Myron Moen, from Sisseton, continues to do what he can to preserve the history of basketball in South Dakota.
Moen founded the South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, which now has a permanent home in the Pentagon from Sanford to Sioux Falls.
His latest project involves the creation of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Basketball Hall of Fame. Fourteen players will be inducted into the hall during a program scheduled for Wednesday, October 27 at 3 p.m. at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.
Following the induction ceremony, the inductees will be presented at halftime of the Dakota Wesleyan-Dakota State men’s basketball game that same night.
“We just wanted to find a way to protect this whole basketball thing in the SDIC. The story is so amazing, ”said Moen, who sits on the board of directors for the New Hall of Fame with Jim Schlekeway, Randy Fletcher, Mac Rops and Jason Smidt.
“This council and many others felt the need to organize the new SDIC Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame and give credit to other players who were just as talented and perhaps better than some who have already been recognized. “
The SDIC had been in existence for over 80 years, opening in 1917 and closing in 2000. At one point, almost all colleges / universities in South Dakota – with the exception of South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota – attended the conference with a couple you may never have heard of, such as Columbus College in Chamberlain or Redfield College in Redfield.
Other schools such as Huron College, Yankton College, and Southern State College (or USD-Springfield) have closed several times since the late 1970s.
Moen said the SDIC Hall of Fame was established in the late 1970s at Huron College and an induction ceremony was held annually or every two years from around 1980 to 1999.
“A lot of the early inductees were contributors and coaches, not so much players,” Moen said.
A large notice board listing the various members of the Hall of Fame has been on display at Corn Palace in Mitchell for many years and can now be found in the basement of the Springfield Museum. The table includes the names of 111 people from various sports, not just basketball.
New board focuses on recognizing male basketball players – some who weren’t fortunate enough to be inducted before the league disbanded and others who have been overlooked over the years .
The 2021 induction class includes former Thomas and Watertown High School player Gene Smith, who is now 90 years old and lives in Visalia, Calif. Smith and fellow inductee Jack Ecklund of Sisseton were teammates on the Huron College teams that won the SDIC Championship four times between 1949 and 1952. Smith was a 6-foot-3 goaltender and Ecklund a 6-6 cross.
Other inductees in 2021 are Cliff Anderson and Brett Schwartz of Dakota State College in Madison, Jim Van Gerpen of Southern College in Springfield, Joe Divis and Jeff Stevens of Black Hills State, Darrell Eisenbraun of Huron College, Jim Kampen and DuWayne Groos of Northern State College in Aberdeen, Chad Kramer and Mitch Slusarski from South Dakota Tech and Alan Miller and Scott Morgan from Dakota Wesleyan. Groos is from Sisseton and Kampen is from Corona.
“Miller and Morgan are two of the best players in SDIC history and they were dropped from the SDIC Hall of Fame,” said Moen, who played on the SDIC’s Class A basketball championship team. Sisseton High School, undefeated in 1963, before becoming a member of SDIC Hall. of Famer as a basketball player at General Beadle College (now known as Dakota State).
The SDIC Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors has compiled a list of original SDIC Hall of Fame members with basketball backgrounds and wants to make sure they find a way to honor all the players who deserve it.
“The only requirement we have is that they must have been an All-SDIC player for at least two years in basketball,” Moen said. “Our plans are to go on a year-to-year basis. We’re going to look at it one year at a time and then make the decision or the determination if we’re going to continue, because the players we’re talking about are certainly not getting any younger. “
Plans are underway, according to Moen, to have some sort of memorial in honor of these members of the SDIC Basketball Hall of Fame. The group strives to find space, potentially in Dakota Wesleyan, for a monument or any other type of object desired by the host site.
Moen said only players who have played in the SDIC can nominate other players for the induction. For more information, they can call Moen at 651-8322 or email: [email protected].
SDIC Basketball Hall of Fame
Moen and fellow board members Schlekeway (Northern State), Fletcher (Dakota Wesleyan) and Rops (Mount Marty) are each former SDIC basketball players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in the past. SDIC.
Other inductees, listed by school, include:
• Northern State – Rich Andrzejewski, Gary Evjen, Wm L Jordan, Mel Klein, Harry Marske and Mo Mack.
• Dakota Wesleyan – Elton Byre, Tom Billars, Glenn Draisey, Gordon Fosness, Greg Hansen, George Smith and Wayne Thue.
• Yankton College – Kaye Besanon.
• Southern state – Max Becker, Dick Drapeau, Arlo Mogck, Gary Merkwan, Jerry Wingen and Jon Westling.
• Huron College – Terry DuPris, Garney Henley, Carold Heier, Lyle Kraft, Vern McKee and Dan Wollman.
• Black Hills State – Maurice Fitzgerald, Jim Lampshere, Jeff Lamb, Mike Savoy and Kim Templeton.
• South Dakota Technology – Chuck Neller and Doug Schlepp.
• Sioux Falls College – Gayle Hoover.