GCBHOF Scholarship Application
Spencer/HUGHES Scholarship Application At the bottom of the page.
2024 Scholarship Recipients
George Spencer founded the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. His love of the sport and experiences watching the game lead him to feel a need to recognize outstanding individuals in this manner. The Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame inducted the first class of 15 distinguished men and women in 1996, to be enshrined in this Hall of Honor. Over the years, many of the citizens of the Greater Cincinnati area have excelled as participants, coaches, officials and supporters of the sport of basketball, the memories run deep. Memories that included University of Cincinnati National Championship years, NBA Cincinnati Royals years, several high school state championships in Ohio and Kentucky, several area players being selected college All Americans, NBA All Stars, and players selected to the USA Olympic Teams. We gather to pay tribute to these 15 individuals that have made their mark in a significant way on the basketball history of the Greater Cincinnati area. Don Hughes was an accomplished toxicologist and the proud patriarch of a large family, and he possessed an unfailing passion for the game of basketball. Don played as a youth, for Cornell University and even played in a semi-pro league for a short time. In truth, Don never stopped playing the game. Don was very active in the Senior Olympic Games, playing into his 80’s. His teams, the Cougars/Greyhounds basketball team was the first team to be inducted into the Ohio Senior Olympics Hall of Fame. The team medaled in five consecutive National Games, including gold medals in 1999, 2001 and 2005. They were the state Senior Olympic gold medalists in their age group for thirteen years. While Don loved to play the game himself, he was passionate about sharing his love of basketball and coaching with others. Don coached in AAU leagues, coached his grandchildren’s teams and was always ready to talk about the finer points of shooting the ball. He often mentored young players in the community, helping them develop and go on to play college basketball. Don became active in the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame and his favorite part of being a board member was running basketball clinics for area youth. Don passed away September 7, 2015 at the age of 84. The scholarship, established in his name is dedicated to helping Greater Cincinnati basketball players with their college education. For the special effort and commitment to the game of Basketball by these two individuals, the GCBHOF has created this scholarship program in their names. Thank you for taking the time to complete this recommendation form for the Spencer/HUGHES Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame Scholarship. Your thoughts and opinions are very important to us. We would like your thoughts and observations on your applicant’s character, integrity, and leadership both on the basketball court and off.
This scholarship is awarded through the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame. Applicants must be a senior who will be attending college in the Fall of 2019 and are not already receiving a full scholarship. They must be a resident of Northern Kentucky, or Greater Cincinnati. Up to 6 scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $500 each.