The David S. Palmer Arena in Danville has announced it will become the home of the Greater Illiana Sports Hall of Fame. The effort is being led by Hall of Fame basketball coach John Spezia and sports historian and legendary voice of the Fightin’ Illini, Jim Sheppard. They say the new Illiana Sports Hall of Fame will feature plaques, pictures and sports memorabilia from across the region.
‘’This will be a way to honor our past players, coaches, teams and legends of sports in the Western Indiana and Eastern Illinois area,’’ said a statement released for the endeavor. It added efforts are being developed to raise funds for local youth groups and scholarships.
Spezia says there will be four categories for the new Greater Illiana Sports Hall of Fame: Coaches, Players, Teams and Legends. Both males and females will be honored.
For the first induction class Spezia says the criteria will be: State Champion or National Champion as an individual or team, a coach or player who is in a State or National Hall of Fame or a former professional athlete. The criteria for the Legend category are someone who does not fit into any of the previous categories but has made an outstanding contribution to sports in the area.
Spezia and Sheppard are seeking nominations for the new Greater Illiana Sports Hall of Fame. You can send your nomination(s) to coachspeziainc@aol.com or shepjim48@gmail.com.
The goal is to announce members of the inaugural class in late October this year, with the first induction ceremony and banquet to be held in June of 2021.
