The Italian Basketball Hall of Fame ( it, Italia Basket Hall of Fame, IBHOF) is a hall of fame that honours individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of Italian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, through their sporting contributions, their behaviour and their actions in support of the game in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The

Italian Basketball Federation The Italian Basketball Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Pallacanestro; FIP) is the governing body of basketball in Italy. It is based in Rome. It organises national competitions in Italy and the Italian basketball leagues, which operate th ...

has inducted a class every year since 2007 (counting for the previous year) with an official ceremony that crowns athletes (male and female), coaches, referees or other figureheads who have contributed to Italian basketball, with a maximum of seven inductees per year (teams exempted). Those also in the Naismith Hall of Fame or the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...

are not limited in number, in addition, two individuals who are deceased at most can also be inducted in memoriam yearly.

History

The Hall of Fame was established by the

(FIP) on 16 September 2006, with the first class (that of 2006) inducted on 11 February 2007 in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

. Sandro Riminucci, who broke a LBA record with 77 points in 1963, Sandro Gamba, who had a hand in defeating the

Soviet Union national basketball team The Soviet Union men's national basketball team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по баскетболу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po basketbolu) was the national basketball team that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After t ...

at the 1980 Olympics, Dado Lombardi and Paolo Vittori were honoured, as well as Cesare Rubini (a Naismith Hall of Fame member like Gamba) and

Dino Meneghin Dino Meneghin (, ; born 18 January 1950) is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall center, Meneghi ...

(in both the Naismith and

). The 2008 class, inducted in Bologna on 22 February 2009, saw former

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

head coach Ettore Messina amongst the inductees. The 2014 class, inducted in

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on 23 March 2015, had a number of former Pallacanestro Varese members;

Antonio Bulgheroni Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

was crowned for his career both as Varese player (winning three LBA titles) and president (adding the 1999 title to become the only person to have won both as player and president), whilst

Marino Zanatta Marino Zanatta (born 8 February 1947) is a retired Italian professional basketball player. In 2014, he was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame. Professional career Zanatta was a four time EuroLeague champion (1972, 1973, 1975, 19 ...

and Fabrizio Della Fiori were honoured for their playing contributions to their clubs and the senior

Italian national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team ( it, Nazionale di pallacanestro dell'Italia) represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBa ...

Inductees

Athletes

The honour is bestowed on athletes that have distinguished themselves on the domestic or international front, with either a minimum of 50 or 30 national team

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to respectively the men's national team and the women's national team, an Italian domestic first division ( LBA) title, a European-wide cup title, or a medal at the senior EuroBasket, FIBA World Cup, or Summer Olympic Games. They have to have stopped playing for at least five years prior to the nomination.

Head coaches

The honour is bestowed to

head coaches A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

who have distinguished themselves at home or abroad, winning either a medal at the senior EuroBasket, FIBA World Cup, or

Olympic Summer Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, a European-wide

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

competition, or the Italian first division title ( LBA) with either men's or women's teams and clubs. They have to be at least 65 years old at their nomination, and possess a national coaching license. Only one can be designated per year.

Teams

The honour can be bestowed to an Italian basketball

that has distinguished itself on the national or international scene, by winning Italian first division ( LBA) titles or European-wide cups, and who has through its actions and results, left a vivid memory to basketball followers. If the club is defunct, the prize can be received by a representative former member. It can also be awarded to an Italian national team ( men's or women's), that has won a medal in a EuroBasket, FIBA World Cup, or Summer Olympic Games.

Referees

The honour can be bestowed to

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

who have distinguished themselves, at home or abroad, that have officiated for at least 10 years. They must have participated in at least a senior level EuroBasket, FIBA World Cup, Summer Olympic Games, or a European-wide cup final for clubs, for either men or women. The awardee must have stopped officiating for at least five years, prior to the award. Only one can be designated per year.

Contributors ("a life for basketball")

The "a life for basketball" honour ( it, premio "una vita per il basket"), is awarded to those who have contributed significantly to the development of Italian basketball, be it domestically or internationally. They receive recognition for their actions in either Italian or international sports organisations. Any contributor who has been involved in Italian basketball, for at least twenty years, can be designated. There is a single designation per year, unless otherwise warranted by special circumstances.

In memoriam

The Italian Basketball Hall of Fame, can also honour deceased individuals, who have contributed significantly to the development of Italian basketball, be it domestically or internationally. A single awardee can be chosen each year, and nominations aren't accepted. The

chooses the individual honoured in memoriam itself.

References

External links

Official website
Retrieved 13 September 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Basketball Hall of Fame Awards established in 2006 Basketball in Italy Basketball museums and halls of fame Halls of fame in Italy 2006 establishments in Italy European basketball awards