NORFOLK, Va. – Former Hampton University basketball standout Tarvis Williams will be one of the 2012 inductees into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame, the conference office announced on Thursday.

Williams (Maysville, N.C.) played for the Pirates from 1997-2001, finishing as the school's sixth all-time scorer with 1,754 career points. He averaged 21.9 points per game as a senior and led the nation with 4.6 blocks per game that same season.

He set school records in every blocking category including: single game (12 against North Carolina A&T on Jan. 9, 1999 and Delaware State on Jan. 13, 2001), single season (147 in 2000-01), career (448), season average (4.6 bpg in 2000-01), and career average (3.8 bpg).

He garnered numerous MEAC accolades during his career, including MEAC Rookie of the Year in 1998, a Second Team All-MEAC selection (1997-98), a  First Team All-MEAC selection (2000-01) and the Player of the Year honor (2001).

Williams, the 2001 MEAC Tournament Outstanding Performer, hit the game-winning shot that aided the No. 15-seeded Pirates past second-seeded Iowa State 58-57 in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament – to this day one of the tournament's signature upsets. That win marked the second time in MEAC history that a No. 15 seed upset a No. 2 seed in the tournament.

A two-time MEAC All-Tournament team selection (2000, 2001), Williams currently plays professional basketball for BC Prievidza in Slovakia. He was also a member of the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class.

Joining Williams in the 2012 class will be former Florida A&M softball standout Amber Alford, former Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jermaine “J.D.” Hall, former Howard women's basketball star Alisha Hill and former South Carolina state football standout Phillip Murphy.

The 2012 inductees will be honored during a brunch on Friday, March 9 at 9 a.m. at the M.C. Benton Jr. Convention Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. The induction ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 2012 MEAC Basketball Championships, which will be held March 5-10 at the Joel Coliseum.

"We are delighted to recognize another class of noteworthy inductees who have made a substantial and indelible impact to their communities, institutions and our conference," said Dennis E. Thomas, MEAC Commissioner. "I'd like to applaud the 2012 Hall of Fame Class for all of their accomplishments, both athletically and professionally."

The MEAC Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes, coaches, university and/or conference administrators as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1969. Enshrinees were selected by a 13-person committee made up of administrators from member institutions.

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981, during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, N.C. Since its establishment, the Hall of Fame has enshrined 113 people, including the Class of 2012.

A limited number of tickets are available for the induction brunch at $30 per seat or $300 per table (10 persons). Tickets can be purchased by calling the MEAC at (757) 951-2055.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.