KENT — A former Kent State basketball star is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The NFL announced the 2025 Hall of Fame class Thursday night, and retired tight-end Antonio Gates was among the inductees.
It was a unique journey that originally started on the basketball court at Kent State.
Gates was known as a basketball star and helped the Golden Flashes win their first MAC regular season championship, leading them to the elite 8 in the 2002 NCAA tournament.
“I am so proud of him and to see where he's come from and where he's gone. He was an inner-city kid from Detroit and didn’t come from a lot,” said former Kent State Coach Stan Heath.
Heath was Gates' basketball coach when he attended Kent State. He said he was shocked and excited when he heard Gates was becoming a hall of famer.
“To see him try out to get to San Diego where I think he was on the practice squad, then it materialized to a guy who was playing, then all of a sudden he becomes a key player and now he is heading to the hall of fame. That's the part that has me like, 'Wow, look at where he started and where he's gone now,'” Heath said.
Despite not playing college football, Gates signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2003.
“He’s one of the most dominant offensive players that the NFL has ever seen,” said Kent State Vice President Director of intercollegiate athletic Randale Richmond.
Richmond worked as a graduate assistant when Gates was on the Golden Flashes, seeing first-hand the impact Gates had on the basketball court and then the football field.
“It wasn't often that you see a person go from being a dominant collegiate basketball player to being an athlete in the NFL, let alone an NFL athlete [who] revolutionized the tight end position.” Said Richmond.
During Gates' 16-year NFL career, he scored 116 touchdowns, which is still the most for any tight end in the NFL.
“I asked him, 'How did you end up being so gifted at this stuff?' and he goes, 'Because a lot of times, I just play football like I play basketball.' He has a mind that really separates himself in a lot of ways to go with that talent he has,” Heath said.
That talent will be immortalized at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
"We're extremely proud of what he's been able to accomplish. And he's always been a great representative of what Kent State has meant, and what Kent State athletics stands for. We're going to be very present; it’s right there in our backyard. And anyone who's seeing this, anyone who's not seeing this, you're going to hear about it,” Richmond said.
