IHSAA Foundation creates new award honoring Indy civic leader

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The IHSAA Foundation, which was created in 2015 as the philanthropic arm of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, is creating a new award to honor a man who had a major impact in Indianapolis and beyond.

The IHSAA Foundation’s new award will be called the Jim Morris Humanitarian Award. The award honors the late Jim Morris, who was vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. It will be presented to those making an impact.

Morris passed away last July.

He was a founding member of the IHSAA Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“Jim was a mission-driven servant leader who believed you should see every opportunity in its largest context,” Andy Arnold, Senior Vice President Facilities Operations of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and member of the IHSAA Foundation Board of Directors, said in a press release. “He loved partnering with the IHSAA to help Hoosier high school students push their boundaries and dream big both on and off the court.”

The Foundation said it “will seek nominations from IHSAA member school principals and athletic directors of outstanding individuals from their communities who embody and display Jim’s family values.”

Recipients will be evaluated by a committee of representatives from different the following organizations:

• IHSAA
• IHSAA Foundation
• Pacers Sports & Entertainment
• Key philanthropic leaders within Indiana

The winner will receive the award during the IHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The member school that the winner represents will be awarded $1,000 to its athletic department “to continue the recipient’s impactful work and Jim Morris’ legacy.”

Morris’ impact went well beyond Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. He served as the executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2002-2007. He also served in various other organizations, including UNICEF, the National Advisory Board for the Boy Scouts of America, the Riley Children’s Foundation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors, the Eiteljorg Museum, and more.