Dr. Everett Abney, a member of the Bethune-Cookman University Athletics Hall of Fame, has passed away at the age of 78.

A 1959 graduate of then Bethune-Cookman College, Abney was a standout basketball player for the Wildcats under head coach Raymon Thornton.

After graduation, he began a career in secondary education that included stints as a football, basketball and baseball coach at Lincoln Park High School in Clermont, Florida, where he would serve as Principal from 1967-68.

Dr. Abney would return home to South Florida and serve as  a principal for the Dade County Public School System, where he was honored for his leadership as principal at Northwestern High School in Miami. He would later serve as the North Central Area Superintendent.

He concluded his career as an Area Superintendent for policy planning, accountability, desegregation and technology for the Broward County School System.

While in South Florida, Dr. Abney worked behind the scenes recruiting students for Bethune-Cookman and helping promote and organize events benefiting his alma mater, including the South Florida Classic and promotional games in the former Miami Orange Bowl.

A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Dr. Abney was inducted in the B-CU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. He is survived by four children.

His memorial service will take play on Saturday, May 16, at Miami Northwestern High School. A time has yet to be announced.