2013 Mens Center Circle Officials Award Winners

NEW CASTLE, Ind. -- The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes three men for their contribution as high school basketball officials as the 2013 Mens Center Circle Officials Award winners.

Mark Baltz, James Dunlap and the late Wayne Crispen will be recognized for their officiating careers.

Mark Baltz is a 1966 graduate of Lancaster (Ohio) High School who began officiating as a student at Ohio University. He has officiated 38 sectionals, 25 regionals, eight semi-states and three state finals (1999, 2003, 2006) as well as multiple Hall of Fame Classic tournaments. In 2005, he was recognized by the IHSAA as the state's boys basketball Outstanding Official Award recipient and in 2011 was a recipient of the Roy Gardner Award presented by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

A past member and President of the Northeastern Officials Association, since 1980 Baltz has been a member and is a past President of the Indiana Officials Association.

Baltz has a noted football officiating career as well, working the 1978 and 1983 IHSAA football state finals, Mid-American Conference and Big Ten Conference NCAA games (including three bowl game assignments) and NFL contests since 1989. He is in his 24th year as an NFL official, having worked 21 postseason assignments, including five conference championship games.

Mark has been married to his wife Nicki for 43 years and they have two sons, Brett and Brandon. He resides in Zionsville.

James Dunlap is a 1960 graduate of Decker Chapel High School in Knox County, where he lettered in basketball and baseball and was the school's all-time leading scorer (1,128 points). He played both sports for two seasons at Oakland City University and received degrees from Oakland City and Indiana University.

An official for 40 years, Dunlap officiated 30 sectionals, 20 regionals, 8 semi-states, and three boys basketball state finals (1986, 1990, 1994), including the 1994 overtime state championship game between South Bend Clay and previously undefeated Valparaiso.

Dunlap is a past recipient of the Roy Gardner award. A member of the Southern Indiana Officials Association, he has been a basketball rules interpreter, baseball rules interpreter (25 years), clinician for certification clinics and was an IHSAA observer. Dunlap taught basketball officiating for 25 years at the University of Southern Indiana, not only as a credit course, but for a licensing exam affiliated with IHSAA - over 175 students received officiating licenses through his course.

Dunlap worked 15 seasons of basketball in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference and 20 seasons in the junior college Great Rivers Athletic Conference, receiving several collegiate postseason assignments, as well as officiating college baseball.

Dunlap taught German, biology and science courses for over for 37 years at Castle High School, and in stints at Evansville Central, Evansville Reitz, Evansville North, North Posey and Gibson Southern schools.

He and his wife Rita have been married for 50 years. They have two children, Sarah Gonzalez (Virginia) and J. Allen Dunlap (Chicago) and two grandchildren. The Dunlaps live in Newburgh.

Wayne Crispen was a 1943 graduate of Kokomo High School, where he lettered in track and tennis. He took 1st place in the mile in the North Central Conference meet and IHSAA sectional meet and finished 4th in the mile at the 1942 IHSAA state track meet. Crispen ran track and cross country at Indiana University, where he was a member of the Hoosiers' 1946 Big Ten cross country championship squad.

Crispen officiated 19 boys sectionals, 13 regionals, four semi-states and two state finals (1962, 1963). He also worked two Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series. A member of the North Central Indiana Officials Association, he served as Vice President and President of the organization and served as a basketball rules interpreter.

Crispen had retired from Delco Electronics division of General Motors prior to his death in December 2003. Crispen had been married to wife Betty and had two children Cathy (Pinson) and Bart.

All Center Circle Officials Award winners will be honored at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's Annual Men's Banquet on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

A midday reception, free and open to the public, will be held at the Hall of Fame museum in New Castle. The evening banquet will take place at the Primo Banquet Hall, which is located on the south side of Indianapolis. Tickets will be made available in early 2013, or can be reserved through the Hall's website at www.hoopshall.com. Call the Hall at 765-529-1891 or email info@hoopshall.com for more information.