Brookland-Cayce High School’s new Bearcat Arena opened on Knox-Abbott Drive in Cayce in January of 2019. When it opened the walls of the arena’s Hall of Fame Room were bare.

The Hall of Fame plaques with the names and the faces that once graced the foyer of the old Brookland-Cayce basketball gym had been taken down, languishing in boxes. That was not acceptable for Bearcat Booster Club President Jill Libbey, a class of 1991 BC graduate, and a nurse anesthetist at Lexington Medical Center.

“I couldn’t stand it,” said Libbey, so she went to work.

“There were 70 plaques, some of them with graduates from 60 or 70 years ago,” Libbey said.

She gathered all of the plaques, and sitting at her kitchen table, set out to have all of them redone. There was no uniformity and Libbey wanted to make them all the same. That was not going to be easy since some of the photos would not transfer to a new medium.

“I found yearbooks and went through them looking for photos that we could use to make an official plaque,” Libbey said. Funding for the new plaques was made possible by contributions collected by the Bearcat Club. Here’s a link to contribute to or join the Bearcat Club

When a photo could not be found, Libbey would call on a family member to get a photo.

“I got to know some of the families and they were so glad to hear that the Hall of Fame was being revived,” Libbey said. “A lot of great athletes have come through Brookland-Cayce.”

The Hall of Fame was started in 1987 and there are 114 inductees. And more names will soon be added.

By her calculations, Libbey said there were 20 professional athletes who graduated from BC. Of those: 15 played baseball; 3 played football; 1 played basketball; and 1 played soccer. One member was a US Marine boxing champion.

Two inductees received the Order of the Palmetto, SC’c highest civilian honor and there is a West Columbia mayor and a South Carolina Congressman in the BC HOF.

No information was found on Daisy Howell-Hino-Josa (1936) and Herman “Guy” Bise, Tommy Powell and Curtis Wilson.

The Hall of Fame Room is used for BC athletes when they sign to play in college. BC Athletic Director Rusty Charpia said he is very thankful for Libbey’s effort.

“She worked really hard so that we could have a Hall of Fame,” Charpia said. “It’s a great motivator for our student athletes when they come in here and see all those names. It gives them something to work for. Maybe they can see their name on that wall some day. I’m very thankful to her for all the work it took for us to have a Hall of Fame. It’s very impressive.”

Libbey said she is also pleased with the final product.
“I’m very proud of it,” she said.

Jill Libbey and Athletic Director Rusty Charpia below