Pensacola State College announces 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees

Joseph “J.J.” Cannon, Bill Hamilton, Chanda Rigby and Jody Skelton to receive lasting honor

Pensacola State College has announced the 2026 class of the PSC Athletics Hall of Fame. Joseph “J.J.” Cannon, Bill Hamilton, Chanda Rigby and Jody Skelton will be inducted during a ceremony at the Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio on the Pensacola campus on Thursday, Sept. 24.

“The Athletics Hall of Fame celebrates individuals whose dedication, talent and leadership have had a profound impact on Pensacola State College and our athletics programs in particular,” said PSC President Ed Meadows. “This year’s inductees represent excellence in competition, coaching, administration and community service. Their accomplishments continue to inspire our student-athletes and strengthen the legacy of Pirates athletics.”

Joseph “J.J.” Cannon

Cannon’s baseball journey began in Little League at age eight and developed through his high school years in Pensacola and Camp Lejeune, N.C. Despite receiving several athletic scholarship offers from colleges in North Carolina, he chose to return to Florida and attend Pensacola Junior College, where he excelled as both a center fielder and pitcher. His success led to a first-round selection by the Houston Astros in the 1974 Winter Amateur Draft, making him the first PJC Pirate ever drafted by a Major League Baseball organization.

Cannon advanced in professional baseball, batting .300 in his rookie season in the Appalachian League and making his Major League debut with the Houston Astros on Sept. 22, 1977. After being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 1978, he built a long and successful career as a player, coach and manager.

He began his coaching career in 1983 and spent years developing talent within the Blue Jays system. He later managed in the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros organizations.

Throughout his 38-year professional baseball career, he achieved numerous milestones. He was named Manager of the Year twice, once with the St. Catharines Blue Jays and again with the Houston Astros-affiliated Lexington Legends. He also won two championships as a manager, leading both the Lexington Legends and the Baltimore Orioles-affiliated Frederick Keys.

Bill Hamilton

Hamilton dedicated more than three decades of his career to Pensacola State, serving as head baseball coach from 1990 to 2010 and as athletic director from 2000 until his retirement in 2021.

He guided the Pirates baseball program to its first state championship in 2004 and led the team to a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I World Series. As a coach, he amassed more than 700 career victories and helped develop nearly 80 professional baseball players, including Major Leaguers Billy Sadler and Adron Chambers.

During his tenure as athletic director, Pensacola State underwent significant athletic facility improvements, including renovations to Hartsell Arena, upgrades to the baseball complex and construction of a new softball stadium. The college also established the PSC Athletics Hall of Fame, ensuring that its rich athletic history would be preserved and celebrated into the future.

Hamilton’s leadership and commitment to student-athlete success earned him induction into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, the Florida College System Activities Association Sports Hall of Fame and the Pensacola Sports Hall of Fame. He will be inducted into the Marianna High School Hall of Fame in October.

A past president of Pensacola Sports, he continues to serve on the organization’s board of directors. He also serves on the board of trustees at John Melvin Christian University.

Chanda Rigby

Following the championship program she led at Pensacola State, Chanda Rigby has built the Troy University women’s basketball program into one of the premier teams in the Sun Belt Conference. She enters her 15th season as Troy’s head coach this year.

Rigby served as PSC’s head coach from 2005 to 2012, leading the Pirates to multiple Panhandle Conference championships and two NJCAA Final Four appearances. In her final season at PSC, the Pirates won 34 consecutive games before falling in the semifinals of the NJCAA National

Tournament. In recognition of her success at Pensacola State, Rigby was inducted into the Florida College System Activities Association Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2022, the Alabama High School Athletic Association presented Rigby with its Bubba Scott Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing efforts to elevate the quality of women’s basketball in the Troy community and state of Alabama.

Rigby’s impressive resume at Troy includes 13 seasons with 20 or more wins, three Sun Belt Tournament championships, a Sun Belt Conference regular season title, four NCAA Tournament appearances and a runner-up finish at the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. She is currently the all-time winningest coach in Troy University history.

Rigby is also known for her leadership in helping at-risk students achieve success in college. In 2017, she earned her Doctor of Education degree from Nova Southeastern University, where her dissertation focused on strategies for successfully acclimating first-generation college students to the college climate. She also formed the Underdog to Champion Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to assist individuals in overcoming barriers to success.

Jody Skelton

Skelton has been a respected figure in Pensacola athletics, recreation and public service going back to his standout career as a student-athlete when he helped lead Pensacola High School to the 1963-1964 Florida Class AA State Championship. He played the first two years of his collegiate career at Pensacola Junior College before becoming the first scholarship basketball player to sign a contract at the University of West Florida, where he contributed to a winning 19-3 inaugural season in 1967-1968.

Following graduation from UWF in 1969, he served five years in the Army National Guard and coached basketball at Escambia High School and Pensacola Junior College before dedicating 35 years to the City of Pensacola as the superintendent of athletics from 1972 to 2001 and then as leisure services director. Known as the architect of the area’s popular youth athletic programs, he retired in 2006 after expanding athletic and recreational opportunities for thousands of local families.

Skelton was inducted into the Pensacola Sports Hall of Fame in 1982, the Pensacola High School Hall of Fame in 1994, and the University of West Florida Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a past president of the Florida Youth Baseball League and Florida Youth Basketball League and a former board member of Pensacola Sports.

Since 2019, the PSC Athletics Hall of Fame has honored outstanding student-athletes, coaches, administrators, supporters and community leaders whose contributions have strengthened and advanced the college’s athletic programs. Cannon, Hamilton, Rigby and Skelton will be joining 20 previous inductees, who are listed online at athletics.pensacolastate.edu/hof.