Where has the time gone?
This time last year, we were just dreaming about the possibility of breaking ground on our new expansion, yet a little less than a year later here we are; about to finish Phase 1 and have the building complete.
Phase 2, which will be the museum build and install hopefully will be complete by early November, but much with weather postponing basketball games, we will wait and see how much nature or shipping delays plays nice with us. Fingers crossed!
Even though we have been working remotely much of the last two months, our office staff has continued to work hard to make sure the day-to-day operations of the Hall of Fame continue to run smoothly and our tasks continue to get done as they normally would. We are extremely fortunate to have the office staff that we do along with our Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Associate Directors and volunteers who have continued to make sure we are doing things the right way and are able to continue to carry on the passion, history and tradition of Indiana basketball.
Henry Community Health continues to be a great partner of ours, and we are thankful for its support of the Hall of Fame Classic. While we have other great news to share (in the future) with Henry Community Health, lets focus on the present.
2024 will bring a great lineup to New Castle for our two-day tournament:
2024 HENRY COMMUNITY HEALTH HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
Girls Tournament: Friday, Dec. 27
Lawrence Central vs. Homestead, 11:00 a.m. (EST)
South Knox vs. Hamilton Southeastern, to follow
Consolation game, 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Championship game, to follow
Boys Tournament, Saturday, Dec. 28
Fishers vs. Warsaw, 11:00 a.m. (EST)
Greenfield-Central vs. Jeffersonville, to follow
Consolation game, 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Championship game, to follow
Thanks to the leadership of the IBCA, one task we have both taken to heart is increasing the partnership between our organizations. The Hall of Fame would like to thank the IBCA for everything that it does for us, and hopefully the partnership will continue to grow and flourish. We are playing for the same team
and in this game together.
As an IBCA member, we are asking for your support by becoming an annual member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for 2025.The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is the finest high school Hall of Fame in the world. This is possible because of the support of people who have lived Indiana high school basketball, including coaches such as you. Your involvement is important to us, as current high school coaches will be needed to step into future Hall of Fame leadership roles as the guardians of the history of Indiana high school basketball.
Indiana was the first state to have a facility dedicated strictly to high school basketball. We continually receive praise from our visitors from Indiana and beyond while drawing comparisons to or praise greater than the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Massachusetts.
As with all facilities, the cost of operating, maintaining and now replacing parts of our building continue to rise. We have been fortunate that our facility in New Castle is in good condition. But with age, there come added costs. Thanks to the generous support of our 2024 membership campaign, we recently have been able to upgrade our exhibits, add new, exciting graphics and work on extending our physical footprint.
We broke ground on our 6,500-square-foot expansion on Oct. 12, 2023, and we look forward to what that completed expansion will bring. This addition will allow us to expand our gift shop, create a larger archive room and, most importantly, expand our museum space to be able to be more interactive and showcase more of what makes our great game unique to Indiana. Lots of great things are happening right now, and we thank you for being a part of that.
Basketball has played an important role in the lives of many Hoosiers. Your annual membership makes you part of the team that sustains our museum as the finest high school basketball museum in the world. As part of our web site, you may make online membership contributions or donations. Please join by completing our online membership form at Membership | Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame with your tax-deductible gift. Be sure to check the benefits listed when viewing the web site.
Our gift shop also is available through the web site. Please see these items and plenty of Indiana basketball history at www.hoopshall.com.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to the Hall.
Matt Martin, executive director
