Indiana honors high school basketball officials with annual Hall of Fame award
Indiana’s basketball officials earn a place on a permanent plaque in New Castle after passing a $50 licensing path and keeping the game running statewide.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame puts officials on the same stage as the game’s better-known names. Each year, the Center Circle Officials Award goes out at the men’s and women’s banquets, and the honorees are added as officials, not inductees, to a permanent plaque at the museum in New Castle.
That recognition sits on top of a larger system the Indiana High School Athletic Association says the sport cannot do without. The IHSAA states plainly that without officials, there are no high school sports, and its officiating pathway is built to keep new people coming in while giving veteran officials a reason to stay.
A prospective official must be a high school graduate, register online and take a computer-generated open-book test. A score of 75 percent or better is required, and the fee is $50 for up to three sports in a single year. Once licensed, officials are encouraged to join one of the state’s 24 officials associations and attend an annual rules interpretation meeting.
The IHSAA also frames officiating as more than rule enforcement. It describes the work as flexible, a way to bring in a little extra income, and a chance for adults to stay connected to the game while serving as a positive influence on young athletes. In a state where basketball is woven into school identity from November through March, that pipeline matters just as much as the teams filling gymnasiums.
The Hall of Fame’s recent honorees show the tradition is active, not ceremonial. The 2025 women’s class included Joe Gilliland, Donnie Whitlow and Kim Yelich. The 2026 men’s honorees were Tim Fogarty, Derek Howard and Jim Wehsollek. Those names now join the plaque in New Castle, a public marker for work that usually happens out of the spotlight.
For Indiana basketball, that is the hidden structure behind every varsity and JV game: trained officials who know the rules, work through local associations, and are still valued enough to be recognized by the state’s most prominent basketball shrine.
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