IBCA E-Newsletter

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame report

The passing of another year brings great enthusiasm and continued passion to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. On Oct. 1 last year, we were just dreaming about reopening our expanded facility. Now it has become a reality. Our museum continues to thrive, and guests continue to pour in to experience our newly renovated 21,000-square-foot museum and everything it has to offer. If you haven’t made it our way yet, we encourage and welcome you soon.

As we mentioned previously, Henry Community Health continues to be a great partner of ours, and we are thankful for its support of the Hall of Fame Classic. In addition to the “Classic,” Henry Community Health is now our admission partner, so every guest who comes through our doors is now free of charge. We are also offering free field trips into the museum for any school group, team or outside group that would like to tour our wonderful museum. We also are starting “mobile field trips,” where we can bring the museum to you. Please contact our office if this is something that interests you.

Speaking of Henry Community Health, our Hall of Fame Classic this December (which is before Christmas this year) once again brings a star-studded lineup:

2025 HENRY COMMUNITY HEALTH HALL OF FAME CLASSIC

Girls Tournament: Monday, Dec. 22

Warsaw vs. Evansville Central, 11:00 a.m. (EST)
Norwell vs. Plainfield, to follow
Consolation game, 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Championship game, to follow

Boys Tournament, Tuesday, Dec. 23

Mt. Vernon (Fortville) vs. Northview, 11:00 a.m. (EST)
Silver Creek vs. Crown Point, 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 2026. 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 comes added costs. Thanks to the generous support of our 2025 membership campaign, we recently have been able to upgrade our exhibits, add new, exciting graphics and work on extending our physical footprint.

We cannot thank you all enough for the support you have shown our organization, and we hope we are able to showcase that in what we are able to do. We want to make our members proud, and attempt to find new ways to do that all the time. THANK YOU again for all your loyal support for our mission of “honoring, preserving and promoting the heritage of Indiana High School Basketball.”

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 website, 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 website.

Our gift shop also is available through the website. 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