Anne Donovan was recently named a nominee in the 2011 induction class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
She was nominated under the Sports category, which is open not only to athletes, but also to coaches and others in the field.
Donovan is described on the website as "one of the most decorated figures in women's basketball as a college player and as a head coach; a three-time All-American who is now head coach at Seton Hall."
Joining her in the group of nominees in the Sports category for the upcoming year are Rick Barry, Dick Button, Franco Harris, Wellington Mara and Joe Theismann.
Nominees in all categories – Historical, Enterprise, Arts and Entertainment, Sports and General – must have lived in New Jersey for a period of at least five years and brought a "significant contribution" to the state.
A three-phase selection process is used to pick the potential inductees. During the first phase, a group of more than 30 "Expert Panelists" vote to pick 25 candidates in each of the five categories.
This list is then presented to the Hall of Fame Voting Academy, a team of about 100 of the most highly regarded organizations throughout New Jersey. From the 125 members selected from the previous round, the Academy picks 30, six in each category.
The final phase of selection happens in the fall of the preceding year when the public is given the opportunity to vote online for whom they would like to be inducted. The New Jersey Hall of Fame selects the person who got the most votes in each category in addition to two others deemed worthy.
Donovan, a native of Ridgewood, N.J., will be making her regular season coaching debut with the Pirates on Nov. 12 as the team travels to Fort Myers, Fla. to face Florida Gulf Coast at 7:05 p.m.
Gabrielle Kiger can be reached at gabrielle.kiger@student.shu.edu.
