DURHAM, N.C. — The North Carolina Central University Department of Athletics has announced the 2026 class of the Alex M. Rivera Athletics Hall of Fame, recognizing one team and seven individuals for their contributions and excellence.

This year, the Hall will recognize the 2016 Eagles football team that won the MEAC title and made it to the Celebration Bowl, as well as legendary football coach Rod Broadway, men's tennis standout Gabriel Cucalon, volleyball star Ariel Germain, football players Adrian Jones, Mike Jones and Christopher McKinstry, and track & field standout Bethany White.
 
The induction ceremony will take place during the weekend of an Eagles home football game against Campbell on October 3.

Each induction class consists of a maximum of eight inductees, with no more than one team and one meritorious service inductee per class. New classes are inducted into the Alex M. Rivera Hall of Fame every three years.
 
The purpose of the Alex M. Rivera Hall of Fame is to recognize and pay tribute to former NCCU student-athletes and coaches who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments during their enrollment/career at the university, as well as individuals who have demonstrated significant support in the advancement of the Department of Athletics through dedicated service.

This year's inductees are:

The 2016 North Carolina Central Football Team 
The 2016 Eagles received NCCU's first national ranking as a Div. I FCS program on Nov. 7, 2016, when the FCS Coaches Poll placed them at No. 25. By the end of the regular season, the Eagles jumped to No. 18 and closed the year at No. 19 in the final poll. Under head coach Jerry Mack, NCCU beat No. 9 North Carolina A&T to cap an undefeated conference campaign, capture the MEAC championship and earn a trip to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl in Atlanta. After sharing the league crown in 2014 and 2015, the Eagles claimed their first outright MEAC title since rejoining the conference. NCCU's nine wins were the most by the Eagles in the program's Div. I era. The team also broke NCCU's single-season record with 4,614 yards of total offense, a standard that had been in place since 1993.

Rod Broadway • Coach/Football • 2003-06 
NCCU's all-time winningest coach by winning percentage, Rod Broadway won 75% of his games with the Eagles from 2003-06. Going 33-11 in four seasons, Broadway won Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006 before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Div. II Playoffs in both seasons.The Eagles were named Black College Football National Champions in 2006 after winning 11 games, completing an undefeated regular season for the first time in program history. The 2006 CIAA Coach of the Year, Broadway was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2024. For his head coaching career, Broadway won 125 games, five Black College National Championships, and two Celebration Bowl titles.

Gabriel Cucalon • Athlete/Men's Tennis • 2015-19 
The 2019 MEAC Player of the Year, Gabriel Cucalon is NCCU's all-time singles winner with 46 victories. He was twice named First Team All-MEAC (2017, 2019), and in 2018 he was a Second Team All-MEAC honoree. He went 11-4 at No. 1 singles in his senior season, which also saw him win the Singles A Flight at the HBCU National Tennis Championships. That season, he also won his match in the MEAC Tennis Championship semifinals, 6-0, 6-2 in the only completed postseason match. In his junior season, Cucalon captured the top doubles title at the HBCU National Tennis Championships, on top of advancing to the third round of the ITA Carolinas Regional — defeating Duke's No. 10 seed in the process. Cucalon was also a multi-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic honoree.

Ariel Germain • Athlete/Volleyball • 2002-05
Ariel Germain is NCCU volleyball's career leader in assists (4,036) and assists per set (8.95), and she currently holds the single-season record in assists per set (9.72). A starter on the Eagles' 2004 and 2005 CIAA championship teams, Germain was a three-time All-CIAA honoree — being named First Team in 2005 and 2004, and Second Team in 2003. In 2002, Germain was named to the CIAA All-Rookie Team.

Adrian Jones • Athlete/Football • 1994-97
A two-time First-Team All-CIAA selection (1996, 1997), Adrian Jones sits second on the program's list for most interceptions in a single season with eight, which he recorded in 1996. He also defended 23 passes that season, fifth most in program history. Jones also ranks eighth on the Eagles' career passes defended list with 41 (10 interceptions, 31 pass breakups), and his 10 career INTs are tied for 16th in Eagles history. A two-time Division II All-South Region Second Team selection (1996, 1997), Jones was also a star return man. He ranks fourth on NCCU's kickoff return average list (29.5 yards per return in 1997). As a senior, Jones led the conference with an 11.0-yard punt return average and a 29.5-yard kickoff return average, while also breaking a 52-year-old school record on Oct. 4, 1997, when he returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown against Fayetteville State, the longest punt return in school history at the time.

Mike Jones • Athlete/Football • 2013-16
Mike Jones is NCCU's career punt return leader. He broke the school record for career punt return average with 21.0 yards per punt return (31 punt returns, 651 yards, two touchdowns). He also broke the school record with 145 punt return yards in a single game, accomplishing the feat against Saint Augustine's in 2015. His 90-yard punt return against Delaware State in 2016 is the second-longest return in program history. On the defensive side of the ball, Jones ranks ninth on NCCU's career passes defended list with 36 (25 pass breakups, 11 interceptions), and he is tied for 13th with 11 career interceptions. Jones played on the Eagles' 2016 MEAC championship squad that made it to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, and he was also on the 2014 and 2015 teams that won a share of the conference title. He was a First Team All-MEAC selection and a Sheridan Broadcast Network All-American in 2016.

Christopher McKinstry • Athlete/Football • 1978-81
Christopher McKinstry was a First Team All-CIAA selection in 1981, and he was also selected as a Black College All-American and to play in the Black College All-Star Game. He is currently NCCU's career leader in tackles with 405, and he led the Eagles in tackles during each of his last three seasons. His 142 tackles in 1979 are currently tied for the second-most in a single season in Eagles history. McKinstry also holds the program's seventh and eighth highest single-season tackle totals in program history (127 in 1980 and 111 in 1981). He broke NCCU's single-game record with 24 tackles against UMass on Oct. 6, 1979; that mark has since been matched (Ken Hill against Bowie State in 1996), but remains unbroken to this day.

Bethany White • Athlete/Women's Track & Field • 2015-19
Bethany White was a two-time NCAA regional qualifier in both the 100 and the 200 meters, accomplishing the feat in both 2018 and 2019. She was a six-time MEAC medalist — including silver medals in the 100 and 200 meters in the 2018 MEAC Outdoor Track & FIeld Championships. White is one of the Eagles' fastest ever in both sprinting events, having run 11.28 in the 100 meters and 23.31 in the 200 meters. She twice set the meet record at the Duke Invitational in the 100 meters, and she holds the program's Div. I-era record in that event. A two-time Team MVP, White received the Debra Saunders-White Leadership Award in 2019, and she graduated Cum Laude that year.

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