Kristin Black, Panther Valley Director of Athletics and Student Activities, has announced the creation of a Panther Valley Athletics Hall of Fame that will induct its first class in the fall of 2026.

“Panther Valley has an outstanding tradition of athletic achievements by individuals and by championship teams since the formation of the school in 1964,” said Black. “We felt that it is long overdue to have an organization that honors these accomplishments.”

Committee members for the newly created PVAHOF include a mix of Panther alumni, school board members, former and current coaches, and longtime PV sports enthusiasts.

In the organizational meetings, the committee voted to name Paul McArdle as their first President and Patrick Leonzi as Vice President. McArdle will also serve as Secretary, while Treasurer responsibilities will be run through the business office of the school district.

McArdle was quick to give credit to Leonzi for making this organization a reality.

“There have been several of us who have been talking about doing this for years, but it was Pat who really got the ball rolling on this,” said McArdle. “He reached out to multiple people to get commitments to volunteer, and he worked closely with Kristin to make it official.”

The committee understands they are a little bit behind in comparison to other local school districts that have all had established Hall of Fame for years.

“Our plan is to have one induction next year, which will basically be the ‘best of the best’ from 60 plus years of Panther Valley athletics, regardless of the sport”, McArdle said. “After that, we plan to have two inductions per year, one at an annual home football game and another at a home basketball game.”

The fall inductions in the future will include honorees from all fall sports (football, volleyball, cross country and golf) as well as outstanding performers from track and field.

The winter inductions will include past greats from all winter sports (basketball, wrestling and swimming) as well as notables from baseball and softball.

“We feel having two (inductions) per year would be a good way to ‘catch up’ and get a good base of athletes and teams recognized sooner rather than later,” Leonzi said. “After a few years, we could probably go to one induction per year, but as of now, that is the plan.”

The organization will officially go public on Feb. 1, at which time a Facebook page will be created, and members of the public will have the opportunity to nominate athletes or teams for consideration to be included in the Hall of Fame.

In the meantime, any queries could be directed to Kristin Black in the PV athletic office.