BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Michael Hart, who starred on the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball program from 1994-96, has been identified as the newest Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Legend.
This announcement comes in anticipation of the 2025 OVC Basketball Championships in Evansville, Ind. on March 5-8. Hart will be recognized through video board tributes and public address announcements throughout the tournament held at the Ford Center.
Hart becomes the 10th Skyhawk honoree in the OVC Basketball Legends initiative, which was founded in 2015. Hart joins DeWayne “Pooh” Powell (2023), Mike Meschede (2020), Jared Newson (2018) and Lester Hudson (2016) as UT Martin men’s players in the program while Skyhawk women’s representatives include Andreika Jackson (2024), Tara Tansil-Gentry (2022), Pat Head Summitt (2019), Jasmine Newsome (2017) and Heather Butler (2015).
A Lebanon, Mo. native, Hart departed the Skyhawk program with 1,119 career points – ranking fifth all-time despite the fact that he just played a pair of seasons under the late head coach Cal Luther. Hart was a two-time All-OVC recipient and was crowned as UT Martin’s first OVC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per outing in 1994-95. He followed an all-league second-team mention with an All-OVC first team award as a senior, improving his numbers to 22.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest while breaking the school record for most field goals made (246).
For his Skyhawk career, Hart averaged 20.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 54.9 percent from the floor. He was inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 and was also spotlighted on the OVC All-75th Anniversary Team in the summer of 2023.
Hart joins the following in the OVC Basketball Legends Class of 2025: Craig DeWitt (Eastern Illinois, 1977-80); Lindsey Medlen Ward (Lindenwood, 2016-20); Alicia Cash (Little Rock, 2009-13); Donna Stephens (Morehead State, 1978-82); Tyler Stone (Southeast Missouri, 2011-15); Lori Sebastian (SIUE, 1987-91); Chris Bowles (Southern Indiana, 1990-94); Kim Graves (Tennessee State, 1991-93, 94-96); Jimmy Hagan (Tennessee Tech, 1957-60) and Ceola Clark III (Western Illinois, 2008-13).