Mo Sports Hall Release
 
SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame class of 2021 will feature at least six inductees with Missouri State ties.
 
The January 31 ceremony at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield will feature the Missouri State Sugar Bears Dance Team, MSU baseball assistant coach Paul Evans, Bears football standout Dennis Heim, long-time supporter and philanthropist Bobby Allison, former Lady Bears assistant coach Jim Middleton, and TV announcer Tom Mast.
 
The class of 2021 includes 21 inductees overall, highlighted by the late Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore, and Webb City High School football coach John Roderique
 
Summaries of Missouri State's inductees are below.
 
Sponsorship tables for 10 are available for $1,500, while individual tickets are $150. For tickets, call (417) 889-3100.
 
Sugar Bears Dance Team
The Missouri State Sugar Bears Dance Team has been among the top-ranked programs in the country, earning top three rankings by the Universal Dance Association. They also received paid bids to the UDA College National Championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Each January, the team travels to Orlando, Fla., to compete in nationals.  Sugar Bears have placed in the Top 10 for the past 12 years. At the UCA/UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships in 2020, they were eighth in Division I Jazz and sixth in Division I Game Day a year after placing 10^th in Division I Jazz, ninth in Division I Pom and seventh in Division I Game Day. In addition to performing at all home football and basketball games, the Sugar Bears practice an average of 10 hours a week and fund-raise the money necessary to cover the cost of competition and other squad benefits. They also host an annual high school dance team competition, visit children at Mercy Kids Hospital, and participate in community service projects was well as events for charitable organizations, including Champions Committed to Kids.
 
Paul Evans – Missouri State Baseball Pitching Coach
Evans will begin his 33^rd season as Missouri State's pitching coach in 2021. In his time, 63 Bears pitchers have signed pro contracts, with 13 reaching the big leagues. Five were first-round draft picks. Three earned a spot with Team USA. Additionally, 26 Bears were First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference, with 15 claiming All-American honors -- including Nick Petree, the 2012 Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year. Evans was the 2015 D1Baseball.com's National Assistant Coach of the Year and the 2016 Midwest Scouts Association Coach of the Year. Evans is an inductee of Halls of Fame at Granite City (Ill.) High School and Rend Lake College. At Rend Lake, he was 201-95 in three seasons as head coach, earning two Coach of the Year honors in his seasons when the team won conference and sectional titles. A Southern Illinois University graduate, Evans pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod League and later coached in the circuit.
 
Dennis Heim – Monett High School/Missouri State University/CFL & NFL
A standout football player at Monett High School in the early 1970s, Heim became one of the best in Missouri State University football history soon thereafter. He finished his collegiate career with 338 total tackles in 42 games, with 141 unassisted stops. He still owns the MSU single-season and career records for quarterback sacks with 16 for a single season and 41 for his career, creating a total of 267 yards in losses. He still ranks among the all-time MSU Top 10 in total career tackles. His senior year was among his best, as Heim was a team co-captain and led the Bears with 133 total tackles, including 45 unassisted stops – and earned his second consecutive First Team All-MIAA selection. He was drafted by the National Football League's New York Giants. He spent most of the 1978 and 1979 seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before spending time with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is co-founder of Heim, Young & Associates in Springfield.
 
Bobby Allison – Sports Contributor
Allison has long thrown his financial support behind Springfield athletics. His backing of the PGA Korn Ferry Tour's Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper has included the long-running Betty Allison's Pro-Am – the only women's pro-am on the Korn Ferry Tour – as well as the Betty & Bobby Allison's Junior Pro-Am. Allison's significant gifts in 2013 to Missouri State University led to improvements of athletics facilities and student recreation. The improvements gave first-class homes to MSU's soccer, women's track and field as well as field hockey programs along with sand volleyball courts – all named in honor for him and his late mother, Betty. He also contributed funds to support construction of MSU's Bill R. Foster and Family Recreation Center and recently provided the lead gift toward MSU's Greenwood Laboratory School's Betty & Bobby Allison Event Center. Additionally, Allison has supported numerous causes and non-profits. They include Miracle League Ball Field – a baseball field for those with disabilities – as well as Harmony House, a shelter for survivors of domestic violence, and Lost and Found Grief Center.
 
Jim Middleton – Basketball Coach
A graduate of Nixa High School and Missouri State University, Middleton became one of the state's most successful basketball coaches. He initially coached at West Plains High School (1989-1991) and then was an assistant coach for the MSU Lady Bears' 1992 Final Four team. He later coached 14 seasons at Southwest Baptist University, with a program-best 239-158 record (.602 win percentage). He guided the Lady Bearcats to six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2000 and was twice nominated for the NCAA Division II Basketball Coach of the Year (2001, 2008) and named the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2008. He then coached the Nixa girls for five seasons (2009-2013), with the 2009 team winning the Class 5 state title and earning a No. 15 national ranking. His Nixa teams produced eight collegiate players. As an athlete, Middleton was a four-sport letterman, including for Nixa's 1978 state championship team and 1979 state third-place team.
 
Tom Mast – Sports Media
Mast will mark his 50^th year in sports broadcasting in 2021. He joined the Springfield market in 1976, working as a TV Sports Director for 16 years, first at KOLR TV for a dozen years before joining KSPR TV through 1992. He later became the producer of local sports for TeleCable, which later became Mediacom, until 1999. In 1997, he joined Wannenmacher Advertising in publishing Big Sports, a monthly magazine. Additionally, Mast has handled play-by-play on radio of Evangel University football (1977-1978), Missouri State basketball in the mid-1980s and on TV of Missouri State football in 1989 as well as cable TV of Springfield high school sports – including football, basketball and soccer in the 1990s. He also has handled TV play-by-play for Missouri State basketball, Drury University basketball and the Springfield Cardinals. Mast, who continues to cover sports for Mediacom, is a graduate of Baxter Springs (Kan.) High School and attended Wichita State University.