Bill Brinkman to Receive Outstanding Official Award

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 11:59 AM

By Travis Thayer @eagle993

Brinkman is in his 35th year as an official.

Bill Brinkman. Photo provided.

INDIANAPOLIS – Game official Bill Brinkman will be recognized with a special award in 2025 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Brinkman will be honored as the recipient of the Roy Gardner Award as an outstanding official throughout a long career on the hardwood.

Brinkman is being cited for his work on the floor from 1990 to the present. The 1987 Lawrenceburg High School graduate is in his 35th season as an official, including five times in the IHSAA boys basketball state finals while a member of the Mid Hoosier Officials Association.

The Gardner Award is named after the late Roy Gardner, a Lawrenceburg native, Ball State graduate and former Batesville High School math teachers who worked three boys basketball state finals and officiated in the Big Ten from 1959-69.

Gardner passed away in 1977 and the IBCA has presented an award in his name since 1978. Gardner was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Ripley County Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Brinkman will receive the award during the IBCA’s annual clinic on April 24-25 at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville.