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"It's huge," said Slay, a native of Beckley. "I never dreamed I'd be in the Hall of Fame. To come back and see my Marshall family, I can't put into words what that means to me."

Slay was inducted along with the late Tyrone Collins (men's basketball, 1970-73), David Coyle (wrestling, 1977-79), Sierra Davenport (softball, 2001--04), Albie DeYoung (baseball 1975-78), Lindsay Jayjack (soccer, 1999-2002), Darius Watts (football, 2000-03) and the late Milan Zban (baseball and football, 1951-54).

Slay has retired from basketball after an 11-year pro career and is developing a business that will provide training, competition and exposure for basketball players age 18 and younger. Slay is planning year-round training sessions and camps, as well as tournaments throughout the state.

"I'm working with a few partners to get this started," Slay said. "It's very exciting. I didn't know if I wanted to go into coaching or something else, but I knew I wanted to be in basketball."

A four-year starter at Marshall, Slay is the sixth-leading scorer in school history with 1,792 points. His 251 3-pointers are a school record.

He was the 54th overall pick of the New Jersey Nets in 2002. He also played for the Charlotte Bobcats before embarking on a career in Israel and Italy.

Collins starred for the Herd's 1971-72 team that went 23-4 and was ranked as high as eighth nationally. Collins' .587 field goal percentage is the best in school history. He shot 73.0 percent in the 1972-73 season, setting a school record that still stands. He died in a swimming accident in 1996.

Coyle and his brother Dan, both of Sayreville, N.J., wrestled for the Herd. David was the Southern Conference champion in the 167-pound weight class in 1979 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, one of just four MU wrestlers ever to do so. Coyle won 80 percent of his matches at Marshall.

"I can't really describe what an honor it is to be named to the hall of fame," Coyle said.

Davenport was the 2004 Mid-American Conference softball player of the year. A native of Tucson, Ariz., she holds the Marshall record for stolen bases with 131. Her 238 career hits rank second on the MU charts and her .354 batting average is third.

DeYoung, a native of Paterson, N.J., helped Marshall to a Southern Conference baseball title and NCAA Tournament berth in 1978, when the Herd was ranked as high as 14th in the nation. In the NCAA Atlantic Regional, DeYoung shut out Florida State, 4-0, as MU came within one victory of a berth in the College World Series.

DeYoung credited legendary herd baseball coach Jack Cook with his success.

"Coach Cook believed in me," DeYoung said. "I can't say enough about him and what he did for me."

Jayjack, who is from Dublin, Ohio, is the career leader in points and second all-time in goals for the Marshall women's soccer program. She also ranks first in career assists.

Watts, who came to Marshall from College Park, Ga., is second all-time in receptions at Marshall, with 272. He also is second in receiving yards, with 4,031, and touchdown catches, with 47. He helped the Herd to two Mid-American Conference titles before being selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Watts played two seasons with the Broncos and one with the New York Giants before finishing his career in the Arena League.

Zban lettered four years in baseball and three in football. He is known for many accomplishments, including recovering a fumble for a touchdown in a 9-6 victory over Ohio in 1953, giving Marshall its first Mid-American Conference victory.