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History of the IBCA

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association originated in 1971 in a room at the Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis. Two Coaches from each of the five Indiana High School Athletic Association districts and Virgil Sweet attended. The IBCA’s goals were education and fellowship.

The late Marion Crawley was the first executive Director, followed by Virgil Sweet. Bob King, George Griffith. Current Executive Director Steve Witty assumed the position in the summer of 2002. Coach Witty has been Executive Director from 2002 to present, and is the longest tenured leader of the IBCA.

The IBCA is the voice of the Indiana Basketball Coaches. Its’ Board and district representatives meet during the year to formulate and communicate ideas and recommendations to the Indiana High School Athletic Association concerning Indiana High School Basketball.

The IBCA has gone through two major changes through all the years. With the inclusion of Girl’s basketball coaches, the membership has grown to over twenty-five hundred members each year. The IBCA has become one of the largest High School Basketball Coaches Associations in America. The second major change came in 1996 when the IHSAA voted to go to a class tournament beginning in 1998. This presented a tremendous challenge to the IBCA as the hallowed history of Indiana Basketball was changed. In 2001 the IBCA went “online” for the first time. We are proud to say that the IBCA still remains as strong as ever.

The IBCA publishes an e-newsletter in the fall and in the spring. A spring clinic is the Association’s major sponsored event, and is attended by 800-1,200 coaches from Indiana and from around the country. The clinic features sixteen speakers in two days, which includes four college speakers and twelve high school coaches (both boys and girls coaches of the year). This makes it a very unique clinic.

Each year the IBCA provides many boys and girls college grants of seven hundred and fifty dollars each. Through the years, the IBCA is proud to have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to deserving student athletes.

The IBCA issues its own boys’ and girls’ high school Basketball polls featuring the top twenty teams in the state. The poll committee is made up of forty-four boys and girls head coaches representing each district and class. This group of coaches also selects the IBCA’s boy’s and girl’s all-state team. These All-State teams are made up of fifteen seniors. In addition, there is a boys and girls Underclassmen All State team of fifteen players selected. This committee also selects the boys and girls Junior All-Star teams that compete and help prepare the Senior Indiana All-Stars for the annual Indiana vs Kentucky all-star series.

As we enter the twenty-first century, we find the IBCA entering another era of change. In 2001 the IBCA went on line for the first time. The web site is continually being upgraded and improved to better meet the needs of the coaches and players in our state.

In 2007 the IBCA became involved in the Coaches vs Cancer Initiative. January is now designated as coaches vs cancer month for High School basketball in Indiana. To date, through the efforts of our coaches, players and school communities, a large amount of funds have been raised to fight cancer.

The IBCA also provides a Job Placement Service for its’ members. This has been a part of the IBCA since inception. In 1984, Executive Director, Virgil Sweet recruited Gene Milner to become Job Placement Director and he has continued that job under the following Executive Directors: Bob King, George Griffith, and current Executive Director Steve Witty. Gene also publishes the Indiana High School Basketball Record Book (boys). This publication comes out each spring and has been done in association with the IBCA since 1983. Gene has been the Job Placement Director from 1984 to present, the Record Book Publisher from 1983 to present, and the IBCA Website Coordinator from 2004 to present.

In April and July of 2003, the IBCA in conjunction with the IHSAA began conducting annual boys and girls underclassmen showcases. These events are designed to showcase and provide collegiate exposure for the best underclassmen talent that the state of Indiana has to offer. All High School coaches have the opportunity to recommend their players and the best players that they have observed. These recommendations are then submitted to a committee of IBCA District Representative who determine which players across the state will receive invitations. These showcases are held at Ben Davis High School. Each year over 100 college coaches are in attendance to observe the talent.

The IBCA is very proud of the history and growth of our organization and the heritage of our great game of basketball in Indiana.

 

The History of the IBCA in the 21st Century

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association had been in existence for 25 years when the organization entered the 21st Century. The IBCA Board consisted of the following:

The Executive Director – Appointed position with approval of the Board.

The President – Elected by membership.

The Past President – Elected by membership.

Vice President – Elected by membership.

Vice President Girls Basketball – Appointed position with approval of Board.

District Reps from 5 districts – Each district had 2 men and 1 woman. Total # of district reps15

The men District reps were elected by the membership.

The women were not elected by IBCA membership but came from appointments from the Girls Basketball committee of the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association. (ICGSA)