CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte Department of Athletics announces its 2026 Royals Hall of Fame Class ahead of the induction ceremony scheduled to take place during
Royal Weekend 2026. The 13
th induction class of the Royals Hall of Fame is comprised of one historic team, three student-athletes, and one Billy O. Wireman Award recipient.
"We are truly looking forward to welcoming back this year's class of inductees," Queens Director of Athletics
Cherie Swarthout said. "The 2002-2003 men's basketball team and Bart Lundy were both pivotal in shaping the Queens men's basketball brand into what it is today. Additionally, our current athletes are still chasing some of the records set by the three individuals being inducted. Opponents feared stepping up to the plate with Chantel Dodge in the circle, Jena Ready was lethal on the attack in lacrosse, and Nikia Squire was simply elite, winning national championships in both track and field events. Finally, Dr. Pamela Davies was integral in the growth of Queens Athletics as President of the University, providing support that helped the Royals reach new heights nationally as a department. The 2026 induction ceremony will be one for the books, and we can't wait to see all the familiar faces back on campus in February."
For the second straight year, Queens has combined two of its major campus traditions, Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, into one
Royal Weekend. The weekend will feature special reunion celebrations, award ceremonies, and opportunities to reconnect and reminisce. Homecoming games are scheduled to take place on February 7.
Additional information about the weekend's itinerary, including the date of the 2026 Royals Hall of Fame induction, will be released in the coming months. The full 2025-26 men's and women's basketball schedules have been released, and season and single-game tickets are now available for purchase at
www.queensathletics.com/tickets.
In addition to 2026 Royals Hall of Fame Ceremony attendees being able to see this year's inductees, they will witness the induction of 2024 Royals Hall of Fame Class inductee Felix Duchampt. Duchampt, a triathlete, was preparing to compete in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, where he raced for Team Romania during the 2024 ceremony.
Information on the 2002-03 men's basketball team and each inductee can be found below.
2002-2003 Men's Basketball Team
Head Coach: Bart Lundy
Induction Class of 2026
Men's Basketball
The 2002-2003 season for the Queens men's basketball team was a storied one to remember. The Royals, under the leadership of Head Coach Bart Lundy, had their best season in school history at the time after posting 29-4 overall and 18-3 CVAC records.
After winning the CVAC Regular Season Championship, the Royals went on to secure the East Regional Championship in front of their home crowd. Queens then advanced to the NCAA DII Men's Basketball Championship Elite Eight for the second time in program history, reaching the Championship Semifinals for the first time ever.
As a team, Queens' 29 wins marked the winningest season in school history, a title the squad held until 2017. Additionally, the Royals tied the program's highest national ranking of No. 6 during the regular season and tied the record set in 1995-96 of eleven consecutive wins.
Individually, Spencer Ross averaged 23.9 points per game to total 788 points during the season. Both numbers are single-season records to this day. The guard also ranked sixth on the NCAA scoring leaders list and second in the CVAC following the season. He was named First-Team All-CVAC, First-Team All-East Region in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, and Second-Team All-East Region in the Daktronics All-American poll.
Queens Hall of Famer Carlos Andrade was also a member of the 2002-03 team, closing out his career with 1,603 points. He currently ranks fourth in points and rebounds (761), and sixth in assists (293) on Queens' all-time leaders list. Chris Benson also closed his career with the squad, totaling over 1,600 points to rank fifth on Queens' all-time scoring list. Benson currently holds the record for three-pointers made after connecting on 343 during his career. Additionally, Moustapha Diouf set a school record in blocks with 116 on the season, which also ranked third in the nation and first in the CVAC.
The Royals' 2002-03 historical men's basketball season marked the end of Coach Lundy's first stint with the Royals. In five seasons, he compiled a 115-40 record, leading the Royals to three regular-season championships and one tournament championship title. The Royals made three NCAA Championship appearances in the five years, reaching the Elite 8 and semifinals for the first time in school history.
Chantel Dodge
Class of 2012
Induction Class of 2026
Softball
2009-2012
Chantel Dodge is the third softball athlete inducted into the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame. The 5-8 Shalimar, Florida native is also the third pitcher from the program to earn the honor. In four years of play, Dodge recorded three no-hitters, earned Conference Carolinas All-Conference and All-Tournament Team recognition three times, and received Conference Pitcher of the Year honors twice. Additionally, Dodge was named to the Southeast Region All-Tournament Team, the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-Region Team, and the NCCSIA All-State Team during her career.
As a team, the Royals saw a multitude of successes with Dodge at the rubber, winning back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships in 2009 and 2010. The Royals also made NCAA Championship appearances in both seasons.
The four-year starter and team captain came to the Royals highly decorated at the high school level, earning the start in 49 games as a freshman. She ended the season with a team-high 17 wins and ranked 10
th in the nation in strikeouts with 319. Her sophomore season was one for the books as well, with Dodge earning Conference Pitcher of the Year and League Tournament MVP honors for the first time in her collegiate career. That same season, Dodge was also a threat at bat for the Royals, tying for first on the team in home runs with four and ranking second on the team in runs scored with 25.
Dodge became the all-time strikeout leader at Queens during her junior season in the Royals' sweep of West Virginia University on February 18, 2011, finishing the day with 542 career strikeouts to surpass fellow Queens Hall of Famer Catrina Crisp. In her senior season, the star pitcher recorded a career-high 22 wins.
Dodge completed her career with 762 career strikeouts, a number that still sits first in Queens' record books. Dodge also holds the single-season record for strikeouts (319) and wins (22), and the career wins record with 65 in the circle.
Dodge graduated from Queens with a bachelor's degree in 2012, double-majoring in political science and philosophy and religion. She was named to the Girls Got Game/NFCA Academic Team, the Presidential Honor Roll, the Dean's List, and the Academic All-Conference Team multiple times during her career. In her senior season, Dodge represented Queens as the NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, a Conference Carolinas Murphy Osborne Finalist, and the Queens Senior Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Jena Ready
Class of 2015
Induction Class of 2026
Women's Lacrosse
2013-2015
Jena Ready is the fourth women's lacrosse athlete inducted into the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame. The Queen City native joined the Royals as a sophomore transfer in 2013. Leading the Royals in goals for three seasons, the attacker/midfielder completed her Royals career with 195 points on 158 goals and 37 assists after competing in 55 games.
In 2014, the three-time all-conference first team honoree earned Conference Player of the Year recognition following Queens' first year of competition in the South Atlantic Conference. She was also named to the 2014 and 2015 SAC All-Tournament teams after the Royals swept the SAC Regular Season and Tournament Championship titles in both seasons. The championship titles won in 2014 were the first in program history, and the beginning of an eight-year reign for Queens in the SAC.
On Queens' all-time list, Ready currently sits in the top 10 in points (195) and fifth in goals (158). Her 58 goals scored during the 2015 season rank sixth in the Royals' single-season records. Nationally, she sat as high as 21
st in goals and 25
th in goals per game (3.22) during the 2015 season.
Ready graduated from Queens in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in communication. She then earned her master's degree in sports and exercise from Lenoir-Rhyne before beginning her career as a strength and conditioning coach. Currently serving as the Vanderbilt women's basketball director of strength and conditioning, Ready has previously worked with the women's basketball teams at Clemson and Wake Forest. She began her career at Winthrop, where she served as the associate strength and conditioning coach for two seasons.
Nikia Squire
Class of 2016
Induction Class of 2026
Women's Track & Field
2013-2016
Nikia Squire is the second women's track and field athlete inducted into the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame. The 11-time USTFCCCA All-American also won two individual national championships as a Royal. Squire won the NCAA DII Indoor 60-meter Championship and the 2016 Outdoor Long Jump Championship. The Columbia, South Carolina native's 60m championship is the only indoor championship won by a Queens women's track and field athlete to this day.
Squire currently holds the Royals indoor 60m (7.32 seconds), 200m (23.95 seconds), and long jump records (6.31m). She also holds outdoor records in the 100m (11.36 seconds), 200m (23.75 seconds), and long jump (6.47m). Squire also ran on the outdoor 4x100 and indoor 4x400 relay teams that hold Queens records. The 4x100 relay team advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2016.
During her collegiate career, the decorated track star was named USTFCCCA Region Track Athlete of the Year three times during the indoor season and twice during the outdoor season. The Royals won three straight SAC Outdoor Championships with Squire, who swept the SAC Track and Field Athlete of the Year Awards in 2015. Squire also earned SAC Athlete of the Year honors in 2015. In 2018, Squire helped the Royals win the inaugural SAC Indoor Women's Track & Field Championship.
Following Squire's graduation in 2016, she was invited to the 2016 Team USA Preliminary Push Championships and Rookie Camp. She went on to compete at the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Preliminary Push Championships, finishing second in the bobsled race and first in skeleton. Squire's race finishes helped her advance to Calgary, Canada, for the USA Bobsled & Skeleton National Push Championships. She finished third in both the push and combo push competitions. Additionally, she qualified and competed in the 2017 USATF Indoor Championships, representing Queens in the 60-meter dash and long jump.
Squire holds the honor of being the first Black female athlete at Queens to win a national championship. Additional awards include her being named the 2014-15 Queens Most Valuable Track Athlete and the 2014 and 2016 Black Excellence Awards Outstanding Female Athlete honoree. She earned her bachelor's degree in 2016 after majoring in communications and minoring in theatre performance. She also earned a master's degree from the Knight School of Communication in 2018.
Pamela Davies
President Emerita
Induction Class of 2026
Billy O. Wireman Award Recipient
Dr. Pamela Davies is President Emerita and Professor of Strategy at Queens University of Charlotte, where she served as President for 17 years (2002-2019). As the 20th president of the institution, she was committed to providing innovative and high-quality education for both undergraduate and graduate students in the liberal arts and professional studies. During her tenure, the university doubled in enrollment, significantly expanded academic programming, and invested more than $150M in new campus infrastructure. The Queens Endowment grew to over $120M under her leadership.
Dr. Davies was pivotal in the growth of Queens Athletics during her tenure as president, overseeing the addition of numerous varsity sports, growing the program into one of the most comprehensive in the nation with nearly 30 athletic programs, and catapulting them to five straight top 10 Learfield Directors' Cup finishes. She recognized the need for top-tier facilities and forged a landmark partnership with Mecklenburg County to create the Queens Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park, a 65-acre, multi-sport development that became home to Dickson Field and the Royals soccer, lacrosse, and rugby teams.
In 2013, her vision for an integrated athletics and wellness hub came to life with the opening of the Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation on campus, providing state-of-the-art facilities for athletes to compete and train, and fitness programming for the entire university community. Curry Arena, home to Dale Layer Court, houses the Royals' performance court for basketball and volleyball, and the Levine Aquatic Center is home to the seven-time DII national champion men's and women's swimming & diving programs.
Following the addition of the Levine Center, Bessant Field and the Howard Levine Tennis Center were added to the Queens Sports Complex for the Royals' field hockey and tennis programs. The unwavering support provided by Dr. Davies, paired with these investments, laid the foundation for Queens' successful reclassification to NCAA Division I.
At the end of her stint as president, Queens Athletics rebranded one of its department awards to the Pamela Davies Scholar-Athletes of the Year Award in honor of Dr. Davies distinguishing herself through her commitment to providing innovative and high-quality education and building community partnerships that enhance the collegiate experience of Queens students.
Committed to community service, Dr. Davies is highly involved in non-profit organizations both nationally and locally. She is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of the YMCA of the USA and a Trustee of the Charlotte YMCA. She serves on the boards of Advocate Health (formerly Atrium), The Duke Endowment, and the Center for Creative Leadership. She is an elder in the Presbyterian Church USA and serves as a Trustee for the Princeton Theological Seminary.
Dr. Davies was named Charlotte Woman of the Year in 2018 and has received numerous awards over the years including North Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Longleaf Pine, the City of Charlotte's highest honor, the Order of the Hornet, the Charlotte Business Journal's Lifetime Achievement award, both the John R. Mott Award and the Servant Leader Award from the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and the Excellence in Leadership Award given by the Charlotte Rotary.
Dr. Davies' academic discipline is in the field of strategy, with a special interest in competitive strategy. She has utilized her professional expertise in both leading Queens University and as a director for several public company boards. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Sonoco Products, Inc. and Cato Corporation.
Prior to her presidency at Queens, Dr. Davies served as the Dean of both the McColl School of Business at Queens and the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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