Illinois Central College Athletic Hall of Fame 2023; First Class Induction
Eleuria Starfish
March 5, 2023
Illinois Central College (ICC) is officially inducting their first Athletic Hall of Fame to honor those who paved the road for student athletes success. The ceremony took place Saturday, March 4, 2023, during the sophomore games double-header men’s and women’s basketball game which closed the season. During halftime at the men’s game inductees were recognized and the official ceremony took place at 5:30 pm. This event was open to the public and admission was free.
The soon-to-be-first members of the hall include five past iconic cougar athletic members, past players, and coaches, alike.
Among the inductees is Lorene Ramsey, the namesake of the ICC gymnasium, and founder of ICC’s Women’s Basketball Program in 1969, the Softball Program in 1970 and the Volleyball Program in 1974.Ramsey is the only coach in the history of the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) to win a national championship in both basketball and softball in the same year. With the addition of this recognition, Ramsey has been inducted into 15 different halls of fame for her accomplishments in coaching various sports.
Jim Thome, Peoria, Ill native and former pro baseball player, was also inducted Saturday afternoon. Thome was drafted by the Major League Cleveland Guardians after one season at ICC. In 2021, Thome was formally recognized by ICC and is now the namesake for the baseball field, Thome Field. Thome was awarded the Silver Slugger Award in 1997, the Marvin Miller Man Award in 2001 and 2004, the Roberto Clemente Award in 2002, the Lou Ghrig Memorial Award in 2004, the Brooks Robinson Community Service Award in 2011 and was named the President of the Major Leagues Baseball Players Alumni Association early 2022. Thome was unable to attend the ceremony Saturday, therefore he had a representative to accept his honor .
Also inducted, posthumously, Carrol Herman was honored for his 20-year tenure as the ICC men’s basketball coach and athletic director. Herman was one of the most decorated basketball coaches in ICC’s history. During his coaching career, Herman guided four NJCAA All-Americans and helped move over 100 athletes into four-year basketball programs. Coach Hermon was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1990. He was also inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dr. John Erwin, former president of ICC from 2001 to 2015, was also honored at the ceremony. Dr. Erwin, alongside Lorene Ramsey, helped to integrate the rise of the CougarPlex, which came to fruition in 2011. Dr. Erwin was also involved in the construction of Campus Housing on the East Peoria Campus. It was also Dr. Erwin who initiated the cross-country team and the men and women’s soccer teams at ICC. Dr. Erwin was recognized for his excellence when he was awarded the George E. Killian Award of Excellence from the NJCAA for the 2012-2013 academic year.
Sue Sinclair is a national champion volleyball coach and athletic director. Coach Sinclair has been the volleyball coach at Illinois Central College for 29 years, accumulating more than 900 victories. Sinclair was awarded the George E. Killian Award of Excellence in 2009. Sinclair completes the 2023 class.
Rob Buss, the current Director of Athletics at ICC, notes that there are several components to meet the criteria to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first of which is that they must fall into one or more of the following categories: student-athlete, coach/administrator, contributor, and team.
“This will be an annual event held in late January/early February and will be toed in with a Saturday home women’s & men’s basketball double-header,” said Buss.
ICC’s Athletic Hall of Fame was created to offer recognition for teams and individuals who have stood out above the rest and gone above and beyond in performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, and other contributions to ICC’s Athletics Department.