Bill Benner

2024

By Nelson Price

As a boy growing up on an Indiana farm, as Bill Benner puts it, “baling hay, castrating pigs and detasseling corn,” the notion of becoming a renowned, multi-faceted sports journalist with one of the highest profiles in the state must have seemed as out of reach as, well, making a slam dunk in a National Basketball Association playoff game.

Yet Benner went on to become a household name because of a stellar, award-winning career that included 33 years as a sportswriter and eventual sports columnist for The Indianapolis Star, 12 years as a sports columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal, and stints on Indiana-based television and radio shows.

Not only did Benner cover everything from the evolution of Indianapolis as a sports capital and three Olympic Games (including the triumph of the first U.S. “Dream Team” in Barcelona in 1992) to nearly two dozen National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four tournaments and the rivalry between college coaches Bobby Knight and Gene Keady, Benner emerged as a sought-after expert on Hoosier sports and a tireless advocate for Special Olympics Indiana, serving as its board chairman.

“As an avid sports fan, I can’t have missed more than a handful of Benner columns over the last half century,” wrote Mitch Daniels, the former Indiana governor and Purdue University president in a letter supporting Benner’s selection to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. “I appreciate sports writing that teaches us mere fans something; a Benner column always does.” Governor Eric Holcomb described Benner’s career as “nothing short of incredible.”

Benner’s career did not exactly take root on the farm in the Center Grove area south of Indianapolis, where Benner, who was born in 1948, grew up. His father, Charles Benner, commuted to the city to work as a printer and a pressman for The Star from a rural area because he wanted his four children to experience farm life. (Bill Benner’s younger brother, David, who died in 2023, also became a sportswriter, but is best remembered for his subsequent career as the longtime media relations director for the Indiana Pacers.) 

According to Bill Benner, his father’s job at the newspaper was not the reason his interest in writing was sparked. Instead, it was the fact that his father and mother, Emma, were avid newspaper readers. Even so, as Bill and his siblings undertook “the usual farm jobs,” including the hay baling and pig castrating, he assumed that he would pursue a career as a teacher.

That game plan began to change when, to earn money after graduating in 1967 from Center Grove High School where he played on the football team and ran track, Benner was hired to answer phones during the night shift at The Star while he took classes by day at what was known then as the Indiana University Extension in Indianapolis. After saving enough money to transfer to the Bloomington campus, Benner continued to work for The Star, reporting about campus sports as a stringer.

After graduating from IU, he was hired by the newspaper. His early highlights in the 1970s included covering the first game played by the Indiana Pacers in the new Market Square Arena. (Decades later, Benner covered the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals in 2000 and the team’s electrifying rivalry with the New York Knicks.)

As a sportswriter, Benner says he was inspired by Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame member Bob Collins, a longtime Star sports columnist, and Jim Murray, the legendary columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Eventually, Benner inspired younger generations himself and taught sports writing at Butler University as an adjunct faculty member for several years.

“The world has changed so much for sportswriters because, with social media, you have to react instantly today,” he noted. “Even so, there’s still a place for good storytelling.”

Benner’s storytelling has earned him numerous honors, including being named Indiana Sportswriter of the Year by the National Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters, as well as induction into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame (he served as the organization’s president in the late 1990s) and the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscaster Hall of Fame.

He also has won praise for his civic leadership, particularly his long involvement with Special Olympics Indiana. That began in 1976 at the urging of his wife, Sherry, an occupational therapist, who encouraged Benner to attend a sports competition featuring young athletes with special needs. “I was blown away at what I witnessed,” Benner recalled. “This was sports at its essence.”

In 2001, Benner left The Star after 33 years to take a series of posts with civic and sports organizations, including the Indiana Sports Corp., Visit Indy and Pacers Sports and Entertainment, where he was senior vice president of corporate, community and public relations. His sports byline continued for 12 years as a columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal. From 2005 to 2022, he also was the host of a regular sports segment on “Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick,” a syndicated television show. While at The Star, Benner enjoyed a stint as the co-host of an afternoon show on WNDE Radio.

Whether for print or broadcast, Benner interviewed virtually all the top sports figures connected to Indiana. Among his favorite interview subjects were coaches Bobby “Slick” Leonard and John Wooden. He had a rocky relationship with another coach, IU’s Knight.

“Everybody who covered him eventually came to a crossroads, and you essentially had to choose your path,” Benner told Zionsville Monthly magazine. “When my crossroads arrived, I chose that I was going to stay true to what I thought was my role and responsibility as a journalist and sportswriter.”

Having covered the evolution of Indianapolis from a city primarily known only for the Indianapolis 500 to a major national center for professional and amateur sports (he called the transformation “thrilling and almost unbelievable”), Benner continues to serve in retirement in organizing and speaking roles for events. For example, he was on the committee that put together the city’s successful bid to host the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

Bill and Sherry Benner live in the Geist area and are the parents of two daughters, Allison and Ashley.