Shauna Green, the Fighting Illini women’s basketball coach, will be the keynote speaker at the Champaign Parks Foundation’s third annual Ties and Tennies Gala on Sept. 4 at the I Hotel.
The festive event celebrates the Champaign Park District’s award-winning parks and raises money for scholarships for families to participate in park programs. Last year’s event netted nearly $100,000 for scholarships covering sports teams, swim lessons, summer camps, afterschool programs, and cultural arts offerings. This year’s funds will also benefit C-U Special Recreation, which provides programs and services to individuals with disabilities.
Green is entering her fourth season with the Illini. Her teams have made two NCAA tournament appearances and won the WBIT Championship. Jennifer Roscoe, WCIA-TV news anchor, will emcee the event. Mike Namoff, celebrity auctioneer, will present the live auctions, and Maggie Baker, local radio personality, will provide the music.
The Ties and Tennies Gala also honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the Champaign parks. The Newt Dodds Legacy Award will be presented to Richard Noel and the Noel family. The Noel family has a long and rich history of supporting Champaign Park District initiatives. The Champion Award will be presented to Nate Dixon, who worked for the park district for 27 years including a period as the Director of the Douglass Center. In retirement, Dixon continues to serve the district with senior programming and other initiatives at the Douglass Center.
“Our community’s need for park scholarships continues to grow and the gala has enabled us to meet that need over the past two years,” said Amy Roady, chair of the Champaign Parks Foundation Board.
“Recreation is essential for a community’s physical and mental health,” said Sarah Sandquist, Executive Director of the Champaign Park District. “The Foundation’s Gala has helped us bridge the gap in accessibility to our programs.”
Tickets to the 2025 Gala include a plated dinner and complimentary wine and beer and can be purchased at: https://bit.ly/TiesTennies2025
2025 Ties & Tennies Sponsors
Platinum
GHR Engineers, Lynn Ryle, Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend
Gold
CIBM Bank, Fisher National Bank, Pepsi Cola Champaign-Urbana Bottling Co, Martin Hood, IL American Water, The Dodds Co., Body N Sole Sports
Silver
Athletico, Commerce Bank, Harrington Law Firm, LLC, Coldwell Banker Commercial Devonshire Realty, Ramshaw Realty, U of I Community Credit Union, Litania Sports Group, Petry-Kuhne, Human Kinetics
Bronze
The Atkins Group, Sam & Maureen Banks, Cozad Asset Management, First Mid Bank, INB (Bank), IPI Wealth Management, Katie Zimmerman, The Libman Company, Needful Things, DECA, Meijer (Champaign Store #146), Barb and Dave Kuhl
Copper
Baird Public Finance, PFM
Shauna Green
Shauna Green was named the 10th head coach of the Fighting Illini women’s basketball program on Monday, March 21, 2022. She wrapped up her third season at Illinois with the 2024-25 campaign.
Across her time at Illinois, Green has led the Illini to a 63-35 record, including a 30-24 mark in Big Ten play. Including her time as the head coach at Dayton, Green owns a 190-85 record as a Division I coach. When adding in her two seasons as the head coach at Loras College (DIII), Green owns a 219-110 head coaching record across her career. Dating back to her second season at Loras, Green has led her squads to 10 consecutive winning seasons. She has guided her teams to a combined six NCAA Tournaments and three WBIT/WNIT appearances. Green’s squads have won seven conference championships (five regular season, two tournament) and the 2024 WBIT championship.
In three seasons under Green, the Illinois women’s basketball team has registered 63 wins, the first-ever postseason championship in program history (2024 WBIT), and three consecutive top-5 season attendances in State Farm Center. Additionally, the Illini have racked up six AP Top 25-ranked wins, secured double-digit home victories for three-straight seasons for the first time in program history, won Illinois’ first NCAA Tournament game in 25 seasons, and brought in the No. 7-ranked recruiting class by espnW coming in for the 2025-26 campaign. In year three at Illinois, Green continued the program’s upward trajectory with another 22-win season (22-10), a third-straight postseason appearance, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years. The Fighting Illini tied the program record with four wins over AP Top-25 ranked opponents. Illinois led the Big Ten in team free throw percentage (79.3%) and defensive 3-point percentage (28.1%), while Genesis Bryant (free throw percentage) and Kendall Bostic (double-doubles, minutes/game, rebounds, def. rebounds/game, rebounds/game) combined to lead the league in six individual categories. Illinois’ 63 wins through Green’s first three seasons match the program record in that span while also marking the most by a head coach in their first three years with the Orange and Blue. Across that period, Illinois is 38-11 at home under Green, and the program has secured double-digit wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. The Illini won 11 consecutive games from March 21-Nov. 26, 2024, a new program record and the longest active win streak in the country at the time. Additionally, Illinois strung together a program-record eight-game Big Ten winning streak en route to an 11-7 record in league play.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chelsea Norton
Director of Marketing & Development
Champaign Park District
217-819-3934
chelsea.norton@champaignparks.org
