Thirteen major contributors to prep athletics in Alabama were inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame Monday night at a banquet held at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Spa Convention Center.

The Class of 2022-23 was selected from nominations submitted by member schools and other organizations.

It includes administrators, coaches and officials.

Those individuals inducted were: football coaches Paul Benefield, David Powell, Mike Robertson, and Trent Taylor; basketball coaches Homer Davis, Ronald Jackson; Tim Miller; Jack Steele Jr.; and John Woody; administrators Steve Giddens and Charles McCaleb; and selected in the “Old-Timers’ Division” were baseball and football coach William “Earl” Griffin and basketball coach Matthew L. Jones, now deceased. Griffin also served as a contest official for much of his career.

Miller, who guided Hazel Green High School’s girls’ basketball team to an unprecedented sixth consecutive state championship earlier this month, gave the acceptance speech for this year’s inductees.

“It is my honor to stand before you tonight speaking on behalf of the Hall of Fame Class of 2023,” Miller said. “On behalf of our class, we appreciate the Hall of Fame committee for selecting each one of us. We truly are honored tonight. We are grateful to the people who nurtured us along the way helping us to become successful professionals. We are thankful to our teachers, our coaches, administrators, who helped us have the desire and discipline to succeed.

“And we were are thankful to our parents, who impacted us the most. Thank you mom and dad for the sacrifices you made for us – the hugs, the kisses and discipline you taught us by your example. The person who deserves the most credit in our lives are our spouses. You didn’t know when you married us that you were married to an extended family. Thank you for allowing us to serve others.”

He thanked the assistant coaches and especially the students. “Without our students we were nothing,” he said. “We can’t thank them enough.”

The Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association, the coaches’ wing of the AHSAA, oversees the Hall of Fame. A selection committee comprised of coaches, administrators and media representatives made the selections from a very impressive list of nominations.

Sponsors of the Hall of Fame program are the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) and the AHSAA.

The first class was inducted in 1991.