December 14, 2005
The Illinois High School Association today (Dec. 14) announced its list of nominees for the "100 Legends" to be honored at the 2007 boys basketball tournament – the centennial celebration of hoops hysteria in Illinois.
Over the next fourteen weeks, fans of high school basketball will be able to register their preference for the players and coaches they think deserve recognition as lasting legends of the state tournament. Voting will take place on the IHSA's web site (www.ihsa.org) starting Thursday, December 15, and ending Sunday, March 19, 2006.
The Legends election and accompanying events are sponsored by the COUNTRY Insurance and Financial Services and the National Association of Realtors®.
A smorgasbord of 281 talented individuals, the Legends ballot is broken down into seven regions of the state and three tournament eras. All told there are 20 different groups to vote on, but it's likely many fans will stick to the nominees they know best, the ones closest to home. For example, voters in western Illinois can call up the Division 6 ballot and vote for two of the six nominees from the Pioneer Era (1908-40), four of the fifteen nominees from the Golden Age (1941-71), and six of the twenty nominees from Modern Times (1972-2005).
Voting will proceed through the end of the 2006 boys basketball tournaments. When all the ballots are tallied, 82 Legends will be elected. The remaining 18 legends will be selected by a blue-ribbon committee that will consider player and coach nominees who missed election by the fans, as well as officials, members of the media, and friends of the game. The team of 100 Legends will be announced to the public in late March or April, 2006. Members of the team will be invited to attend the 2007 boys tournament and participate in special events at the centennial gala and autograph a commemorative "Ball of Fame" that will be auctioned off to a lucky fan. The proceeds from the Ball of Fame raffle will go to the Illinois High School Activities Foundation, which annually awards scholarships to high school students from member schools.
"We're thrilled to be able to celebrate our boys basketball centennial by directly involving the fans, who have supported our tournament in great numbers throughout the years," said Executive Director Marty Hickman. "The Legends election and the Ball of Fame are fun ways to get folks interested in our rich history and set the table for a terrific celebration in 2007."
"Some of the nominations will no doubt surprise people," said Assistant Executive Director Scott Johnson. "Our criteria were strict in that the nominations were based on performance in state final tournament games and super-sectional games only. A lot of great players and coaches never made it to state, or only participated in a game or two. Our overriding goal was to present a list of nominees who in the final analysis might be considered 'persons who made a significant contribution to or a lasting impression on the state final tournament.' "
The procedures for the 100 Legends election will be as follows:
1. ELIGIBILITY FOR NOMINATION AS A LEGEND: All nominees for direct election by the fans must have participated (as a player or coach) in at least one game at the IHSA boys state final tournament from 1908 to 2005.
2. NOMINEE GROUPS: Voting will be conducted in a total of 20 groups representing seven geographic areas of the state and three eras of high school basketball. The seven geographic areas will mirror the present IHSA Board of Directors divisions. The three eras will be the Pioneer Era (1908-40), the Golden Age (1941-71), and Modern Times (1972-2005). (Because Board Division 1 had minimal participation in the state finals prior to 1941, no fan voting will conducted in this group.) Persons who participated in more than one geographic area or era will be placed in the group that most accurately represents their participation.
3. ELECTION BY FANS: For each Pioneer Era group of nominees, fans will elect two Legends from a slate of 6 nominees. For each Golden Age group, fans will elect four Legends from a slate of 15 nominees. For each Modern Times group, fans will elect six Legends from a slate of 20 nominees. Altogether fans will elect 82 Legends, ten from IHSA Board of Directors Division 1 and twelve from the other six Board Divisions.
4. ONLINE VOTING PROCEDURES: Online fan voting will be conducted through the IHSA Web site (www.ihsa.org) from Thursday, December 15, 2005 through Sunday, March 19, 2006. Fans may vote an unlimited number of times in any or all of the 20 groups. Fans may cast up to two write-in votes on any ballot. IHSA reserves the right to cancel votes that show a pattern of mechanical ballot-stuffing.
5. AT-LARGE SELECTION: After the 82 Legends elected by the fans have been determined, an additional 18 Legends will be selected by a blue-ribbon committee. The committee will consider nominees who missed election by the fans as well as contributors in various non-competitive categories such as officials, media, and administration.
6. ANNOUNCEMENT OF LEGENDS: The 100 Legends will be announced on the IHSA Web site at a date to be determined in March or April, 2006.
| Nominees for the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament | ||
|---|---|---|
| PIONEER ERA | GOLDEN AGE | MODERN TIMES |
| Board
Division 1 (1908 to 1940)
(no ballot -- Chicago teams had limited participation in the state tournament prior to 1940) |
Board
Division 1 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board Division 1
(1972 to 2005) |
Board
Division 2 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 2 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 2 (1972 to 2005)
|
Board
Division 3 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 3 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 3 (1972 to 2005)
|
Board
Division 4 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 4 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 4 (1972 to 2005)
|
Board
Division 5 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 5 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 5 (1972 to 2005)
|
Board
Division 6 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 6 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 6 (1972 to 2005)
|
Board
Division 7 (1908 to 1940)
|
Board
Division 7 (1941 to 1971)
|
Board
Division 7 (1972 to 2005)
|
Click here for the Legends Nominees Press Kit, including state tournament statistics (Microsoft Word Document).