THE FLATS – Harvey Webb, Eddie McAshan and Jan Hilliard have been announced as Georgia Tech’s recipients of the inaugural ACC UNITE Award, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced Thursday.
The ACC UNITE Award was created to honor individuals affiliated with the league who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice. An initiative of the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE – Champions of Racial Equity), the award was developed and approved by the ACC’s 15 members institutions.
This first year of the award, the league is celebrating the individuals who – according to available information – are the first male and female athletes of color to integrate the athletic teams at each ACC institution. Georgia Tech will recognize Harvey Webb, 1967 (basketball – freshman team), Eddie McAshan, 1970 (varsity football team), and Jan Hilliard, 1975 (women’s basketball) as its recipients.
The very first African-American member of the men’s basketball program, Webb was a member of the Georgia Tech freshman team under Coach Whack Hyder in 1967. An Atlanta native, Webb attended Harper High School and was part of a Yellow Jacket freshman men’s basketball team that beat Georgia his inaugural season on Dec. 7, 1967.
McAshan was the first African-American to receive an athletic scholarship and to play in a varsity game at Georgia Tech, as well as only the second African-American to be a starting quarterback for a major college football program in the Southeast (following Wake Forest’s Freddie Summers). McAshan threw for 4,080 yards and 32 touchdowns in 36 career starts for the Yellow Jackets. He broke 17 school records and still ranks among Georgia Tech’s all-time leaders in passing yards (eighth), touchdown passes (sixth) and completions (360 – sixth). His five touchdown passes against Rice in 1972 remain tied for the most in a single-game in Tech history. He compiled a 22-13-1 record as a starter and helped lead the Jackets to three bowl appearances in three seasons. He also became the first Georgia Tech African-American ever selected in the NFL Draft when the New England Patriots picked him in the 17th round in 1973. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1979 with a degree in industrial management.
Hilliard (formerly Chandler) played women’s basketball under head coach Jim Culpepper. She arrived at Georgia Tech in 1975, right on time to be a part of the foundation for the women’s basketball program. The 1976-77 season saw the team have a breakthrough, finishing with a 19-8 record and recording the program’s first two postseason wins in the GAIAW State Tournament.
The UNITE Award will be presented annually to individuals who:
- Best exemplify ACC CORE’s mission to promote and encourage racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy;
- Have helped create meaningful, lasting change by improving systems, organizational structures, policies, practices and attitudes;
- Have been a pioneer and/or helped pave the way for minorities either at the institution or in the community.
Moving forward, each school will select one male and one female recipient for the annual ACC UNITE Award.
C.O.R.E was created in June 2020 to support the ACC’s commitment to social justice and racial equity. Members of C.O.R.E. include conference office staff members and campus representatives from each of the league’s 15 institutions. C.O.R.E.’s mission is to promote and encourage inclusion, racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy.
To view the full list of inaugural recipients in the ACC, please click here.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Support The Swarm Fund, which helps Georgia Tech athletics offset the significant financial challenges associated with Covid-19, and the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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