HOF Induction Process

Hall of Fame Induction Process

This page explains the induction process. You can get a copy of the questionnaire by clicking the link in the Questionnaire section below. If you don't find all of the information you need here, please contact us.

The Induction Process

There are three steps to the induction process:

Your questionnaire is received, processed and investigated.
Your qualifications are verified and you are placed into the Candidate Pool.
You are selected for a specific induction class.

Each step is explained in more detail below:

The Questionnaire Process

To apply for induction, you must complete a questionnaire. We cannot consider anyone for induction without a completed questionnaire. There are those who feel that the Hall should know them well enough that a questionnaire is not needed, but this is not the case. There are thousands of musicians that meet the minimum requirements. The Board needs to know about a musician's career and accomplishment to determine who is best qualified. This would be a nearly impossible job without questionnaires.

You can fill out a questionnaire for yourself, or you can fill one out on behalf of someone else. If you email your questionnaire to us, we will reply to let you know we received it. If you send it via snail mail, you will not receive a response (due to a lack of resources, not a lack of interest). If you want confirmation that your snail mail submission was received, or want an update on your status, please send us an email.

First, Click here to see an example of a completed questionnaire.

Second, get a blank questionnaire. Click here to view the questionnaire. To mail us a paper copy, use your browser's Print function to print the page. Please note - you should set all margins to .5 before printing so that the document will print correctly. If you plan to email an electronic copy of the questionnaire, use your browser's Save As function to save a copy to your computer. The questionnaire will open in separate window, so close the window when you are finished to return here. Again, you might need to adjust the margins. If you experience problems with getting a copy of the questionnaire from this web site, contact us and we will assist you.

Third, fill out the form. If you printed the questionnaire, write on the form. If you saved the questionnaire to your computer, open it in Notepad and type the data. The dotted lines on the form divide it into three sections. Here is how to complete each section:

Section 1 -- Enter the date you filled out the form.

Section 2 -- If you are completing the form for yourself, please skip this section. If you are completing the form for someone else, please tell us about yourself in this section. We need this information to contact you if we have questions about the information you provided.

Section 3 -- Complete all fields in this section. This section is very important and could determine if and when you get inducted, so PLEASE do not cut corners when filling in the information, such as writing "Play guitar and other instruments" or "Played in band X and many others". Here's a good way to list the bands you've been in: "Band A (1970-75), Band B (1975-76), Band C (1980-83), performed as a solo act (1985-90)", etc. If you need more room, use the back of the form.

Fourth, send us the completed form. See the instructions at the bottom of the form.

Upon receipt of your questionnaire, the Hall will enter your information into our questionnaire database. We keep all questionnaires! There is no need to send another questionnaire unless you have new or updated information to share.

The Qualification Process

When preparations for the Induction Ceremony begin, usually a couple of months before the ceremony, the Board will review the questionnaires received since the last Induction Ceremony. If a questionnaire is lacking information or there are questions about the information, the Board or their representative will follow up with the submitter, then the questionnaire will be reconsidered.

A nominee should have spent a portion of their career performing in Hall of Fame's coverage area (Indiana counties of Vigo, Clay, Sullivan, Vermillion, Parke, Greene, Putnam and Owen, and Illinois counties of Clark, Edgar and Crawford), be at least 40 years old and have performed for at least 20 years. Please be aware that these are the minimum requirements for induction and meeting these requirements does not guarantee induction. There are so many musicians who meet these requirements that the Hall must also consider the candidate's career and accomplishments. This is why it is important to include as much information as possible on the questionnaire.

If it is determined that a nominee is qualified for induction, they will be placed in the Candidate Pool.

If it is determined that a nominee is not qualified, or if the Hall cannot determine a nominee's qualifications (for example: insufficient information on the questionnaire and/or invalid contact information), the Hall will retain the questionnaires and will review them periodically to see there have been any changes that would affect a nominee's eligibility.

The Selection Process

At the appropriate time, the Board will vote for nominees in the Candidate Pool. The top vote-getters will become members of that Induction Class. Those who did not receive enough votes will remain in the Candidate Pool, and will be considered for future Induction Classes.

Because so many musicians apply for induction, there is a lot of competition for the few available slots. Therefore, please be aware that you can expect to spend some time in the Candidate Pool before being inducted. There is a misconception that the Hall immediately admits veteran musicians as soon as they turn 40 years old. While a small number of musicians have been inducted quickly due to exceptional qualifications and accomplishments, most nominees will spend a few years in the Candidate Pool before being selected. Just because someone doesn't gain admission immediately does not mean that the Hall does not feel they are worthy.

There are a couple of ways that candidates can help themselves:

Make sure that your questionnaire properly highlights your career. List all bands you've played with and the years you played. Any other musical accomplishments? List them. Have new information or updated contact information? Send a new questionnaire.

Do some self-promotion by attending our events. Make it a point to meet the Board members and introduce yourself. If you get the opportunity, get on stage and play. There's nothing more convincing than a good demonstration of your musical talents. We are much more interested in musicians who will support the Hall over the long run than those who will show up one time to collect a certificate, then never return.

If you know of a musician who has sent us a questionnaire, but has not yet been inducted, we encourage you to speak to us on their behalf. There's nothing wrong with lobbying for your favorite person, as long as it is done in a constructive manner.

Comments on the Process

All Halls of Fame, even the professional sports and music Halls, seem to face the same types of complaints about their selection process - feelings that unqualified people are being inducted, or highly qualified people are being passed over in favor of less qualified people, or other similar complaints.

The Board has made changes over the years to ensure that our candidates are qualified to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is why we made questionnaires a requirement in 2009 and we take the time to verify the information on them. The Hall retains this information in case questions arise in the future.

Selecting candidates will always be a subjective process. The Board reviews the process every year to see if there are ways to improve the process. However, there has never been an Induction Class that pleased everyone, nor is this likely to ever happen. No matter who makes the selection or what musicians are selected, there are those who will be unhappy with the result.

Unfortunately, a common reason for a musician not being selected is that we have not received a questionnaire for them. If there is a musician you would like to see in the Hall of Fame, the first step is to make sure that we get a questionnaire. We know that some musicians don't want to have to do this, which is why we allow people to submit a questionnaire on a musician's behalf.