In conjunction with the upcoming Web.com PGA golf tour event that will take place in Halifax in the first week of July, the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame has received a $7,500 grant through The Mike Weir Foundation to participate in the event as an official charity partner. As a charity partner, the NS Sport Hall of Fame will provide an exhibit at the Golfers’ Village expo during the Web.com tour. The grant funds will support the Hall’s province-wide education program. The program, called “Future Hall of Famers,” has provided presentations free-of-charge to over 1,500 students during March alone, has recently featured two new guest speakers (Dallas Stars NHL player Jon Sim and Olympic bobsledder Luke Demetre), and is currently participating in a provincial Sport Fair.

May – September: “A Look Back at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Professional Rodeo” opens in the 101 Gallery.

An historical exhibit detailing the 35-year history of the Hall of Fame, the Wrangler Nationals Finals Rodeo (WNFR) and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The exhibit will also include many historical artifacts from the Hall’s collections.

August 6, 2014: 35^th Anniversary Celebration

We will be opening the museum doors for free for a big anniversary bash on August 6, 2014. Join us for live entertainment with Trinity Seely and the Flying W Wranglers, pony rides, stage coach rides, autograph sessions, a Wild West gun fighting show, and more! It’s sure to be an exciting day at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

August 7, 2014: 27^th Annual ProRodeo Hall of Fame Golf Tournament

At the Perry Park Golf Club in Larkspur Colorado. Shotgun start at 2pm. Player entries include green fees, cart and range balls, awards dinner, complimentary Coors and Pendleton, play giveaways and skills contests, a photograph with Miss Rodeo America, and winning foursomes receive handcrafted trophy buckles by Montana Silversmiths. Call (719)528-4732 for more information or to register.

August 8, 2014: Cowboy Ball

Dinner, dancing, and yeehawing with the Class of 2014. Open to the public. RSVP required. Entertainment provided by Colorado Springs band Exit West. Annual fundraising event for the Hall of Fame. Call (719)528-4732 for more information or to RSVP.

August 9, 2014: Inductions

Help us celebrate our class of 2014 as we induct 10 new members into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. New members include Pete Grubb – All-Around, Wayne Herman – Bareback Riding, Glen O’Neill – Saddle Bronc, Byron Walker – Steer Wrestling, Miles Hare – Contract Personnel, Spring Fling – Livestock, and rodeo committees Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo, Greeley (Colo.) Stampede, Rowell Ranch Rodeo (Calif.), and Snake River Stampede (Idaho). 10am-Noon at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Doors open at 9am. Free lunch following ceremony.

August 9, 2014: 6^th Annual Commissioner’s Classic Team Roping

Contestants will be paired up with PRCA Celebrities and will compete for custom buckles courtesy of Montana Silversmiths and custom saddles from Cactus Saddlery. Proceeds benefit the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Call (719)528-4714 for more information or to register.

Overland Park, Kan. – The University of Michigan recently unveiled a $9M renovation of the Towsley Family Museum located inside Schembechler Hall and Kansas City’s Dimensional Innovations was key to the success.

“We continue to be impressed with the creativity DI has shown in telling the University of Michigan story,” said Dave Ablauf, Associate Athletic Director, Media and Public Relations. “Knowing their previous work at the Crisler Center and now with the Towsley Family Museum, we believe our visitors will leave the museum engaged in University of Michigan athletics.”

Since 1990, Schembechler Hall and Towsley Family Museum have been home to University of Michigan football student-athletes, coaches and department team members. DI was asked to create an interactive experience that brought the university’s football program to life. In keeping with the modern aesthetic of the renovations, the new hall and museum features four 46-inch interactive displays designed, programmed and built by Dimensional Innovations.

“We are honored to be a part of the team who designed and created the Schembechler Hall experience,” says Rick Smith, Senior Creative Director at Dimensional Innovations. “This project, along with the work we have previously done at Crisler Center, further advances Michigan’s storytelling abilities. We’ve created a great deal of designed content with a lot of historical information but we have presented it in a dynamic and fun way, enabling all visitors to engage in the rich history of Michigan athletics”

For this particular renovation, DI created content for “”The Team Wall”, highlighting the 134 years of storied history, “The Big House”, providing a glimpse into the game day experience inside Michigan’s iconic stadium, “Bowls & Legends”, celebrating the football legends and history of success at Michigan, and ”Community”, getting an up-close look at the marching band and the tailgating experience on game day.

Dimensional Innovations has become known for creating iconic experiences at stadiums, entertainment venues and in corporate settings. The Kansas City based design-build firm created a single Content Management System with the ability to provide content for all current and future displays throughout the campus at University of Michigan.

About Dimensional Innovations

For more than 20 years Dimensional Innovations has worked for the biggest brands and the scrappiest start-ups. Our disciplines include Brand, Design, Technology, Build and Launch. We are brand strategists, architects, graphic artists, interior, interactive and environmental designers, digital engineers, innovators and in addition can build just about anything in our 70,000-square foot modern fabrication facility. www.dimin.com

Thirty-five years ago, on a scorching August Monday in 1979, the ProRodeo Hall of Champions and Museum of the American Cowboy opened its doors bringing the legends of rodeo and the history of the cowboy way-of-life to Colorado Springs. Eighty-seven cowboys and cowgirls were enshrined that day. In 1989, the Hall of Champions changed its name to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Since then, 199 additional people have been inducted including livestock and rodeo committees.

The Hall of Fame is commemorating their anniversary this year with a special exhibit “The history of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Professional Rodeo.” It’s on display through September. The exhibit features a timeline dating back to 1869 when the first amateur rodeo took place in Deer Trail, Colorado to the opening of the Hall of Fame in 1979 to the expansion in 1996 and more. Also on display are pieces from the museum’s collection including saddles, trophies, costumes, original western artwork, and a brief look at the Nationals Finals Rodeo.

The Hall of Fame is open 7 days a week from 9am-5pm through August. More information about the Hall of Fame can be found at www.prorodeohalloffame.com or by calling 719-528-4764.

The State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 46th Annual Induction Ceremony on May 17, 2014 in Birmingham, AL.  The Class of 2014 includes: Ruthie Bolton (Basketball), John “Red” Cochran (Football), “Wild” Bill Cody (Football), Eli Gold (Broadcasting), Travis Grant (Basketball), Walter Jones (Football), David Magadan (Baseball) and Major Ogilvie (Football).  Also honored that evening will be two Distinguished Alabama Sportsmen:  Dr. Kennith Blankenship and Mr. Charles Kelley.

LUBBOCK, Texas — The only umpire to work a College World Series in four separate decades will be honored as the recipient of the National Collegiate Umpire Award, presented by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Henry “Hank” Rountree, who died in 2006, worked as a college umpire for 38 years. He umpired 25 Division I regionals, eight College World Series — including one in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s — and one Junior College World Series.

“We are excited to be able to honor the late Hank Rountree,” said Mike Gustafson, president and CEO of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. “He had an amazing career as an umpire and he is a very deserving recipient of this award.”

Rountree’s selection for the lifetime achievement award was the result of a nomination and screening process by past and current NCAA national coordinators of umpires, NCAA regional advisers, umpire conference coordinators and four collegiate head coaches.

Tony Thompson, coordinator of umpires for several conferences including the ACC, SEC, Sun Belt and Ohio Valley, will accept the award on behalf of Rountree’s family.

“Henry Rountree being honored by the Hall of Fame is a well-deserved honor,” Thompson said. “I, along with the umpires who knew and worked with Hank, are elated to see his achievements recognized by this great honor.”

Dick Runchey, winner of the inaugural National Collegiate Umpire Award, worked with Rountree and said Rountree is very much a worthy recipient of the award.

“I had the honor to work three CWS with Hank in 1982, ’83 and 1990,” Runchey said. “An umpire’s umpire, he took you in as a crewmate and made sure he had your back and made you feel confident both on and off the field. His working the CWS in four decades is a record that will never be broken.”

Rountree will be honored as part of the Hall of Fame’s annual Night of Champions on June 28 in Lubbock, Texas.

Since 1976, the fourth round of the U.S. Open Championship has been played on Father’s Day, producing many heartwarming moments in which fathers and sons have embraced after one of them captured our national championship. In 2013, Justin Rose walked to victory in this pair of shoes, each marked with his children’s names – Leo, 4, and Charlotte, 1 – on the back. Rose spoke of his father, who died of cancer in 2002 at age 57, during a post-round interview with Bob Costas:

“I think a lot of us come from great men, and we have that responsibility to our children to show them what a great man can be. That was my goal today, to carry myself in a way that I could be proud of. And for it all to work out for me on such an emotional day, I just couldn’t help but look up to the heavens and think that my old dad Ken had something to do with it.”