Plans to introduce fan voting as part of the Basketball HOF election “have been abandoned for this year,” according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Officials said that they “expect to implement the idea for the Class of 2014.” HOF President & CEO John Doleva said it is still a "big priority" for the HOF and Chair Jerry Colangelo. However, he added, "It was just a little more complicated than we thought in terms of execution and getting ready and getting ramped up.” Howard-Cooper reported officials “lined up a media partner, ESPN, to promote the concept,” but the HOF “did not have important sponsorships in place, prompting the decision to postpone.” Doleva said, “We would love to find a corporation to get behind this and support it through their media and help them sell product.” Under the working plan, the anonymous voters “selected by the Hall -- basketball officials, former players and/or coaches, athletic directors, media -- would still decide the finalists.” Mass participation would begin “once that list is revealed at All-Star weekend in February, with fans part of the second layer of balloting that decides enshrinement later that summer.” The top three finishers would get “one additional vote toward the final decision, providing a 25th chance to get the 18 votes needed for induction rather than the current model of 18 from 24 electors” (NBA.com, 2/19).
