Six former Huskies will be inducted into NIU’s Hall of Fame Oct. 5 as part of the 83rd Homecoming weekend festivities, but there will be no celebrating by some former NIU male gymnasts.

Allegations have surfaced that members of the men’s gymnastics program were not represented because the program was too politically sensitive.

The athletic administration has denied rumors that the Hall of Fame Committee was told not to vote for members of the gymnastics program because of the potential embarrassment arising from the induction of athletes in a sport recently dropped.

“It all started because others told me that certain gymnasts were denied (being) discussed and voted on,” said former men’s gymnastics coach Chuck Ehrlich.

“It’s an absolutely false rumor,” said Senior Associate Athletic Director and committee chairperson Cary Groth. “There was never a statement by me, the chair, that for political reasons members of the committee couldn’t vote on gymnasts. I took offense. It insulted my integrity.”

Athletic Director Gerald O’Dell, who oversees the comittee, calls the accusation “ridiculous.”

“Anybody who makes accusations like this is still not satisfied with the decision to drop men’s gymnastics,” O’Dell said.

The men’s gymnastics program was dropped after last season to make room for NIU’s baseball program which was re-established as a condition of joining the Mid-Continent Conference.

The committee, which consists of six voting members and the chair (non-voting), makes its decision based on qualifications, decade of graduation and previous-year inductees. The committee also considers which sports are already represented, Groth said.

There is a five-year waiting period from the time of a nominee’s graduation to the time inducted. Groth said inductees are usually spread throughout the decades.

There were 82 nominees in all this year. Of the six selected, one member was picked from the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s and three from the 1980’s. Nobody was selected from the 1970’s, a decade which featured three All-America gymnasts who were Hall of Fame candidates.

Groth said the committee discussed whether there was lingering sensitivity about the gymnastics program, but said the committee decided to base the choices on the stated criteria.

“If someone thought there was one guy that should be in (the Hall of Fame) then he would have been in. There’s no hurry. They (men’s gymastics nominees) will get in—they’re all in the pot,” Groth said.

Members of the committee contacted byThe Northern Star said they were not pressured to disregard members of the gymnastics program.

“I don’t think the committee picked on gymnastics this year,” said committee member and men’s golf coach Jack Pheanis. “I don’t feel they were discriminated against. Their turn will come.

“No one was told how to vote. I didn’t vote on any gymnasts. I felt the others had more priority,” Pheanis said.

Another committee member, Howard Noreen, also believes each member had an opportunity to vote for whomever. “We were all free to speak and give our opinion,” Noreen said.

“We didn’t go after these people. They came after us,” Ehrlich said. “No sport should be denied the opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame.”