notre Dame during his time in Rock Hill.  Marshall directed Winthrop to a Top 25 ranking in 2007, becoming the first and only Big South men's basketball team to be nationally-ranked, and the Eagles reached as high as No. 21 and finished the season at No. 22 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls.  In addition, he was voted the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year in 2007 and Winthrop's No. 11 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament remains the best in Big South history.  Marshall has been head coach at Wichita State since 2007-08 and has led the Shockers to the 2011 NIT Championship and 2012 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship.

Colson finished his career in 2001 as the Big South's and Winthrop's all-time leader in career games played (247), home runs (53), RBI (216) and total bases (517).  He remains the Conference's home run king and is the only player in League history with 50 career home runs and 50 career doubles, as well as the lone player in the record books to hit 10-plus home runs in all four seasons.  Colson also graduated as the Big South's all-time record holder in at-bats (now 4th with 914), hits (now 6th with 292), as well as third in runs scored (now 8th with 196) and fourth in doubles (now tied for 9th with 58). 

The first player in Big South history to lead the League in home runs in back-to-back seasons, Colson finished his career with a .319 batting average, .566 slugging percentage and .413 on-base average.  He also pitched and posted an 11-8 career mark and a 3.82 ERA.  Colson helped Winthrop win the 1999 Big South Tournament Championship and 2001 regular-season title, leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.  He helped Winthrop to a then-Big South record 48 overall wins in 2001, while its 18 Big South victories that season tied the League mark.  Colson was a three-time All-Conference honoree (1999, 2000, 2001), was the 2001 Big South Baseball Player of the Year, and the Big South's Male Athlete of the Year for the 2000-01 campaign.  He also earned All-Tournament Team honors in 1999 and was named Honorable Mention Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball in 1998.  Colson was drafted in the seventh round (366 overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2001 MLB Draft and played professionally until 2009.