September 10, 2021
Inside this weekend’s Hall of Fame enshrinement
By Tee Baker
Lauren Jackson, Yolanda Griffith highlight legendary class
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced details earlier this week for its 2021 enshrinement weekend. The weekend will be highlighted by the enshrinement ceremony this Saturday, September 11 at the Hall of Fame (HOF) in Springfield, MA.
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This year’s HOF class includes WNBA legends Lauren Jackson and Yolanda Griffith as well as the WNBA’s founding president Val Ackerman. Additionally, Mel Greenberg will be recognized as the first recipient of the Curt Gowdy Print Media Award to be honored specifically for women’s basketball coverage. Greenberg is credited for launching the first national women’s college basketball rankings in 1976, which would later become the Associated Press (AP) poll in 1994. Carol Stiff, vice president of women’s sports programming at ESPN, will be awarded the 2021 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, the HOF’s most prestigious honor outside of enshrinement.
Class of 2021 Enshrinement Weekend Schedule
Enshrinement weekend will begin today, Friday, September 10 with the Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. The event is scheduled from 6-10 p.m. ET and will include award presentations to both Mel Greenberg (Curt Gowdy Print Media Award) and Carol Stiff (John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award). Television coverage for the event begins on NBA TV at 9 p.m. E.T.
Prior to the Tip-Off Celebration, the class of 2021 will be available for autographs for select ticketed members. The official media availability for the HOF class begins at 2 p.m. E.T. at Mohegan Sun. Media availability is open to credentialed media members and VIP package ticket holders, and will be streamed live on NBA TV.
Festivities for Saturday, September 11th will begin at 4 p.m. E.T. with a toast to the incoming HOF class. This party is limited to select ticket holders. At 6 p.m. E.T., the enshrinement ceremony red carpet show kicks off live on NBA TV. The enshrinement ceremony will be broadcast live on NBA TV from 7-10 p.m E.T.
The weekend will conclude with a free-to-the-public concert from 1-5 p.m. E.T. outside of the HOF building in Springfield, MA featuring Darik and the Funbags and NBC’s The Voice finalist Michelle Brooks-Thompson. Finally, the HOF is offering a limited number of tickets for entry into the HOF museum on September 12th at a discounted rate of $10. Tickets for the day can be purchased here.
Written by Tee Baker
Tee has been a contributor to The Next since March Madness 2021 and is currently a contributing editor, BIG EAST beat reporter and curator of historical deep dives.
