ST. LOUIS – Former Illinois State football All-American Boomer Grigsby and longtime sports information director Tom Lamonica were selected as two of the six inductees into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Class of 2024, as revealed by MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson on Wednesday.
Grigsby was selected for his record-setting achievements as a linebacker for the Redbirds, while Lamonica joins the class at the 2024 Paul Morrison Award recipient. In addition to the two Redbird selections, the 27th MVC Hall of Fame class features baseball great Curtis Granderson of UIC; track & field All-American Christy Barrett Sherman of Indiana State; men's basketball coaching legend Nolan Richardson of Tulsa; and nationally renowned administrator Bob Bowlsby.
"One of the great rewards that comes with representing a Conference with the magnitude of the Missouri Valley is the opportunity to interact with some of the finest practitioners in the collegiate athletic space," Jackson said. "This class represents the reach of The Valley in and away from the athletic arena. We are all truly inspired by their achievements and touched by their grace."
Grigsby and Lamonica are the 16th and 17th representatives in the MVC Hall of Fame, respectively, joining Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw (1998), Doug Collins (1998), Cathy Boswell (2003), Will Robinson (2003), Jill Hutchison (2008), John Coughlan (2009), Linda Herman (2014), D.A. Weibring (2015), Dave Bergman (2016), Sue Daggett Miller (2016), Charlotte Lewis (2017), Christian Goy (2018), Kristi Cirone (2019), Mike Prior (2020) and Rachel Tejada (2023).
"We are extremely proud to have Boomer and Tom honored as part of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Class," ISU Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs said. "Their recognitions by the Missouri Valley Conference could not be more well deserved. Boomer is one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Redbird Athletics and has brought national prestige to our program following his 2022 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Tom has dedicated most of his professional life to promoting Illinois State athletics, its student-athletes and coaches. He continues to make a lasting impact on our students' lives as a member of our faculty in the School of Communication and through his work volunteering at numerous MVC championship events. We are looking forward to celebrating them as they take their places in the MVC Hall of Fame along with the other tremendous inductees in March in St. Louis."
Grigsby was a four-year letterwinner for the Redbirds while playing from 2001-04. A three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2002-03-04), he remains the only player in league history to accomplish the feat. He was a three-time Buck Buchanan Award finalist (2002-03-04), an award given to the nation's top NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) defensive player, finishing second in the Buchanan voting in 2003 and third in both 2002 and 2004, as the only player in the history of the award to finish in the top-three for three-consecutive years.
A consensus FCS All-American in both 2003 and 2004, he was voted an All-American by the Sports Network for three-straight years (2002, 2003 and 2004). He owns the NCAA FCS, Missouri Valley Football Conference, and the Illinois State career tackles records with 580. For all his accomplishments, the National Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by College Sporting News was named in honor of Grigsby. He was also named to both the MVFC All-Select NFL Team and Silver Anniversary Teams.
Following his playing days at ISU, Grigsby played three seasons in the NFL, after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2005 NFL Draft, and he also played for the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. A member of the Canton High School Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 2010, and he became a member of the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class -- the only football player in Gateway/MVFC history to earn the honor.
He resides in Las Vegas with his wife, Jacqueline, and their children and works as a sales representative for Stryker.
For more than 48 years, former Illinois State University sports information director and current communication faculty member Tom Lamonica has combined his interest in sports, his love for communication and his passion for teaching, often in support of the Missouri Valley Conference which has earned him the 2024 Paul Morrison Award.
His sports information career began in 1975 at College of DuPage and continued at the University of Evansville after the tragic 1977 Aces basketball team plane crash. Lamonica arrived at Illinois State from Evansville in time to help with the Redbirds' application for membership in the Valley in 1980. His SID work over more than 26 years at ISU included football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball at different times. Concurrently, he taught two classes per year in the ISU School of Communication (SoC) and worked with hundreds of SoC student interns and graduate students in Redbird Athletics Communications.
In 2006, he retired from Redbird athletics to join the ISU SoC faculty full time but stayed connected to the Valley as a staff member at Arch Madness and all 17 Hoops in the Heartland tournaments. Lamonica also has worked at 24 NCAA Basketball Tournament sites, including two Final Fours in St. Louis, hosted by the Valley. During Arch Madness in St. Louis, he has supported MVC TV Network productions, as well as embracing the role of "de facto maître d" for the Valley Hall of Fame selections during their induction weekend in St. Louis. During the 2022-23 academic year, as part of the league's Celebration of Title IX, Lamonica researched, interviewed and wrote profiles of pivotal pioneer personnel to recognize their trailblazing actions as vital administrators in the evolution of league women's athletics.
He continues in the SoC at Illinois State, teaching public relations and sport communication, while leading the school's award-winning internship program. Tom and his wife, retired ISU administrator and English faculty member Dr. Claire Coleman Lamonica, are the parents of three and grandparents of four. They stay active as Redbird fans, support ISU campus initiatives and volunteer in the Bloomington-Normal community.
The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship in St. Louis, Mo., next March 7-10. The Friday, March 8, festivities will begin with an 8:00 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Tickets to the 2024 Hall of Fame event, which will be held at Stifel Theatre -- adjacent to Enterprise Center – can be obtained by contacting the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
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