Tennessee's Bud Ford has gone from writing up media releases to appearing in them.

Ford, the associate director of athletics and media relations at UT, is among 10 who will be inducted into this, the 25th class of the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.

"It seems Bud has been in the Knoxville sports scene since they laid the first brick at the university,'' said Doug Dickey, who worked with Ford as both the Vols' football coach and athletic director.

"Bud has always been an extremely diligent guy about his duties and responsibilities, and he has produced thousands of documents in support of UT.''

Former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning was one of the greatest beneficiaries of Ford's work, and now it's Manning giving back. The NFL All-Pro quarterback will be the featured speaker at this year's Hall of Fame banquet on July 27 at the Knoxville Convention Center.

Ford, a Knoxville native and West High School and UT graduate, enters the Hall after serving more than 40 years in his profession. He began his career as a part-time employee in the Vols' publicity office in 1964 while he completed studies, finishing his bachelor's degree in retailing in 1966.

During the next 35 years, Ford worked alongside Haywood Harris, a revered member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame.

"Bud is the most-thorough guy that ever was, as far as getting all the information,'' Harris said. "He always has it available for people. He keeps records no one would even think of having.

"Anyone could call in here and ask anything in Tennessee history, and he'll go find it. I think that has made Bud an invaluable resource for UT.''

Indeed, and Harris said Ford sees to it that the Vols' tradition in the sports information field carries on.

"Bud works with a lot of our young people here and teaches them to carry out their responsibilities,'' said Harris, who still serves UT as a historian and radio personality. "He sets a good example. He never shirks any responsibilities. He's meticulous in helping out the news media.''

Ford was elected into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in May of 2001, and he most recently received the coveted "Arch Ward Award'' as the CoSIDA member who has made outstanding contributions to the field of college sports information.

Ford will be presented with the Arch Ward Award at the organization's convention in Nashville on July 3.

Under Ford's direction, Tennessee's media publications have received more than 35 "Best in the Nation'' honors.

It's not surprising when one considers that Ford has been keeping statistics as far back as he could remember.

"I was never much of an athlete,'' Ford said. "I played baseball at West High School for Bill Wright ... the reason he kept me on the team as a manager/player was I knew how to find the baseballs when they hit foul balls.

Ford, who knew the lay of the land having grown up in nearby Sutherland Heights, also served as a manager for West's basketball and football teams.

"I was more than happy to get back into the athletic realm when Haywood (Harris) hired me,'' Ford said. "I enjoyed keeping statistics and the interaction with athletes.''

Ford said traveling with football and basketball for 28 years made it challenging for his wife, so he is quick to give great thanks to Sandy Ford for her loving support.

"Her ability to work with our children allowed me to do the job of SID,'' Ford said. "There was a period that I was traveling a lot; it and was a heavy stretch to put all that on her, but she held in there and raised Brent and Julie.''

Sandy Ford is the administrative assistant for the treasurer at UT and has worked for the school for more than 30 years.

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