TBSC Executive Director Rob Higgins Tabbed as Sports Club of Tampa Bay’s 2025 Hall of Fame Selection

TAMPA, FL - Two-time Stanley Cup champion coach Jon Cooper, baseball great Evan Longoria, iconic ESPN personality Dick Vitale, state-champion football coach Dominick Ciao, Jesuit High School legend Terry Rupp and Tampa Bay Sports Commission executive director Rob Higgins highlight the Sports Club of Tampa Bay’s 2025 Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted during a public banquet on Wednesday, June 4 at Higgins Hall, 5225 N. Himes Ave., from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Additionally, Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy, instrumental in transforming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into an NFL powerhouse while later winning a Super Bowl championship with the 2006 Indianapolis Colts, will be honored with the club’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Dungy, now a commentator with NBC Sports, was 54-42 with four postseason teams in his six seasons with the Bucs. Dungy, the national spokesman for the fatherhood program All-Pro Dad, has been involved with multiple charitable ventures in his three decades as a Tampa Bay area resident.

The Sports Club’s Hall of Fame, celebrating its 41st year, will also welcome new inductees Chuck Hernandez, the long-time major-league pitching coach and former state champion at Tampa Catholic High School, and Dave Mishkin, the heralded Tampa Bay Lightning play-by-play radio voice who has become a fan favorite with his distinctively emotional and passionate goal-scoring calls.

Individual tickets are $90. Tables of eight are $700, while VIP tables (including a private meet-and-greet session with the inductees) are $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000. Proceeds will benefit numerous Tampa Bay charities, mostly notably the Boys and Girls Clubs.

“It’s always exciting to recognize some of the biggest names in Tampa Bay area sports and this year’s Hall of Fame class is one of the best yet,’’ Sports Club president Brandi Winans said. “We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy what’s going to be a truly memorable evening.’'

Cooper, the longest tenured professional head coach in Tampa Bay sports history (hired on March 25, 2013), led the Tampa Bay Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021. Cooper’s Lightning also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and 2022. He was twice a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (top head coach).

Longoria, a third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008-17, was a career .264 batter with 342 home runs, 1,159 RBIs and 1,930 hits. He was a three-time American League All-Star (2008-10), a three-time Gold Glove winner and the AL’s Rookie of the Year in 2008. His 12th-inning walk-off home run against the Yankees in the 2011 season’s Game 162 put the Rays into the playoffs.

Vitale, a former college basketball and NBA head coach, debuted on ESPN during the cable network’s infancy, capturing the imagination of viewers with his enthusiasm and catchphrases (‘’It’s Awesome, Baby!’’). Vitale, a Basketball Hall of Famer and a loyal fan of local teams during his four decades as a Tampa Bay area resident, has raised more than $100-million for cancer research through his annual gala in Sarasota.

Ciao has 272 career victories and 22 postseason teams over 35 seasons as a head football coach (18 at Berkeley Prep, 17 at Jesuit). He led Berkeley to a 13-0 season and a Class 2M state title in 2023. His 1992 Jesuit team reached the state-title game.

Rupp, a storied high-school athlete who led Jesuit to the Class 3A state basketball title in 1984, has returned to his alma mater as athletic director. Rupp was a Parade Magazine All-American who scored 1,705 career points, breaking the Jesuit record of Lou Piniella. Rupp played basketball and baseball at the University of Tampa, earning All-Sunshine State Conference honors in both sports. He served as UT’s baseball head coach, registering a 215-80 record and helping the Spartans to the 1998 NCAA Division II national title. He was inducted into the SSC Hall of Fame.

Higgins, president/CEO of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl 55 Host Committee, has been instrumental in attracting major sporting events to the Tampa Bay area. During Higgins’ tenure with the Sports Commission, the area has hosted multiple Super Bowls, NCAA Women’s Final Fours, NCAA Frozen Fours, NCAA Volleyball Final Fours and ACC Football Championship Games, plus the NHL All-Star Game, College Football Playoff Championship Game, SEC Basketball Tournament, ACC Basketball Tournament, U.S. Gymnastics Championships and WrestleMania. He was named among the world’s top 30 sports marketers by the Huffington Post.

Hernandez, whose formal induction will occur this fall, was drafted by the Yankees after leading the 1976 TC Crusaders to a Class 3A state title. An elbow injury ended his playing hopes, but it launched a career as a pitching coach, which included 14 seasons in MLB, including a stint with the 2006 American League champion Detroit Tigers, who has the lowest ERA in baseball. Hernandez became the Angels’ pitching coach at age 32 and also worked for the Rays, Marlins, Braves, Indians and Mets.

Mishkin, while working alongside Lightning founder Phil Esposito, has been the Lightning’s radio play-by-play announcer since 2002. He has chronicled each game for the Lightning’s three Stanley Cup champion teams. Mishkin, a Yale University graduate, worked in minor-league hockey with the Hershey Bears (1994-2002) and Johnstown Chiefs (1991-94) before getting his NHL break with the Lightning.

Hall of Fame banquet tickets and tables can be reserved through www.SportsClubOfTampaBay.org.