Former Tennessee State University football player, Chicago Bears player and Super Bowl MVP Richard Dent was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame February 24 at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville.

            “I didn’t expect to come back to Nashville for this special occasion,” said Dent, “But this is where it all started: TSU.”

            Dent grew up in Atlanta, where he attended Murphy High School. During his matriculation he discovered football through a deal he made through a friend in the 11th grade.

TSU president Melvin N. Johnson with TSU alumnus and Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee Richard Dent.

            “My friend Scott said that if I tried out for the football team, then he would do the same,” Dent said. “However, neither Scott nor I had ever picked up a football because I worked all the time and Scott played in our high school band. We both tried out and we both made the team.”

            After his football career flourished in high school, Dent became the star to watch for recruiters to convince him to attend their university or college.

           “I didn’t know where I wanted to go, but I knew I wanted to get out of Atlanta,” said Dent.

         Being the second person in his nine-member family to graduate from high school, Dent, along with ten other football players from his hometown, attended Tennessee State University.

Dent made a name for himself at TSU. He was named Tennessee State All-American, and Sheridan Poll-Defensive “Player of the Year,” and set the career record for quarterback sacks. Dent’s collegiate football career earned him an eighth round pick by the Chicago Bears in the National Football League draft.

            Dent’s professional career was an extension of what he had been doing at Tennessee State University. His relationship with the Chicago Bears lasted for 10 years, during which he was honored as Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XX. After he left the Bears, Dent played with the San Francisco 49ers for two years and the Indianapolis Colts for one year. He finished his 15-year NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

            Dent now speaks to student-athletes who are aspiring to become professionals in the sport of their choice.

           “You need the three F’s in your life: Faith, Family and Friends,” Dent said.

Along with Dent, several other TSU alumni belong to Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame:

            2005-Dick “Skull” Barnett (TSU all-time leading scorer, 2 NBA championships)

            2004-Lloyd Neal (TSU all-time rebounder, NBA championship)     

            2003-Chandra Cheeseborough (TSU Tigerbelle and Olympic champion)

            1999-Mae Faggs Starr (Tigerbelle and Olympic medalist)

            1998-Leonard ‘Truck’ Robinson (TSU second leading rebounder and NBA player)

            1997-Theodore McClain (TSU leading scorer and NBA player)

            1993-John McLendon (legendary TSU basketball coach)

            1992-Dr. Walter S. Davis (former president and football coach at TSU)

            1989-John Merritt (legendary TSU football coach)

            1988-Howard Gentry Sr. (former coach and athletic director at TSU)

            1988-Claude Humphrey (TSU graduate and NFL Hall of Fame finalist)

            1978-Joshua Grider (member of TSU 1948 undefeated basketball team and Harlem Globe Trotter)

            1975-Edith McGuire Duvall (TSU Tigerbelle and Olympic champion)

            1974-Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones (TSU and Dallas Cowboy football player)

            1973-Wyomia Tyus (TSU Tigerbelle and Olympic champion)

            1972-Edward Temple (legendary Tigerbelle and Olympic coach)

            1970-Ralph Boston (TSU track star and Olympic champion)

            1967-Wilma Rudolph (TSU Tigerbelle and Olympic champion)

Including Dent, there are 18 Tennessee State University inductees in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.