nominate Someone for one of our Hall of Fame awards…
HOW IT TO NOMINATE SOMEONE…Each year the selection committee members and board of the MN Lacrosse Hall of Fame take all our nominations and select via ranked voting, a group of individuals to honor at our annual fall Hall of Fame gala & Award Ceremony. We count on the lacrosse community to nominate deserving individuals by the deadline of August 4th each year. You can nominate any man or women who by their deeds, skills and achievements as a player, coach, official, umpire, contributors, athletic directors, team administrators meets our eligibility requirements.
We have four award categories:
1. Hall of Fame Award, this award is for outstanding players, coaches, referees and contributors to the development of the sport in Minnesota.This award is voted on by the Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame selection committee and the previous Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductees.
2. Men’s” Howard Rogers” and Women’s “Janet Holdsworth” Unsung Hero Award, this award recognizes those men and women who are the unsung hero’s who through their effort to start a program or have a positive impact on lacrosse in Minnesota deserve to be honored. It can be for non players administrators, athletic directors, coaches and referees.This award is voted on by the Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame selection committee and the previous Minnesota Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductees.
3. Dr. Dan Ninham, Indigenous Lacrosse Award, this award recognizes a Midwest native stickmaker, outstanding native player or promoter of the traditional game. This award is named after Dr Dan Ninham for his tireless efforts to promote both the native and modern versions of lacrosse in the Midwest.Longtime Bemidji teacher, basketball and lacrosse coach Dr. Dan Ninham has been the driving force behind teaching the traditional native woodstick version of the game and all the other indigenous sports. So, it is only fitting we name the award the Dr. Dan Ninham Indigenous Lacrosse Award in his honor. It will be given annually to either a top native player, stickmaker or promoter of the game ni the native community in the Midwest. Each previous years recipient and Dr. Dan Ninham will be asked to help determine who should be the winner of the award along with the help of the selection committee.
4. Art Ayers, Grow the Game in Outstate Minnesota Award, this award recognizes those who have started a youth or high school program in outstate Minnesota and had a positive impact on the growth of lacrosse in outstate. This award is named after the late Art Ayers, founder of the Mankato Youth, HS and longtime coach and benefactor of the Mankato State University lacrosse program.Art Ayers was a transplant from Eastern Maryland and moved to Mankato/Blue Earth, MN. He was the coach and founder of the Mankato youth and Mankato East HS program and volunteer men’s coach at Mankato State for many years. He was president of the early Minnesota Chapter of US Lacrosse and a longtime supporter of growing the game in Minnesota. In his memory we have named this new annual award that goes to a person who has done an outstanding job started a new lacrosse program in outstate Minnesota. Each previous years recipient and and a member of the Ayers family will be asked to help determine who should be the winner of the award the following year along with the help of the selection committee..
The online Nomination Forms and criteria for nominating are listed below at the bottom of this page. The form deadline is Aug 4th, 2026.
2026 Hall of Fame Nominations…
I Got Nominated for the Hall of Fame Last Year But Didn’t Get Inducted…If you were nominated, but not selected last year, your lacrosse resume stays on file for 5 years and is re-submitted each year. After 5 years it is withdrawn, but you can resubmits a nomination form again after that.Keep Those Nominations Coming for 2026… * It is highly recommended that you resubmit your lacrosse resume using the 5 criteria listed next to the nomination form at the bottom of this page. Email it to: MNlaxhalloffame@gmail.com.
2025 Hall of Fame Nominees carried over from 2025…
*Ashley Nelsen – coach (Former UST women’s head coach, Blake School head coach, plus she has also coached Eden Prairie and Edina youth and presently runs the women’s college club league.
*Jess Jurovich – coach (Prior Lake assistant coach 2018-present, and played an integral part in the 2019, 2021 and 2915 Prior Lake state champion teams.
*Pat Shook – coach (Longtime coach of Eden Prairie HS club & varsity program and grower of the game)
*Peter Johnson – player (All-Star defender at Blake School and Yale University class of 2013, spent time as a travel team coach and a teacher/mentor/ coach with the Harlem Lacrosse program while at Yale).
*Hank Marotske – coach (Longtime head coach at Blake and Lakeville No, he started 3 HS programs -Blake, Irondale and Holy Angels, and is now an assistant coach at St Thomas Academy)
*Carson Cannon – player (All-state/All-American defender at Stillwater HS and U of Denver standout as well, he is now a dentist and still extracting teeth, but now its in a dentist chair)
*Tim Roach – coach (Eastview head coach: 1 State Championship, 2 Runner Ups, 3 3rd Place finishes, 32-13 Playoff record with 6 Section Championships As assistant coach: helped Farmington in 2023-2025 obtain a 38-9 record)
2026 NEW Hall of Fame Award Nominations…
* Dave White – official (First official to do a men’s game in Minnesota. Organizer and pioneer in the early growth and promotion of the game and officiating. Refereed locally and nationally for over 40 years, Now retired Dave drives high school sports teams in a bus for Wayzata High School. Pending Lacrosse Resume – Nominated by Harold Buck
* Peter Mooseburger – coach (Longtime University of St Thomas head coach and player, won several national championships with the Tommies. also head boys HS coach at Mahtomedi and girls head travel team coach for Team MN) Pending contact info and lacrosse resume – nominated by Jason King
* Scott Tapio – contributor & coach (long-time coach and player on the Twin Cities Lacrosse Club in the early 80’s and founder of the St. Paul Bot’s HS and Youth Lacrosse Club). Pending contact info and lacrosse resume – nominated by Chip Ferlock ng Lacrosse resume. Nominated by Chip Ferlaak
* Deb Wood – coach (early pioneer of Minnesota lacrosse growth and development and longtime head coach at the Blake School with several state championships and success as a coach (co-founded MSLAX) in Minnesota) Pending contact info and lacrosse resume – self nomintedt
* Janet Holdsworth – coach (another early pioneer of Minnesota lacrosse growth and development and longtime head coach at the Hopkins HS and the U of Mol with with success as a coach. Also inducted into the Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the Unsung Hero and has the distinction of having the award named in her honor. (co-founded MSLAX) in Minnesota) Pending Lacrosse Resume – nominated by Kathryn Kippenberg nominated by Kathryn Kippenberg
* Holly Souza- Umpire (early pioneer of lacrosse growth and development in MN, founder of the MN Women’s Lacrosse Umpires Association Pending Lacrosse Resume – nominated by Kathryn Kippenberg
KEEP THOSE NOMINATIONS COMING…
2026 Unsung Hero Nomination….
2026 New Janet Holdsworth UnSung Hero Award Nominees
(None Yet)
2026 New Howard Rogers Unsung Hero Award Nominees
(None Yet)
2026 Indigenous Lacrosse Award Nominations…
2026 New Dr. Dan Ninham Indigenous Lacrosse award Nominees
(None Yet)
2026 Grow the Game in Outstate MN Award Nominees…
2026 New Art Ayers Grow the Game in Outstate MN Award Nominees
(None Yet)
Art Ayers Grow the Game in Outstate MN Award
Art Ayers Grow the Game in Outstate MN Award Criteria..The criteria for the Art Ayers Grow the Game in Outstate MN Award is that the nominee must have been responsible for the growth and development of a new lacrosse program or impacted the expansion of an existing one in outstate Minnesota.
How to Nominate someone for the Art Ayers Award…Contact HOF Selection Committee Chair. Mark Hellenack with any candidates you believe should ne considered for the annual award by the deadline of August 4th, 2026. Mark can be reached at 952-457-4515 or mnlaxhalloffame@gmail.com.
Selection Process: Members of the Ayers family, plus pervious GROW THE GAME IN OUTSTATE MN AWARD winners and a few selection committee members will all be involved in determining the eventual award winner.
Dr. Dan Ninham Indigenous Lacrosse Award
Dr. Dan Ninham Indigenous Lacrosse Award Criteria…The criteria for the Dr, Dan Ninham Indigenous Lacrosse Award is that the nominee must be an outstanding HS or older player, traditional native stickmaker or responsible for the growth and development of traditional native lacrosse in the Midwest.
How to Nominate someone for the Dr. Dan Ninham Award..Contact HOF Selection Committee Chair. Mark Hellenack with any candidates you believe should ne considered for the annual award by the deadline of August 4th, 2026. Mark can be reached at 952-457-4515 or mnlaxhalloffame@gmail.com.
Selection Process: Dr. Ninham, plus pervious INDIGENIOUS LACROSSE AWARD winners and a few selection committee members will all be involved in determining the eventual award winner. Dr Ninham has the final say.
Hall of Fame & Unsung Hero Award
Criteria, Nomination & Voting Process…
NOMINATION PROCESS… You can nominate yourself or others. The process begins with you the lacrosse community nominating deserving male and female lacrosse players, coaches, mens officials, womens umpires and those that have contributed to the game in big way as a starting a team or league, being an outstanding administrator, AD, etc.
INDUCTION VOTING PROCESS…The board sets the criteria, number of inductees and selects the Selection and Voting committee participants based on their unbiased knowledge of the game, history and sense of fairness. The Selection Committee made up of equal male and female representatives from all the levels of the sport takes all the nominations and ranks them. For example if there are 30 nominations they have to rank vote for the top 20. Then the Selection committee chair sends them to the members of the Voting Committee. The Voting Committee, made up of 30-40 voters, they rank votes for their top 12 nominees and sends their results to the Selection committee, who then votes for the top 10-12 inductees. All of this is done virtually via email (Voting & Selection committees) and we use Google Drive for voting and the posting of nominees bios/lax resumes.
If you have any questions about the process please contact Selection Committee Chair, Mark Hellenack at 952-457-4515 c or mnlaxhalloffame@gmail.com
