Nominations

Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Selection of Inductees and Honorees

The Selection of all Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductees and honorees shall be the primary responsibility of the Grand Divisions of the State of Tennessee; however, final approval shall be given by the Board of Directors to all honorees and inductees.

A. Candidate Eligibility

Any male or female participant in any recognized form of sports competition.
Those of Tennessee birth whose achievements were either in or outside the state.
Those born outside of Tennessee whose achievements within Tennessee brought fame to this state.
Others whose service has brought fame and honor to the State of Tennessee.
For an athlete to be eligible for consideration, he/she must be retired from that sport for a period of three (3) years, or if still competing, he/she must be fifty (50) years of age.

B. Nomination

To be considered for induction into State of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, an individual must be nominated. An individual is defined as one (1) person and cannot consist of a group, e.g. Smith Family, etc. Any citizen may nominate a candidate believed worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame. The candidate’s name, plus any biographical facts available, should be submitted in writing to the Executive Director of the State of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame or through the Hall’s website.

Members of the State of Tennessee Sport Hall of Fame board may at their election nominate individuals during their respective Grand Division meetings from the floor.

Once nominated, the candidate then remains in nomination each year until elected or for five (5) calendar years. Following expiration of the five (5) year qualification period, if the candidate is not inducted then a new nomination will need to be submitted per the process set out above.

The nominees will be divided into two (2) categories – Living and Posthumous. Living inductees must have been in retirement from the activity or sport for which they are nominated for at least three (3) years or in the alternative, may still be active in a sport or activity and be fifty (50) years of age or older.

C. Election

At a time following the nomination deadline, the membership of each Grand Division will meet under the direction of the Executive Director or TDTD assignee.
During the independent Grand Division meeting, the division shall: 1) select up to three (3) preferred nominees from that division to be approved by the Board; 2) up to six (6) as at-large candidates for consideration by the full board and 3) up to one (1) posthumous candidate which must hold a preferred or at-large selection.
Following the Grand Division meetings, the Board will meet to review the nominations. In considering the nominations, the Board has the responsibility to see that each person whose name appears on the ballot is worthy of being elected to the State of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
The class of inductees for each following year may consist of up to fifteen (15) persons with no more than three (3) posthumous inductees.
Priority should be given to the performance of an athlete and the honors he/she has won. However other candidates who have rendered significant long-term service to sports in Tennessee, such as coaches, administrators, and media, may be given full consideration.
Following Board approval, the inductees will be honored at the annual Induction Banquet. The Board of Directors will determine the date of the Induction Banquet each year.

D. Honorees

The nomination committee will consider any naming requests or new awards and will make recommendations to the full board for any changes or consideration.
The committee will invite nominations in the below categories as designated on the Hall of Fame website.
In addition to the nomination of individual inductees to the Hall of Fame, the Nomination Committee will be responsible for nominations of the following categories, if there is a worthy candidate:

Tennessean of the Year: Honors an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to our society through sports or other methods, demonstrating strong character and high-profile leadership.

Courage Award: Honors an individual or group of individuals who possess strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs or protect others no matter what the cost.

Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award: Honors an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to our society through sports or other methods, demonstrating strong character and high-profile leadership.

David Williams Significant Historical Achievement Award: Honors an individual or team whose accomplishments and contributions set the stage for positive change.

Legacy Award: Honors an athletics program, primarily high school, with a minimum of three (3) years sustained success. The merit-based award aims to spotlight teams from twenty (20) to thirty (30) years ago who achieved national recognition with an emphasis on those winning championships.

Female Amateur team(s) of the year
Male Amateur Team(s) of the Year
Female Amateur Athlete of the Year
Male Amateur Athlete of the Year
Professional Team(s) of the Year
Female Professional Athlete of the Year
Male Professional Athlete of the Year

The full Board will vote to approve those selected by the Nomination Committee for Honoree categories.

4. Incomplete Season Individuals nominated for awards that have not completed their season before the final meeting of the nomination committee will not be considered for the current year. Those nominees will be considered the following year, based on their accomplishments. However, the Board cedes authority to the Executive Director who separately in consultation with the Nomination Committee Chairman and Board President, until revoked by the Board or the Commissioner of the administratively attached state agency, to recognize teams that won a national championship following the Board’s vote for Amateur Team of the Year but prior to the banquet.

5. Special consideration will be given to teams in the Amateur and Professional categories that won a National or league championship in the voting year.

FULL NOMINATION CRITERIA

To nominate an individual:

Fill out the Nomination Form hard copy. When filling out the form please follow the instructions on the form and submit it along with any supporting materials.

Please keep in mind there are a significant number of well qualified athletes that have contributed to the great sports heritage of Tennessee. Because of this some nominations will not be selected and others may take a significant amount of time to be selected. All nominations remain active for a period of five years. If a nominee is not selected in that time, you may re-nominate.

Please fill out the entire form to nominate someone for the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame