Texas Tech Athletics will formally induct five former student-athletes into its Hall of Fame this fall while legendary women’s basketball coach Marsha Sharp will be enshrined in the Hall of Honor as part of the 2017 class.

The class is highlighted by four inductees from the hardwood, including former Red Raider standouts Tony Battie and Andre Emmett as well as former Lady Raider Connie Robinson. Olympic medalist Shereefa Lloyd and All-American outfielder Bobby Kohler round out the 2017 class. 

Sharp, meanwhile, becomes the 43rd member of the Hall of Honor, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the success of Texas Tech Athletics while displaying qualities of sportsmanship, character and integrity. Sharp coached the Lady Raiders for 24 years, leading Tech to the 1993 NCAA National Championship.

“We’re excited to induct another great class into the Texas Tech Hall of Fame,” said Rodney Allison, director of the Double T Varsity Club. “All six members of this class are very deserving of this honor, and we look forward to welcoming them back to campus this fall.”

The 2017 Texas Tech hall of Fame and Hall of Honor ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center. All six honorees will be recognized the following day at Jones AT&T Stadium when Texas Tech hosts TCU.

Tables for the event are $500 while single tickets are priced at $50 each and $30 for Double T Varsity Club members. To reserve a table or ticket, please contact the Double T Varsity Club at 806-834-3162 or by email at dtvc@ttu.edu.

2017 Texas Tech Hall of Fame Inductees

Tony Battie (Men’s Basketball, 1995-97) – Forward

Battie piled up 929 points, 724 rebounds and a program-leading 162 career blocks during his three seasons with the Red Raiders. He earned 1997 Associated Press (AP) All-America Honorable Mention status. Battie is the last Texas Tech player and one of seven players in program history to average a double-double during a season. He posted 18.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game en route to 20 double-doubles in 1997. Battie claimed 139 of his 162 blocks over his last two seasons and his 2.5 blocks per game in 1997 are a program single-season mark. He was a part of Texas Tech’s historic 1996 season where the Red Raiders won a program-record 26 straight games and defeated North Carolina on the way to the NCAA Sweet 16. Battie is the highest NBA draft pick in program history and was a lottery selection at No. 5 overall by the Denver Nuggets in 1997.

Andre Emmett (Men’s Basketball, 2001-04) – Forward

Emmett racked up 1,451 points in his junior and senior seasons, the most for a Texas Tech player over a two-year span and was a two-time Big 12 scoring champion, to become the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,256 points. He was named a consensus All-America selection in 2004 by the Associated Press (AP), Sporting News, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Emmett was the first and is one of only two players in Big 12 history to amass three All-Big 12 First-Team selections (2002, 2003, 2004) during his career. He fueled Texas Tech three 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament trips and a third-place finish at the NIT. Emmett also ranks first in career field goals made (882), sixth in career steals (164), seventh in career rebounds (765) and seventh in career free throws made (438).

Bobby Kohler (Baseball, 1979-82) – Outfielder

Kohler was a four-year letterwinner for the Red Raiders, patrolling the Texas Tech outfield from 1979-82. He was the seventh All-American in program history, earning American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) second team honors for his performances in the 1980 & 1982 seasons. He also earned All-Region accolades in 1979, 1981 and 1982, while picking up All-Southwest Conference nods in 1980, 1981 and 1982. Over the 1980-82 seasons, Kohler led the Red Raiders in hits, while peppering in team-highs in several categories such as batting average (1981), RBI (1980-81), doubles (1981-82) triples (1980-82) and homers (1981). He finished his Texas Tech career with 199 hits, including 42 doubles, which was a school record for career doubles at the time, and a final batting average of .347. In 1982, Kohler was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 19th round of the MLB Draft.

Shereefa Lloyd (Track & Field, 2004-05) – Sprints

Lloyd is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist for her 2008 and 2012 4×400 performances in the Beijing and London games. Individually, she placed fourth in the 400-meter dash at the Pan American Games in Rio, Brazil, in 2007 and took gold in 2011 at the Senior CAC games. In her time at Texas Tech, Lloyd was a three-time first team All-American in the 400m and the women’s mile-relay. Lloyd still holds the all-time Texas Tech outdoor school record in the 400m as well as the No. 2-4 spots. The same goes for her 4×400 relay contributions, maintaining the top-five positions in the all-time outdoor record book. In 2005, she became the first Lady Raider in program history to claim the Big 12 Outdoor title in the 400-meter dash.

Connie Robinson (Women’s Basketball, 1993-95) – Forward

Robinson was a two-year letterwinner for the Lady Raiders (1993-95). During her career as a Lady Raider, she earned All-America honors in both seasons at Tech. She was named the Southwest Conference Newcomer of the year in 1994 and was a two-time All-Southwest Conference first-team member. In addition, she was one of six Lady Raiders to be named the All-Dr Pepper/SWC Classic Most Valuable Player.

2017 Texas Tech Hall of Honor Inductee

Marsha Sharp – Head Women’s Basketball Coach/Associate A.D.

Sharp was among the top coaches in the country during her 24 years leading the Lady Raiders. She led the Lady Raiders to Texas Tech’s only National Championship and coached Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes to the National Player of the Year in 1993. Sharp was named the 1993 and 1994 National Coach of the Year. Under her guidance, Texas Tech claimed five-consecutive Southwest Conference championships, three SWC tournament crowns, three-straight Big 12 Conference regular season titles, two Big 12 tournament titles and 20 postseason appearances. Sharp was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. She also coached USA Basketball to a gold medal in 2002. In addition to her role leading the Lady Raiders, Sharp was named an Associate A.D. at Tech in 1995, a role she continues today.

(Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Communications Department)