Yesterday was one of the most significant, fun, frustrating, difficult and exciting days of the year for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame board of directors.
It was Selection Wednesday.
It’s the one day of the year a huge turnout of board members can be counted on because it is the day the next induction class into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is decided.
For coaches, athletes, officials and others, there is no bigger honor than joining the company of some of the most distinguished names in Arkansas sports history.
Having served on the board for several years, and now finishing up the first year of a two-year stint as president, the question most asked is how do you nominate or vote on someone for the Hall of Fame.
It’s really simple: Join the Hall of Fame. A $75 membership gives you the right to nominate someone and to vote, and every vote counts.
A few years ago the bylaws were changed so that the top two vote-getters from the membership are automatically in the next class. It is expected that the top vote-getter in the senior and posthumous divisions will get in as well in the future.
The board does have veto power, but it is not used much. It is there in case the person receiving the votes does not fit the criteria for that year or has a scheduling conflict. There is also a veto for lack of character, but we have never run into that.
There are, of course, other questions about nominating someone. For example, I recently had a long, civil conversation with a gentleman about someone who has been nominated but isn’t getting enough votes. In a nutshell, that nominee is worthy of induction but apparently there aren’t that many current members of the Hall of Fame who are fans of his particular sport.
Joining the Hall of Fame is an open membership, and fans of all sports are encouraged to join so they can vote.
After the top two vote-getters’ names are set aside, the board works from the next 13 nominations by the membership, plus the top female vote-getter if she isn’t among the top 15 who received the most votes. That’s how the last three to four spots are determined.
That is also the lively part, as there are some pretty impassioned talks about friends, former teammates and coaches.
The board is very diverse. That was one of the first things Ray Tucker set out to do when he became executive director in 1998.
Actually, I was about to resign from the board when the incoming president, Bob McGibbony, asked me to stay. I had been extremely disappointed in a board meeting when four members fell asleep. Since then, the board has become much more varied and more awake.
There are those who believe the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is a bunch of good old boys getting together to honor some former Razorbacks.
I don’t know if that has ever been true, but it certainly hasn’t been in a long time. In the past few years, almost every college in Arkansas has had someone inducted and a number of high school coaches have gone into the Hall of Fame.
We also have started giving college scholarships, and there is a lot of focus on increasing the number of scholarships and the dollar amounts for some deserving Arkansas high school students.
From the time the executive committee met at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday until the final vote was taken, it was an interesting meeting and an interesting day.
The latest class will be announced Sunday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and it is a heck of a good class with some really deserving people.
Sports, Pages 18 on 12/19/2013