Cleveland State Community College is pleased to announce its official launch of its Sports Hall of Fame.

“We are celebrating 45 years of men’s basketball this year, so we thought this would be a good time to recognize athletics at CSCC and people who have made an impact on athletics by beginning a Sports Hall of Fame,” stated Mike Policastro, Athletic Director. “There are not many junior colleges that do this, but it has been in discussion for the past couple of years and with the anniversary coming up, we felt like it was the perfect time to do it.”

Policastro went on to state that since this is the inception year, the committee will only be recognizing those athletes that played from 1967-1980 this year, and CSCC plans to recognize those athletes playing after 1980 in future years.Cleveland State has formed a 9-member selection committee, responsible for the review of nominees and approval of those who will appear in the Sports Hall of Fame.

The committee includes:

Mike Policastro—Athletic Director, Baseball Coach

• Lee Cigliano—Men’s Basketball Coach

• Dan Lumpkin—Women’s Basketball Coach, Former Softball Coach

• Jim Cigliano—Former Region VII Director; All Sports, Former Athletic Director, Commissioner, TCCAA

• Steve Longley—Former Athletic Director, Basketball Coach, Softball Coach, Golf Coach

• Jason Sewell—Former Golf Coach

• Tony Cavett—Former Tennis Coach

• Tom Losh—Former Men’s Basketball Coach

• Hugh Walker—Former Softball Coach, Women’s Basketball Coach

“We have a great history of people on this selection committee,” stated Policastro. “Not just because they coached at CSCC, but we thought they would bring great perspective to the process because of their history; they all have had much success during their time here.”           

The selection committee has established an election process that will take place once each year. The public is encouraged to submit applications to nominate individuals for the Sports Hall of Fame during the nomination submittal period going on now through August for the second induction class. Nomination forms are available by going to the website at cscougars.com. Nomination forms will stay in consideration for five years without having to be nominated again.

To be eligible for the Sports Hall of Fame, all nominees must meet the following criteria determined by the selection committee:

Player:

Criteria for induction for a player to the Hall of Fame would include excellence in athletic performance conference, state, and national honors.

Each nominee must have made a significant contribution to Cleveland State athletics and have shown academic and community accomplishments.

Coach / Administrator:

Criteria for induction for a coach or administrator to the Hall of Fame would include a person who has had an accomplished career of service at Cleveland State and who had a significant impact on the growth of the athletics program during their tenure.

Team:

Criteria for team induction to the Hall of Fame would be a team that has outstanding accomplishments in the field of competition.

Meritorious / Community Service:

Criteria for nomination to the Hall of Fame would be an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to Cleveland State Athletics.

All nominations to the Cleveland State Hall of Fame may be made by Cleveland State athletic staff, alumni, friends of the program and or college, and former players.            

Selections will be made with formal recognition at the home basketball game against Chattanooga State on Saturday, February 9 between the men’s and women’s game.            

“The purpose is going to be two fold; it is a celebration of 45 years of men’s basketball coupled with the launch of the Sports Hall of Fame,” stated Policastro. We are really looking forward to it, and it should be a pretty exciting event.”                     

For more information on the Sports Hall of Fame or to nominate someone, visit the Athletic website at cscougars.com.