Friends of Basketball

Dr. Stephen Whitley

Year Inducted: 2002

Category: Friends of Basketball

Schools / Organizations:
Charleston High School
Eastern Illinois University

Biography:

You’re never overqualified to sweep the gym floor at Charleston High School basketball games. In fact, athletic director Clyde Frankie would boast, “We used to say we had the state’s most overqualified floor sweepers.”

That’s because people such as retired zoology professor Dr. Stephen Whitley sometimes manned the broom. Whitley helped orchestrate the crew and security for the Charleston Holiday Tournament. “We’ve had people with an M.D. and D.D.S. out there,” he said. “We just grab them and stick them on the end of a broom and let them go.”

Whitley assisted with the Red & Gold Barbecue since 1977. That event provides supplemental funds for equipment, uniforms and officials for sporting events in the Charleston Community Unit District. At one time it was the only revenue source to support district sports programs. Whitley also started as a member of the Trojan Booster Club in 1977 and served as president for many years. The TBC also raised funds for athletic activities for boys and girls. Events such as the Red & Gold Barbecue, Pack The Place, Spaghetti Supper, rummage sales and parking cars for Eastern Illinois University athletic events and the IHSA state track meet provide additional funds.

Whitley served on the Charleston Holiday Tournament Committee and aided in the preparation of the program and solicitation of ads. For many years he supervised the installation and operation of the sound equipment system. He helped Eastern Illinois for many years by charting statistics for the NCAA records.

Whitley said, “I can think of a lot of people in the community who have been involved in the same things and deserve this honor as much as I do.”  Dr. Stephen Whitley died on June 12, 2023 at the age of 86.