IHSA’s Gibson and Johnson Named to Hall of Fame Class

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) was featured prominently among the 2021 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame class when the IBCA revealed its latest honorees on December 7, 2020. Current IHSA Associate Executive Director Kurt Gibson and recently retired IHSA Assistant Executive Director Scott Johnson were both named Hall of Fame inductees under the IBCA’s Friends of Basketball category. 

The 2020 ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19, with 2021 plans currently on hold. The IBCA hopes to hold a joint ceremony combining the 2020 and 2021 classes in the spring or summer of 2021.

Few have experienced Illinois high school basketball in as many facets as Kurt Gibson. He was directly involved in important innovations in each of the program’s he was responsible for, leading to him being honored with the prestigious Citation Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in January. 

Scott Johnson was immersed in Illinois high school basketball history even before he began working at the IHSA. His passion for records and history led him two author two books on the topic, chronicling Hebron High School’s 1952 state championship in the 2002 book, Once There Were Giants. He also led the efforts on the centennial celebration of the IHSA state tournament in the 2006 book, 100 Years of Madness.