The Fayetteville Sports Club will honor standouts from basketball, auto racing and youth and recreational sports as part of its 2026 Hall of Fame class. Sports Club President Greg Parks recently announced five inductees, three of whom coached or competed in Cumberland County Schools (CCS):
David Culbreth
Culbreth has been a local wrestling standout since winning a state title at Seventy-First High School in 1987. He later coached his alma mater to historic success, including a record-setting 1999 season, before serving in leadership roles with CCS. Culbreth continues to officiate high school wrestling and is widely respected in the sport.
Angela Hill
Hill was a multi-sport standout at E.E. Smith High School, earning all-conference honors and MVP recognition in basketball before graduating in 1990. She went on to star at North Carolina A&T, becoming the school’s first MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Player of the Year in 1993 and leading the Aggies to the 1994 MEAC title and their first NCAA tournament appearance. She was inducted into the N.C. A&T Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
Bernie Poole
Bernie Poole coached some of the district’s most successful basketball teams during a long career at Seventy-First High School from 1984–2006. He earned more than 400 career wins, captured numerous conference and post-season titles and coached more than 40 players who went on to compete at the college level. After leaving Seventy-First High, Poole continued coaching at the high-school level before returning to Cumberland County and later joining the staff at Methodist University, where he is currently an assistant coach.
The Fayetteville Sports Club Induction Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Feb.17, at 6 p.m. on the campus of Fayetteville Technical Community College in the multi-purpose room of the Tony Rand Student Center, 2220 Hull Road, Fayetteville, NC 28303. For ticket purchases, call (910) 323-9195, Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Photos of the three inductees are shown below.
