Rocky Mount, N.C. - The N.C. Wesleyan Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that a pair of Battling Bishop coaches have earned prestigious awards from their respective alma maters. Head Baseball Coach Charlie Long has been selected as a 2017 inductee into the University of Mount Olive's Athletics Hall of Fame, while Assistant Football Coach Quinderra Spellman is the recipient of North Carolina Wesleyan's 2017 Alumni Achievement Award.
A 1989 UMO graduate, Coach Charlie Long played for the Trojans from 1987 to 1989 and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1987. Long had a career batting average of .371 and was named Mount Olive's Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year in 1989.
Following his playing days at Mount Olive, Long began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Campbell University. In 1991, Long joined the Battling Bishops' staff as head volleyball coach and was the first full-time assistant baseball coach in program history. Long took over as the head coach in 1999 and has amassed a 452-392-5 overall record, which includes winning the 1999 NCAA Division III National Championship. Along with his coaching duties, Long was named the Assistant Athletics Director for Community Relations and Marketing in 2015. He was inducted into the N.C. Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
A 2009 NCWC graduate, Coach Quinderra Spellman was honored to receive Wesleyan's 2017 Alumni Achievement Award during Homecoming weekend. The award is given to a Wesleyan graduate within the past ten years who has already made significant contributions in society.
As a Bishop student-athlete, Spellman enjoyed a stellar football career from 2005-2008. The talented defensive lineman earned the USA South's 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was a four-time All-Conference selection who garnered All-Region accolades. As a member of Wesleyan's 2007 championship team, Spellman and his fellow Bishops made history by becoming the first-ever USA South team to go undefeated in league play (7-0). His 2007 Bishops were also the first #8 seed in NCAA Division III history to beat a #1 seed in the playoffs. After completing his bachelor's degree in Exercise Science, Spellman joined the Wesleyan's football coaching staff and helped guide the Bishops to the 2010 league title.
In addition to his coaching duties, Spellman also serves as Director of the Shelton Leadership Challenge, a week-long camp that is based off of General Shelton's values-based leadership principles. The camp teaches high school students the qualities of a leader by emphasizing the traits of honesty, integrity, compassion, social responsibility, and diversity. The camp also helps these students identify important leadership styles, skills assessment, teamwork, goal setting, motivational techniques, and ethical decision making skills.
Please take time to congratulate Coach Long and Coach Spellman on their well-deserved recognition!