About Inductee

Almost from his first day in school, it was obvious that Derrick Lamont Gragg was destined for success. I saw a lot of outstanding students and athletes come through Lee High School, said former Lee basketball coach Jerry Dugan. Derrick Gragg was always right up there with the best. Former Lee football coach George Bennett was even more specific and prophetic. If Derrick wants to be an AD some day, then hell be an AD some day, Bennett once said. Count on it. It happened exactly as Bennett predicted. On Feb. 21, 2006, Gragg was named Director of Athletics at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At the age of 39, he became the nations youngest African-American intercollegiate athletic director at a major NCAA institution. It was only the latest in a long string of accomplishments for Gragg, who was born in Huntsville on Nov. 19, 1969. In his high school career at Lee, he excelled in both athletics and academics. He was a first team All-City wide receiver in 1986 and first team All-City at both wide receiver and defensive back in 1987, and was picked as one of the top 20 football prospects in the state in 1988. In basketball, he was the only underclassman on a varsity team that featured 12 seniors and a sophomore in 1985-86. He was All-City in track twice. He was selected as Mr. Lee High School in 1988. Gragg went on to Vanderbilt, where he became a standout wide receiver (he caught three touchdowns against Alabama in 1990) and earned four football letters, and was named to the All-SEC Academic Roll in 1987-88. My parents had the greatest impact on my athletic accomplishments, said Gragg. Due to a lifelong illness, my father was unable to fulfill his own athletic dreams, but he encouraged me to pursue my own dreams. Despite undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week, he never missed any of my home games in high school or college. My mother, who has been an educator for over 25 years, believes in a balance between academics and athletics. Because of her, I knew I had to excel in the classroom in order to participate in football, basketball or track. Gragg has degrees from Vanderbilt (1992), Wayne State (1999) and a doctorate from Arkansas (2004). He began his career in athletic administration as an academic counselor at Vanderbilt in 1993 and later moved to key administrative positions at Missouri (1995) Michigan (1997) and Arkansas (2000). Gragg and his wife Sanya have a daughter, DeSha, 16, and two sons: Avery, 12, and Phillip-Raymond, 8.