Six new names
on the wall.
Meet the newest inductees into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame — a referee, a bank chairman, a hockey owner, a championship coach, a multi-sport standout, and a veteran sportswriter.
Brandon Adair
Brandon Adair is a graduate of Princess Anne High School who went on to become a basketball star at Virginia Wesleyan University and then to a career as a National Basketball Association referee. Adair led Wesleyan to a Division III national championship in 2006. He finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,100 career points, and his 871 rebounds are second in school history. He was a two-time All-American and a four-time All-ODAC selection, and he played professionally in Germany after graduation. He has been an NBA referee since the 2018-19 season.
Bob Aston Jr.
Portsmouth native Bob Aston, the founder and executive chairman of TowneBank, has an exceptional history of promoting sports in the Hampton Roads region. Through his community leadership, he played a key role in the bank’s charitable projects including athletic facilities on the campuses of Old Dominion, Christopher Newport and Virginia Wesleyan universities bearing the TowneBank name. He has received citations for exceptional contributions to youth sports. Aston is a past chairman of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Patrick Cavanagh
Norfolk Admirals owner Patrick Cavanagh has played a transformational role in the regional athletic community through his work in hockey and ice skating at all levels. Cavanagh was part of the Hampton Roads Admirals team that won the ECHL championship in 1991. He purchased the Admirals in 2019 and has revitalized the team’s presentation and fan base. Since 2003, he has operated the Chilled Ponds ice sports complex in Chesapeake, with youth hockey and figure skating programs. He added a Chilled Ponds rink in Yorktown in 2023. His highly successful junior hockey program, Whaler Nation, was the first of its kind in the southeast.
Charles Christian
The late Charles Christian was the winningest men’s basketball coach in the history of Norfolk State University. During two stints as head coach of the Spartans — 1973-78 and then 1981-90 — he won 319 games with a winning percentage of .770. His teams at Norfolk State won seven CIAA league titles and made three trips to the NCAA Div. II quarterfinals as regional champions. He was named CIAA Coach of the Year four times. Before coming to Norfolk State, Christian coached outstanding teams at Booker T. Washington and John F. Kennedy high schools in Suffolk. Christian died in 2011.
Juanita Etheridge
Multi-sport standout Juanita Etheridge got her start at First Colonial High School and has made her mark as a competitor and coach across the region’s athletic landscape. Beginning her college career at James Madison University, she played basketball, field hockey and lacrosse. Etheridge transferred to Old Dominion, where she played basketball and tennis. She later became one of the area’s top runners, setting a record at the Shamrock Marathon and winning 33 consecutive road races. She also coached basketball, field hockey and track at Granby High School.
Harry Minium Jr.
Norfolk native Harry Minium has spent several decades chronicling sports in Hampton Roads, first at the Virginian-Pilot and later at Old Dominion University. Minium, a graduate of Norview High School and ODU, came to the Virginian-Pilot in 1979 and wrote there for four decades, mostly as a sportswriter and columnist. He won many awards, including first place in the Football Writers of America judging for his behind-the-scenes story on how ODU made the decision to move up to FBS. He currently works as senior executive writer for ODU athletics.