Furman to hold Athletics Hall of Fame banquet Friday

Furman alum Dottie Pepper ’87, a CBS golf analyst who won 17 times on the LPGA tour, will emcee the 2017 Furman University Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, Oct. 13 at Studio 220 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville.

All-America football cornerback William Middleton ’08, basketball forward Chuck Vincent ’98, tennis performer Monica Arguello ’11 and men’s golfer Ken Ezell ’77 will be inducted at the ceremony.  A 6 p.m. cocktail reception is planned, followed by a seated dinner and ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. Reservations, which include reception, dinner, and parking, are $35 per person and can be made at https://alumni.furman.edu/2017HallofFame.

Pepper, who hails from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., competed on the LPGA tour from 1988-2004, winning 17 championships, including two majors. In 1992, she was honored as the LPGA Player of the Year and won the Vare Trophy Award, which is given annually to the player with the low scoring average. A six-time U.S. Solheim Cup Team member, Pepper was chosen as the 1991 and 1992 South Carolina Professional Athlete of the Year.

A three-time All-American at Furman, Pepper was named the Southern Conference Athlete of the Decade for the 80’s.  She helped the Paladins to three top-4 finishes at the NCAA Championships from 1984-87, including a second-place finish her senior season. Pepper was inducted into the Furman University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.

After retiring from the LPGA, Pepper was the lead LPGA analyst for The Golf Channel from 2004-09 and was chosen the assistant captain of the 2013 U.S. Solheim Cup team. She currently serves as a CBS golf analyst and reporter and is the co-author of three children’s books.

Julie Paré, Furman Sports Information