BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Grambling State University head track & field coach Bertram Lovell and former Tiger football player Melvin P. Lee were selected to the 2021 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame Class.
 
The class will be enshrined on Friday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. (Central) at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta, Ga.
 
"The 2021 SWAC Hall of Fame will honor eight individuals that have played significant roles in shaping the rich history and legacies of their institution and the conference as student-athletes, coaches and administrators," SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland said. "We look forward to formally recognizing each of their contributions to the SWAC at the upcoming SWAC Hall of Fame in Atlanta."
 
Lovell and Lee will be inducted into the 2021 Hall of Fame Class with Alesha Causey-Nelson (Alcorn State), Robert "Rob Jay" Jeuitt (Jackson State), Marcus L. Mann (Mississippi Valley State), Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Prairie View A&M & Texas Southern), Ernest "Arrowhead" Holmes (Texas Southern) and Willie Ray (Alcorn State).
 
Lovell, who graduated from Grambling State in 1977, collected 36 conference titles along with 36 Coach of the Year awards.
 
He was an All-American and All-SWAC selection. Lovell also was a former Olympian and a member of the Trinidad and Tobago 4x400-meter relay team during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, German. In addition, he earned a bronze medal for his participation in the Caribbean Games, hosted in Venezuela.
 
Lee, who passed away this past August, played for the Tiger football team in 1952 and saw action as a center and linebacker. He helped the undefeated Grambling State  football team win the program's first Black College Football National Championship in 1995 as a tri-captain.
 
The New Orleans native earned a pair of Mid-Western Conference honors (1952-55). In addition, Lee was a participant in the Bayou Classic XXIII as an offensive coordinator under legendary head coach Eddie Robinson. Lee later served as an offensive line coach for 37 years at GSU.
 
The Melvin Lee Award was initiated in 2016 by Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs. Lee was inducted into the 2010 Grambling Legends Hall of Fame.
 
Tickets to attend the 2021 SWAC Hall of Fame can be purchased by clicking here. Individual tickets will be extremely limited and prospective attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets as far in advance as possible.
 
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