ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The Southern Conference officially inducted the league's 2026 Hall of Fame class on Thursday evening, a group of five individuals and one team headlined by The Citadel football standout and longtime NFL broadcaster Paul Maguire. The ceremony took place at Battery Park Hall in Asheville, N.C., and served as just the 11th induction class in SoCon history.
Along with Maguire, who played for The Citadel from 1957-59 before graduating in 1960, the list of inductees included Georgia Southern football coach Paul Johnson (1997-2001), Davidson men's basketball coach Bob McKillop (1992-2014), Furman women's basketball student-athlete and coach Jackie Smith Carson (1997-2000, 2011-2023) and Appalachian State men's soccer legend Thompson Usiyan (1977-1980).
For the first time in the Hall of Fame's existence, teams were available for induction as well, and the 2007 App State football team finished as the top vote-getter.
Maguire enjoyed a memorable career on the gridiron as a tight end and punter for the Bulldogs from 1956 to 1959. The Youngstown, Ohio, native led the Bulldogs in receiving yards each of his four seasons and was the team's top punter across his final three years. The two-time All-SoCon selection posted his best season during his senior campaign, powering The Citadel to an 8-2 overall mark and a 5-1 record in SoCon play. Maguire led the team with 32 catches for 549 yards and a national-best 10 touchdowns as a senior, earning 1959 SoCon Player of the Year and third-team Associated Press All-America honors. Maguire also led the league with a then-school record 42.8 yards per punt on 32 attempts, a feat only topped on six occasions since. He finished his four-year stint as a Bulldog with 76 catches for 1,524 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 20.1 yards per catch over four seasons, and managed a 40.2 yards per punt average for his career as well.
The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Maguire in the 1960 AFL Draft, and he played four seasons in Southern California, helping the franchise to an AFL title in 1963. He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1964 and contributed to AFL titles in 1964 and 1965. A two-time AFL All-Star league leader in punting on three occasions, he averaged 41.7 yards per punt for his career and picked off nine passes while playing linebacker. Following his playing career, Maguire embarked on a long and successful stint as a color analyst for NBC and ESPN, rising to a position on NBC's top NFL broadcast team in the mid-1990s.
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