State Farm Holiday Classic
Encyclopedia
The State Farm Holiday Classic, named after the title sponsor State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....

, is the largest co-ed, high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 holiday basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 tournament in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with 64 teams (32 boys and 32 girls). Held annually for four days following Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 and dubbed "The Best Basketball This Side of March", the Classic is held at numerous college and high-school venues throughout Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

History

For over three decades, the Holiday Classic has been a showcase of talent and basketball in Bloomington-Normal. The 2011 tournament will be the 33rd anniversary for one of the nation's largest coed high school holiday basketball tournaments.

The Classic was originated in 1975 and was first called the Illinois State Classic. Normal Community High School was crowned the first boys champion by defeating Chicago Brother Rice, 60-51. Over the next 10 years (through 1985), Lincoln would play in the championship game four times (winning twice) and Galesburg would win four championships, including three straight titles from 1981-83. In the beginning, the Classic field consisted of a combination of 16 Class A (small school) and Class AA (large school) teams, from all over the state including all four intercity schools. The Classic took a break from 1986 through 1989, but came back in 1990 and was known as the University High Classic. Sherrard was crowned the champ in 1990, and two years later Gridley became the first Class A school to slay the giants and walk away as champion of the Holiday Classic.

In 1995, the Classic turned down the road that would eventually lead it to the event as it is known today. A community volunteer group, spear-headed by current tournament president Dan Highland, took over all duties and responsibilities for the tournament. This group, then known as the Classic Organizing Group, Inc. (COG), consisted of leaders from all aspects of the Bloomington-Normal community. The tournament was then called the Bloomington-Normal Holiday Classic, and later took on Converse as its title sponsor in 1996 and 1997. Major changes implemented at the time included having 32 participating boys’ teams, and breaking the field into two 16-team sections (Class A and Class AA to mirror the IHSA state tournament). All teams would be guaranteed three games, and those teams which won all three games would come back on the fourth and final day to determine a champion in each class in the morning. The night session would consist of the two losing teams playing against each other for third place, while the two champs went head to head for the title of Grand Champion. Rockford Boylan won the first Grand Championship game in 1995, defeating Bloomington Central Catholic 74-63. The next year saw Manito Midwest Central, led by Ryan Knuppel, become the second Class A team to win the Classic by defeating Boylan, 64-58, in one of the most exciting games in tournament history.

The Classic also took on a different twist in 1995 by hosting an 8-team girls' shootout. This shootout evolved into a 14-team tournament in 1997, and is now a full-fledged 32-team tournament, mirroring the boys tournament format. Galesburg was the first girls Grand Champion in 1997, by overcoming a 17-point deficit and winning a 77-74 thriller over Class A Mendota on a last-second three-pointer by Jaque Howard. Galesburg won the first three Grand Championships (1997, 98 & 99) and had a winning streak of 16 games, before being defeated by Urbana in 2000. That same year, Rock Island Alleman became the only Class A team, and the only team other than Galesburg, to win the girls Grand Championship.

In 1999, the Classic got a big shot in the arm with the announcement of State Farm Insurance as its Title Sponsor. The State Farm Holiday Classic, as it is known today, was able to implement a variety of enhancements thanks to this support, and still continues to find new ways to be the best tournament in the nation. By now the event was starting to gain national recognition, and that included adding teams from across the country to its tournament field. After testing the waters with a team from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1996, the Classic has seen teams participate from Washington, D.C.; Kentucky; Tennessee; Ohio; Indiana; Florida; Mesa, AZ; Missouri, Pittsburgh, PA; and New Orleans, LA.

In 2001, the COG, now known as the Classic Tournament, Inc., experimented with eliminating the cross-over Grand Championship game and crowning two girls’ champions, one in each class. The experiment worked so well that the same idea was implemented into the boys’ tournament in 2002. By this time, the Grand Championship game had become somewhat anti-climatic for the fans and teams alike, as many times the Class AA teams were to overpowering for the smaller schools. With the new system in place, all teams are now guaranteed four games and championship night has been revived to the point where near capacity Shirk Center crowds are able to witness four consecutive championship games.

Over the years the Classic has seen its share of great individual performances. In 1985, Rockton Hononegah's Jim Shikenjanski averaged nearly 33 points a game, and pulled down 66 rebounds over the course of the tournament. Eight years later in 1993, Mike Robinson of Peoria Richwoods knocked down 18 field goals in one game, while in 1999 Rock Island Alleman's Tyler Ryan killed 9 three pointers for a tournament record. In 1996, Joey Range from Galesburg wowed the crowd with a tournament record 55 points in one game, while Normal U-High's Jeremy Stanton delivered an unselfish 18 assists in one game. And of course who could forget watching the man-child, Eddy Curry, go from signing autographs in the Shirk Center bleachers to a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls right out of South Holland Thornwood. Yet maybe the crowning individual achievement was when Olney East Richland’s Brittany Johnson became Illinois’ all-time career (girls or boys) prep hoops scoring leader in the second round of the 2006 tournament, breaking the record on a three-point play in the third quarter.

With the Classic becoming more successful, it looked for ways to give back the community and increase its philanthropic efforts. In 2002, local Special Olympics Illinois basketball teams were given the chance to participate in a one-day shootout at the Shirk Center on Championship Day of the tournament. These teams then had the chance to participate in an 8 minute exhibition during halftime of the championship games that night on the Shirk Center floor. This effort proved to be very popular among the full-house crowd in attendance, as well as the players who experienced this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The shootout has continued each year, and in 2005 it was renamed the Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics shootout after the long-time committee member and huge Classic supporter, who was also Director of Sports and Competition for Special Olympics Illinois.

In 2006, the first recipients of the Holiday Classic Foundation Scholarships were awarded in an effort to give back to graduating seniors who participated in the Holiday Classic and were extending their educational careers at four-year universities or colleges. To date, the Classic Foundation has awarded $24,000.00 in scholarships to deserving student-athletes.

All of these changes and enhancements over the years have led thousands of fans to discover what we know today as "The Best Basketball This Side Of March!"

The Best of the best
Over the years the Holiday Classic has seen its share of great teams and players. Here is just a sample of those players:

NBA players:
  • Kevin Duckworth
    Kevin Duckworth
    Kevin Jerome Duckworth was an American professional basketball player at center in the National Basketball Association. A native of Illinois, he played college basketball at Eastern Illinois University before being drafted in 1986 in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs...

     of the Portland Trail Blazers (Dolton Thornridge)
  • Melvin McCants of the Los Angeles Lakers (Chicago Mt. Carmel High School)
  • Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He was born in Harvey, Illinois...

     of the New York Knicks (South Holland Thornwood High School)
  • Brian Cook of the Los Angeles Clippers (Lincoln High School)


WNBA players:
  • Latoya Bond of the Sacramento Monarchs (Urbana High School)
  • Angelina Williams of the Detroit Shock (Chicago Washington High School)
  • Kayla Pedersen of the Tulsa Shock (Mesa Red Mountain High School, AZ)


Illinois Mr. Basketball award winners:
  • Brian Cook (Lincoln) - 1999
  • Eddy Curry (Thornwood) - 2001
  • Chasson Randle (Rock Island) - 2011


McDonald's All-Americans:
  • Eddy Curry in 2001 (Thornwood)
  • Kayla Pedersen in 2007 (Mesa Red Mountain)
  • Mike Robinson in 1996 (Peoria Richwoods)


NCAA Final Four participants:
  • John Baines (Normal U-High), Korey Coon (East Peoria) and Nathan Hubbard (Normal U-High) lead Illinois Wesleyan to the 1997 D-III Men's National Championship title.
  • Brittany Hasselbring (Kankakee Bishop Mac), Olivia Lett (Pana), Karen Solari (Park Ridge Maine South), Annie Brown (Normal West), Katy Seibring (Normal Community), Haley Kitchell (Taylor Ridge Rockridge) and Jordan Steinbrueck (Normal U-High) lead Illinois Wesleyan to the 2011 D-III Women's Final Four (fourth place).
  • Emily Hanley (Normal Community) and Amanda Clifton (Rock Island Alleman) helped lead Illinois State to three straight WNIT Final Four appearances from 2009-11.
  • Kayla Pedersen lead Stanford to four consecutive Final Four appearances from 2008-11
  • Mark Vershaw lead Wisconsin to the 2000 Final Four (East Peoria)


Illinois' all-time leading scorer:
  • Brittany Johnson became Illinois’ all-time prep career scorer (male or female) during the second round of the 2006 State Farm Holiday Classic. Played four seasons for The Ohio State University women's basketball team. (Olney East Richland)


NFL players:
  • Michael Hoomanawanui of the St. Louis Rams (Bloomington Central Catholic)
  • Josh Brent of the Dallas Cowboys (Bloomington Central Catholic)


Major League Baseball/minor league players:
  • Kevin Roberson (Decatur Eisenhower) played in the MLB from 1993-96 with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets
  • Zach McAllister (Chillicothe IVC) was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2006 and traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2010 where he made his major league debut on July 7, 2011 vs. the Toronto Blue Jays
  • Robbie Minor (Rock Falls) played one season (2007) in the New York Yankees minor league system, and the 2008 season for the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League
  • Jakob Junis (Rock Falls) was drafted in the 29th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals
  • Tyson Blaser (Taylor Ridge Rockridge) signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees in 2011 and currently playes for their Gulf Coast League affiliate


U.S. Olympians:
  • Ogonna Nnamani member of the 2004 and 2008 United States Olympic women's volleyball team (Normal U-High)


Professional soccer players:
  • Ashlee Pistorius won the Honda Sports Award in 2008 as the nation’s top collegiate soccer player at Texas A&M, and played for the Boston Renegades of the USL W-League (Normal U-High)

All-Quarter-century team

In 2003, fans had a chance to vote on the most outstanding performers in the 25-year history of the tournament. The following team was chosen:
  • Brian Cook
    Brian Cook
    Brian Joshua Cook is an American professional basketball player. Cook was drafted out of the University of Illinois with the 24th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers...

    , Lincoln | 315 votes
  • Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry
    Eddy Curry is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He was born in Harvey, Illinois...

    , Thornwood | 271 votes
  • Joey Range, Galesburg | 216 votes
  • Gregg Alexander, Lincoln | 143 votes
  • Robbie Minor, Rock Falls | 126 votes
  • Damir Krupaliga, Rockford Boylan | 121 votes

Past boys' champions

Note: Starting in 2002, the Grand Championship game was eliminated and two champions, one in each class, were crowned.

Past Grand Champions

  • 1975 Normal Community
  • 1976 LaSalle-Peru
  • 1977 Lincoln
  • 1978 East Moline
  • 1979 Galesburg
  • 1980 Lincoln
  • 1981 Galesburg
  • 1982 Galesburg
  • 1983 Galesburg

  • 1984 Decatur Eisenhower
  • 1985 Normal Community
  • 1986
  • 1987
  • 1988
  • 1989
  • 1990 Sherrard
  • 1991 Normal UHigh
  • 1992 Gridley

  • 1993 Peoria Richwoods
  • 1994 East Peoria
  • 1995 Rockford Boylan
  • 1996 Manito Midwest Central
  • 1997 Galesburg
  • 1998 Rockford Boylan
  • 1999 South Holland Thornwood
  • 2000 South Holland Thornwood
  • 2001 South Holland Thornwood


Past Class 1A-2A Champions

2002 Quincy Notre Dame

2003 Lagrange Keystone, Ohio

2004 Quincy Notre Dame

2005 Hartsburg-Emden

2006 Bloomington Central Catholic

2007 Bloomington Central Catholic

2008 Peoria Christian

2009 Minonk Fieldcrest

2010 Rock Falls

Past Class 3A-4A Champions

2002 South Holland Thornwood

2003 Chicago Prosser

2004 Mt. Zion

2005 South Holland Thornwood

2006 South Holland Thornwood

2007 Rockton-Hononegah

2008 Normal Community

2009 Champaign Centennial

2010 Peoria Notre Dame

Past Girls Champions

Note: Starting in 2001, the Grand Championship game was eliminated and two champions, one in each class, were crowned.

Past Grand Champions

1997 Galesburg

1998 Galesburg

1999 Galesburg

2000 Rock Island Alleman

Past Class 1A-2A Champions

2001 Seneca

2002 Normal UHigh

2003 Bloomington Central Catholic

2004 Rock Island Alleman

2005 Chicago John Hope

2006 Olney East Richland

2007 Rochester

2008 Bloomington Central Catholic

2009 Bloomington Central Catholic

2010 Bloomington Central Catholic

Past Class 3A-4A Champions

2001 Geneseo

2002 Peoria Richwoods

2003 Normal Community

2004 Peoria Richwoods

2005 Peoria Richwoods

2006 Bolingbrook

2007 Chicago John Hope

2008 Peoria Richwoods

2009 Springfield

2010 Springfield

State Farm Holiday Classic Scholarship Award

In 2006 the Classic Tournament, Inc., the nonprofit corporation which runs the largest co-ed high school holiday basketball tournament in the nation, selected four winners to be the first-ever recipients of the Holiday Classic Scholarship Award. Each winner received a $1,000 scholarship to go directly to their college of choice to help pay for tuition costs.

Established to recognize and award scholarships to eligible high school seniors who participated in this past year’s event, a selection committee chose a male and female winner representing high schools within McLean County, and a male and female winner from high schools outside McLean County.

Holiday Classic Scholarship recipients:
  • Nickolena Coop - Downs Tri-Valley (2011)
  • Blake Doane - Quincy Notre Dame (2011)
  • Kayla Moore - Sterling Newman (2011)
  • Ryan Schmidt - Bloomington Central Catholic (2011)
  • Kevin Bischoff – Normal Community (2010)
  • Rachael Graham – St. Joseph-Ogden (2010)
  • Erin McGinnis – Normal West (2010)
  • Andrew Sipes – Grayslake Central (2010)
  • Kristen Baldwin, Normal Community (2009)
  • Luke Harbers, Normal University (2009)
  • Cora Jeffers, Williamsville (2009)
  • Ross Munsterman, Crescent-Iroquois (2009)
  • Brandi Branka, Kankakee Bishop Mac (2008)
  • Andrew Etheridge, Normal Community (2008)
  • Kati Hinshaw, Normal West (2008)
  • Randall Koehler, Roanoke-Benson (2008)
  • Samantha Reich, Park Ridge Maine South (2008)
  • Jack Hainline, Stanford Olympia (2007)
  • Patrick Doggett, Crescent Iroquois (2007)
  • Kimberly White, Olney East Richland (2007)
  • Matt Pelton, Bloomington Central Catholic (2006)
  • Cherelle Gay, Bloomington (2006)
  • Jordan Christensen, Sherrard (2006)
  • Taylor Baucom, Camp Point Central (2006)

Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics Shootout

On October 13, 2005, the Classic Tournament Inc. lost a very special and vital part of this event when Ron Knisley, Director of Sports and Competition for Special Olympics Illinois lost his battle to cancer. That year, the tournament decided to name the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....

portion of the State Farm Holiday Classic after the man who was responsible for bringing the two groups together.

The shootout, which brings in six area Special Olympics Illinois (SOI) basketball teams as part of championship day at the annual State Farm Holiday Classic basketball tournament, is now known as the Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics Shootout. The Shootout traditionally invites six teams who play games on the final day of the tournament on practice courts at the Shirk Center. Then, each of the teams is featured during half-time of the championship games on the final night of the tournament in a 8-minute, running clock exhibition on the main floor.

Past participants in the Shootout include teams from the following programs:
  • Beardstown
  • Bloomington SOAR
  • Bradley-Bourbonnais High School
  • Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation
  • Decatur Park District
  • Eastern Illinois Special Olympics
  • Jacksonville Pathway
  • Lincoln Park District
  • Pekin IRVSRA
  • Peoria Heart of Illinois
  • Pontiac Futures
  • Princeton Gateway Services

External links

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