HARRISONBURG, Va. - In celebration of its 50th year, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has announced its inaugural class of the first-ever ODAC Hall of Fame. Among this year's inductees, four Royals will see themselves enshrined as some of the best to play in the conference: Leonard Dow, Missy Hensley, Erik Kratz and Jewel Lehman. 

Dow was a standout on the basketball court for the Royals from 1983 to his graduation in 1986. In 1985, he was named the ODAC Player of the Year. He was a four-time All-ODAC First Team and etched his name in the record books as the all-time career leader in points (2,192), rebounds (1,102) and scoring average (20.4 PPG). He also set the record for most points in a season by a first-year, when he scored 534 points in his first season in Harrisonburg. His jersey was retired in 1986 and he was inducted into the EMU Hall of Honor in 1987. 

Hensley had one of the best women's basketball careers in ODAC history. A four-year standout for EMU, she played in Harrisonburg from 1988-1992. During that time, she was named a Kodak All-American Honorable Mention (1992) and a Kodak Regional All-American (1992). At the time of her graduation, she was the ODAC's all-time leading scorer, and would hold that honor six years. She currently sits fourth all-time in the ODAC for total points, with 2,163. That number is also tops in the EMU record book, along with being the Royals all-time leader in scoring average at 22.5 PPG. She led all of Division III in scoring when she averaged 29.8 PPG during the 1992 season. She was a two-time All-ODAC First Team member, and a two-time All-ODAC Second Teamer. She was also named to the VaSID All-State First Team in 1992. Hensley had her jersey retired in 1992, becoming the first women's basketball player to have that honor. She was also inducted into the EMU Hall of Honor in 1992.  

It could be argued that Kratz is the most successful athlete to come out of EMU. A four-year member of the Diamond Royals, Kratz was an NCAA Second Team All-American in 2002 and a First Team All-South Region honoree in 2001 and 2002. Those two seasons also saw Kratz named the ODAC Player of the Year and All-ODAC First Team. He was also named All-ODAC Second Team during the 2000 season. He holds the ODAC and EMU career record in doubles (17), hits (220), putouts (1019) and the EMU record in runs scored (147), homeruns (33), RBI's (159), batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.762), total bases (404), games played (155). After his time at EMU, he had an 11 year MLB career. Kratz had his jersey retired after his final game in 2002, and was inducted into the EMU Hall of Honor in 2012. 

EMU's final ODAC Hall of Famer, Lehman had a standout volleyball career for the Royals. She was an AVCA South Regional All-American in 1986. She was a three-time ODAC Player of the Year (1984, 1985 and 1986) and was a four-time All-ODAC First Team honoree. While at EMU, her teams won four straight ODAC Championships from 1983 - 1986. At the time of her graduation, she was EMU's all-time leader in career service aces with 203, and set the single-season service aces record with 108. After her graduation in 1987, she became the first woman to have her jersey retired. She was also inducted into the EMU Hall of Honor immediately following her graduation, as a part of the class of 1987. 

This first class features honorees from all eight original charter members from 1976 – Bridgewater College, Eastern Mennonite College (now University), Emory & Henry College (now University), Hampden-Sydney College, Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg), Randolph-Macon College, Roanoke College, and Washington and Lee University. Each of those schools selected four members for inclusion, while three honorees each from Guilford College, Hollins College (now University), Randolph-Macon Women's College (now Randolph College), Sweet Briar College, and Virginia Wesleyan College (now University) feature in this class.

To read the ODAC's release in its entirety, click here.