COLUMBUS — The Mississippi University for Women marked its 2025 homecoming celebrations with the second iteration of a new annual tradition, The W Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony. University President Nora Miller welcomed the guests and crowd to the event, along with Athletic Director Bud Foster and Assistant A.D. Brian Merkel.
The 2025 class included five individuals and one team from the university’s long history of athletics before sports were discontinued in 2002. Those honored included Lee Cole and Celeste Waguespack Vial in the student-athlete category, longtime coach Samye Johnson and former athletic trainer Doug May in the coach/administrator category, and Don Spaulding in the distinguished service category.
“As someone who has been involved in collegiate athletics for over 30 years, I know the importance of those who came before us,” Foster said at the ceremony. “You are the foundation upon which the student-athletes of today are building their own legacies.”
The ceremony included a moment of silence for Dr. Barbara Garrett, an academic and administrator at the W who helped record the history of the university’s athletic programs pre-2002 in Legacy of the Blues, a 2012 book on the history of W athletics before the 2002 tornado that destroyed the original Pohl Gymnasium. Garrett passed away in 2024.
It was a fitting tribute as the W continues to honor its past achievements in a new era of athletics at the university since the reintroduction of team and individual sports in 2017.
“When we instituted The W Athletics Hall of Fame, one of the main goals was to make sure that the event could be used as a bridge between the coaches and student-athletes of today…to all of you, our athletic ancestors,” Foster continued. “It is even more important for there to be a connection because of the gap in the program’s history from 2003 to 2017. Whether you realize it or not, it means a great deal to the current coaches and student-athletes that you – our alumni and friends of The W Athletics — are proud of what we are trying to do here.”
Lee Cole (volleyball, women’s basketball)
Cole was a volleyball standout and four-year player for The W from 1985-88. She was the first – and only – first-team NCAA Division II All-American in program history. She was a three-time All-South Region honoree, as well. Her efforts helped The W to the national tournament in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
After graduation, Cole served in the U.S. Army, where she played on the All-Army Volleyball Team and was eventually selected for the Combined All-Forces Volleyball Team (from all branches of the military) and was picked as an All-American. After leaving the Army, Cole served six more years with the National Guard.
Cole currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, where she works as an account manager and is involved with her church.
Celeste Waguespack (volleyball)
Waguespack — now Vial — was a four-year player for The W from 1983-86, serving as the primary setter for teams that reached the NCAA Division II Final 8 both her junior and senior seasons (1985 & 1986). As a senior, she was a second team NCAA II All-American and All-South Region selection, rolling up 71 assists in the Blues’ two tournament games in 1986.
After graduation, Vial returned home to New Orleans to begin a career teaching and coaching at Mount Carmel Academy, where she won the 1989 city title and was the Times Picayune Coach of the Year. In 2009, she petitioned the MAIS to start volleyball throughout the state of Mississippi. While the head coach at Presbyterian Christian in Hattiesburg, she won three-consecutive state titles (2011, ‘12,’13). While at Hattiesburg’s Oak Grove High School, her team was the state runner-up in 2016. She also volunteered for two years (2019-20) at South Jones High School in Ellisville, Miss., to start its volleyball program.
Vial currently resides in Laurel, Miss., where she works as an interior designer.
Doug May (athletic trainer)
May, a long-time staple in the athletic trainer profession, was the first such professional at The W from 1978-81, where he also taught since 1973. The W served as the foundation of his decades-long service to the physical care of student-athletes, even at the highest levels of competition after his tenure with The W.
In addition to creating the inaugural full-time athletic training program at The W – assuring that the Blues received optimal attention for injuries and helping players return to competition – May’s influence on the profession was on a national scale. He was heavily involved in the National Athletic Trainers Association, even serving as the organization’s vice president and as a member of its Board of Directors. Likewise, his work has extended to numerous national and international competitions, as well.
May resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Don Spaulding (distinguished service to The W)
Spaulding has – and continues – to serve his alma mater with love and distinction. Earning his nursing degree from The W in 1986, Spaulding helped out in the sports medicine area and also drove the bus for the Blues’ teams.
After leaving The W, Spaulding has continued to bless the university – and especially the athletics programs — with his support. His contributions have benefitted numerous campus organizations and activities. His gifts have been especially crucial to the growth of The W’s women’s sports teams and most recently, he spearheaded the upgrades made to the Don Usher Softball Field to keep it one of the premier destinations in the South.
Samye Johnson (coach)
Johnson was the architect of the tremendous success of The W volleyball during its early years, serving as a coach for 15 years from 1979-93. Johnson presided over what was, without a doubt, the most incredible back-to-back seasons in program history in 1985 and 1986, where the team finished top 8 in the nation both years in reaching the NCAA II national championships and rolled up a combined record of 81-7. Johnson was the NCAA II National Coach of the Year in 1985 and two-time South Region Coach of the Year (1985 and 1986). Additionally, after The W joined the Gulf South Conference, the Blues would go on to win the GSC title in 1993, and Johnson was named the GSC coach of the Year.
Johnson also coached the Blues’ slow-pitch softball program from 1979-83, the forerunner to today’s intercollegiate fast pitch competition. She was also the basketball coach for the Blues for six seasons from 1982-89
Johnson would go to coach at Mississippi State University volleyball from 1994-97. She resides in Biloxi, Mississippi.
1986 Volleyball Team
The Blues volleyball team of 1986 was an integral part of what might well be described as the golden era of the sport at The W. The squad finished among the top eight teams in the nation, losing to No. 1-ranked Cal State-Northridge (after sinking the U.S. Naval Academy in their first-round game). During the regular season, the team won three of the five tournaments in which they were entered. Chief among their accomplishments was a record 27-consecutive matches won that year.
The team’s victims included such notable schools as Mississippi State, Southern Miss, North Alabama, Troy State, Florida International, Alabama State, and Jackson State, to name a few.
The W ladies had three players – Lee Cole, Celeste Waguespack, and Lisa Duncan named to the All-South Region honor roll. From there, Cole (first team) and Waguespack (second team) went on to earn NCAA Division II All-American accolades.
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