BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Former Mississippi Valley State track & field standout Herman Sanders was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame Thursday night.

The Hall of Fame class of 2012 consists of eight honorees, including two from UAPB Hubert O. Clemmons and former Chancellor Dr. Lawrence A. Davis, along with another from JSU, LyVonne LeFlore.

The class also includes present and former NFL greats Donald Driver (Alcorn State) of the Green Bay Packers and Harold Carmichael (Southern), formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Joining Driver is another former Alcorn State basketball standout Willie Norwood. Rounding out the list of new Hall of Fame members are former Mississippi Valley track star Herman Sanders and every athlete's best friend, longtime Grambling athletic trainer Eugene "Doc" Harvey.

Former Mississippi Valley State track and field star Herman Sanders over the past two decades has often wondered what might have been.

What might have been if during his career at Mississippi Valley State from 1977-81 he had access to the training techniques and equipment that are available to today’s athletes; what might have been if he had concentrated on his primary event and the mile relay instead of filling in wherever the Delta Devils needed him; what might have been if the United States had boycotted the 1980 Olympics, the year that he was one of the top quarter-milers in the world.

While that won’t answer Sanders’ what ifs, it does make him know that his accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s just the idea of being in the category with all of those who have been inducted (into the SWAC Hall of Fame) before me,’’ Sanders says. “That says a lot, just being a part of the all the great (SWAC) athletes who had great careers. It’s a lot of guys. It makes me feel much better. It’s tops in my career.’’

Sanders was a three-time All –SWAC performer in the 400 meters and 800 meters and a two-time NAIA All-American. He also led Mississippi Valley State to back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 1980 and ’81.

“He was super for me,’’ says William Brown, Sanders’ coach at Mississippi Valley. “He was a quarter-miler and half-miler who could run whatever.’’

Brown recalls entering Sanders in the steeplechase in a SWAC Championship Meet because the Delta Devils needed points even though he had never competed in the event or practiced it.

“I told him ‘I know you haven’t been practicing on this. Just be careful and don’t try the hurdles,’’’ Brown says. “I don’t know if he won, but he scored.’’

Sanders also ran cross country, rarity for quarter-milers, and earned All-SWAC honors.

“It was conditioning thing for me,’’ Brown says. “He had no problem with it.’’

Sanders says he was simply trying to fulfill his role as a captain – a position he held for four years – and team leader.

“I had seen people run it.,’’ he says. “It was a tough event. But I was well prepared (physically) for it. I was in tip top shape. I won’t say I loved it, I did it for the team. I just had so much respect for Coach Brown and the school. I led by example. I was a team player. If I focused on primary event and the mile relay, I would have been a lot better. I just ran everything.’’

Sanders was the dominant figure on Mississippi Valley’s track squad from the moment he set foot campus. He had been Mr. Everything at Shaw (Miss.) High, where he played all sports. He earned the nickname Super Crab as a freshman as he won the first of four MVP Awards at Mississippi Valley.

“Out of high school I had a lot of talent,’’ Sanders says. “But I hadn’t been exposed (to a high level of competition). I learned I could compete with other guys who were good. I began to have success, and I said, ‘Man, this is nice.’’’

Sanders wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. However, after an impressive freshman year at Mississippi Valley, a number of bigger schools tried to persuade him to transfer.

“I decided to stay because Mississippi Valley was one who paved the way for me,’’ he say, adding that he graduated in four years and was an honor student in addition to being a star athlete. “Valley has been good to me.’’

Sanders – one of nine siblings – says his parents and Brown are responsible for the success he had in track. Brown helped him develop his talent. His parents, who insisted Sanders work while he was growing up, ensured that he and his siblings stayed involved in sports.

“It kept us focused,’’ says Sanders.

Six of the nine Sanders siblings attended college. Eugene was also a track star at Mississippi Valley and Ernest played football for the Delta Devils.

Sanders led Mississippi Valley to the 1980 NAIA National Championship even though the Delta Devils only had a seven-man squad. They repeated in 1981 with a 10-man squad.

“We competed against the best,’’ Sanders proudly says. “We could hang with the best.’’

The Delta Devils’ 1980 National Championship is the highlight of Sanders’ career because all seven team members were from Mississippi.

“That made it special,’’ he says. “We could hang with the best.’’

Sanders may well have been the best of the best in the world in the quarter-mile that year but he’ll never know because the USA’s boycott of the Summer Olympic. He was ranked among the top runners in the world in his event, but since the United States wasn’t going to compete in the Moscow Games, he opted not to attend the Olympic Trials as did a number of other top track and field athletes.

“I feel I was at the top of my game, doing what I needed to do, and fell short,’’ Sanders says. “If you have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics, you work so hard and come up short. That’s just tough. It made it seem like all that work went down the drain. That was my four years of competing.’’

Sanders wasn’t prepared to invest another four years in competing and chasing his Olympic dream. He graduated with a degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation and moved on to a career in coaching.

Track and field wasn’t Sanders’ first love. Basketball was. However, he says he realized track and field was his ticket to college and whatever success he would have in the future. But that didn’t keep him from playing hoops every opportunity he got even after he became a track star at Mississippi Valley, and that almost proved to be disastrous. He suffered a knee injury playing for the track squad’s team in the intramural league.

Sanders says he developed a passion for track as he became more successful in the sport Ironically, however, has become more noted in his high school coaching career for his success in basketball than in track.

Still, he says, “I’ll never give track up. I grew to love it.’’

Sanders has coached track and boy’s basketball at Wingfield High in Jackson, Miss., the past 19 seasons. He has led the Falcons basketball team to five District Championships, two City Championships, one South State Championship and a South State second-place finish. Wingfield was 27-0 during the 2009-10 school year and had a overall 30-1 record, the best in Jackson Public School District history.

Ten of Sanders’ team members have gone on to play collegiately.

“I try to be a role model for my players,’’ Sanders says. “I encourage them to go to school and get an education. That’s the most important thing.’’