
**Editor’s Note–The following was part of a full press release provided by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame…

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors recently announced the 63rd Men’s Class to be inducted into the Hall. Among the nominees is Erv Inniger, a 1963 graduate of Berne, where he totaled 1,132 points while leading the Bears to a three-year record of 67-12. The team went 25-3 and won Adams County, sectional and regional titles in 1960-61, 21-4 with county, conference and sectional crowns in 1961-62 and 21-5 with sectional and regional trophies in 1962-63. Inniger averaged 20.0 points with exactly 500 points in 25 games as a senior. He was the lone underclass starter and an all-regional performer as a junior. He also started as a sophomore and was selected all-semi-state. Inniger matriculated to Indiana University, averaging 13.5 points and 5.1 rebounds for an 18-8 squad that made the NCAA Tournament as a senior. He totaled 343 points (6.7) and 139 rebounds (2.7) in 51 games over three seasons with the Hoosiers and was a sixth-round draft choice by the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies in 1967. Inniger played two seasons in the ABA, one with Minnesota and one with the Miami Floridians. His ABA career totals were 1,102 points (9.3), 442 rebounds (3.8) and 191 assists (1.6) in 119 games (109 regular season, 10 playoff), his second season cut short because of military service. Inniger then became a college coach, posting a 409-224 mark with seven 20-win seasons at three schools. He was 66-32 at Golden Valley Lutheran College (Minn.) from 1969-73, 99-42 at Augsburg College (Minn.) from 1973-78 and 244-150 at North Dakota State from 1978-92. He was three-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1975, 1976, 1977), the 1977 NAIA District 13 Coach of the Year and the 1981 North Central Conference Coach of the Year. At NDSU, his teams had 13 winning seasons, won the 1981 NCC title and placed third in 1981 and second in 1983 in NCAA Division II regional events. Inniger then was an associate athletic director at NDSU from 1992-2011 and was inducted into the NDSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He coached Park Christian School in Moorhead, Minn., to a 22-10 record in 2013-14, and he was recognized with an NBA Community Service Award in 2017 for his efforts in fundraising for the American Heart Association.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 63rd Men’s Awards Banquet is planned for Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The day’s events will include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Museum in New Castle that afternoon with a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis.
Reservations will soon be available online or through mail order in early 2025. Call the Hall at 765-529-1891, visit www.hoopshall.com or email info@hoopshall.com for more information.