By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
A Burlington man will oversee operations for the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (NCSHOF).
Trip Durham, who has long been associated with a variety of collegiate athletics endeavors, began his role as executive director of the NCSHOF this week.
When approached about filling that position, Durham said he didn’t have to give it a second thought.
“I didn’t expect the conversation was going in that direction,” he said of a discussion with outgoing executive director Jeff Elliott.
For the first time, the executive director is a full-time position with the NCSHOF. While an annual spring induction is the major event on the NCSHOF calendar, Durham said he envisions more visibility for the organization year-round.
“There have been some great caretakers,” he said. “Now it’s about positioning the future of the Hall.”
The NCSHOF was established in 1963 and has 385 members enshrined. The permanent exhibit for the NCSHOF is located on the third floor of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh.
In 2010, Durham founded 2D Consulting, LLC, which partners with colleges and sports properties nationwide. Prior to that, he spent 14 years in athletics administration at Elon University.
Durham is public address announcer at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium for football and Cameron Indoor Stadium for basketball. He has held similar duties for Atlantic Coast Conference championship events.
Durham follows Elliott, who held the position for three years and is the president of the Greensboro Sports Council.
Elliott was a senior administrator for nearly two decades with the ACC after a role with the University of North Carolina athletics department in Chapel Hill.
“Trip Durham has the talent, experience, and vision to lead this Hall of Fame into an exciting future,” Jerry McGee, president of the NCSHOF board of directors, said in a statement. “We look forward to benefitting from his expertise, as he will bring new perspectives in the areas of external relations and sports marketing.”
Durham, an East Carolina graduate, is a past president of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators and a former chairman of the Alamance County Chamber. He serves on the commission for the Burlington Recreation and Parks.
Durham, 54, said this could be another fulfilling role in his career.
“It feels like I should do this,” he said, noting what he sees as grand possibilities for growth of the NCSHOF. “What a fun, neat way it would be to finish out this sports life.”
