IBCA E-Newsletter

The IBCA offers financial support for the families of selected IBCA scholarship winners each year.

In 2024, the IBCA recognized 40 students with scholarship awards – two Junior Mannies Scholarships, 34 Marion Crawley Scholarships, two Pat Aikman Character and Leadership Awards and two Steve & Jeanie Witty Scholarships.

The IBCA was able to award each honoree a stipend of $500. If funds allow, the IBCA may be able to increase the amount awarded to each recipient in future years.

IBCA Junior Mannies, Marion Crawley, Pat Aikman and Steve & Jeanie Witty scholarships were awarded last spring to deserving young people who helped perpetuate our great game of basketball in Indiana. These are students who help make coaching a great profession.

Mannies, a former IBCA job placement director, posted a 309-301 record in 29 seasons as a boys' basketball coach at Delphi, Mississinewa, Lewis Cass and Elwood. He later served as athletic director at Danville and as the IBCA Job Placement Director from 1977-83.

Crawley was a former four-time boys’ basketball state championship coach – two with the Washington Hatchets and two with the Lafayette Jeff Bronchos – who amassed 644 career wins. He later became the first executive director of the IBCA, serving in that role from 1970-74. He then served as the IBCA assistant executive director from 1974 until he passed away in 1982.

Aikman was the Indiana All-Star games director from 1988 to 2007 and the IBCA Coordinator of Special Projects from 2008 to 2010.

Steve Witty posted a 266-68 record and was a two-time boys' basketball state champion coach at Ben Davis, then served from 2002 to 2022 as IBCA executive director. Jeanie Witty, his late wife, was a registered nurse who upon retirement became Steve's administrative assistant. Jeanie passed away in April 2023 after serving the IBCA for 18 years.

• The Mannies Scholarship is presented to students who have a physical handicap but have contributed to their respective school's athletic program.
• Criteria for the Crawley Scholarship include achievement in basketball, achievement in academics, participation in extracurricular activities and service to one's school and community.
• Criteria for the Aikman Scholarship include achievements and contributions in basketball, scholastic achievement, extra-curricular activities, and service to school and community. Also, those considered for the Aikman Scholarship are students who plan to enter the fields of journalism, sports management, athletic training or physical therapy.
• Criteria for the Witty Scholarship include achievements and contributions in basketball, scholastic achievement, extra-curricular activities, and service to school and community. The Witty Scholarship awards go to student-athletes who are the child of a current-year IBCA-member coach who plans to pursue a career in education/coaching or a something in a medical field such as a physician, physician's assistant, nurse or medical technician.

The deadline to nominate seniors for 2024-25 season awards is Feb. 19, 2025.

Through the years, the IBCA has awarded about $800,000 in scholarships to our young people. The following 40 students were announced as scholarship recipients for 2024.

JUNIOR MANNIES AWARDS (2)

Student	School	Coach	Role
Lexi Smith	Princeton	Travis Connor	girls' player
Zach Wasserman	Valparaiso	Candy Wilson	student manager

MARION CRAWLEY AWARDS (34)

Student	School	Coach	Role
Bruce Amstutz	Carroll (Fort Wayne)	Ryan Abbott	student manager
Isaac Andrews	Wapahani	Matt Luce	boys' player
Addison Barnes-Pettit	Greensburg	Shaun Busick	boys' player
Max Barr	Frankton	Brent Brobston	boys' player
Payton Benge	Plainfield	Curt Benge	girls' player
Sammie Bolding	Eastern Hancock	Shari Doud	girls' player
Abigail Bovie	Leo	Carrie Shappell	girls' player
Bailey Carson	Maconaquah	Ray Davis	girls' player
Tillman Etchison	Hamilton Heights	Chad Ballenger	boys' player
Max Finn	Indianapolis Cathedral	statistician	Lisa Finn
Josh Fowler	Northview	Shawn Nevill	boys' player
Cayden Gehlhausen	Evansville North	Jason Roach	boys' player
Chloey Graham	Gibson Southern	Kyle Brasher	girls' player
Nolan Hackleman	North Putnam	Vince Brooks	boys' player
Parker Hehman	Brownstown Central	Dave Benter	boys' player
Trishtan Holmes	Gary West Side	Chris Buggs	boys' player
Blaine Hornsbry	Connersville	David McCollough	boys' player
Kaidin James	New Washington	Kirsti Holloway	girls' player
Bella Kilps	Hauser	Kyle Shipp	girls' player
Jayci Kitchen	Eastside	Michael Lortie	girls' player
Lexi Lofton	Danville	Kaley May	student manager
Ally Malone	Gibson Southern	Kyle Brasher	girls' player
Dylan Maxwell	East Central	Tyler Theising	boys' player
Andrew Noblett	Jasper	John Goebel	boys' player
Zane Norman	Evansville Mater Dei	Kurt Wildeman	boys' player
Bailey Owens	Madison	Adam Dennis	girls' player
Caressa Redd	Speedway	Joe Smith	student manager
Ellie Ryan	Oldenburg Academy	David Disbro	girls' player
Griffin Smith	Cowan	Aaron Groves	boys' player
Adam Stephenson	East Central	Tyler Theising	boys' player
Kyah Streeval	Edinburgh	Dennis Smith	girls' player
Sadie Wachsmann	Oldenburg Academy	David Disbro	girls' player
Azaryon Wesley	Princeton	Travis Connor	girls' player
Madison Wireman	Oregon-Davis	Aubrey Lady	girls' player

PAT AIKMAN AWARDS (2)

Student	School	Coach	Role
Hannah Dart	Madison	Adam Dennis	girls' player
Jayden Terry	Cowan	Aaron Groves	boys' player

STEVE & JEANIE WITTY AWARDS (2)

Student	School	Coach	Role
J.D. Lynch	Brownsburg	Steve Lynch	boys' player
Kaitlin White	Columbus North	Brett White	girls' player