Irvine Shanks, who integrated college basketball in the state of Kentucky in 1954 playing for Berea College, will be honored during half time of the Berea men's varsity basketball game Nov. 17.

The match-up between the Berea Mountaineers and the Spalding University Pelicans, part of Homecoming Weekend activities, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in Seabury Center Arena.

Shanks, of Richmond, will be recognized for his role in advancing racial equality in intercollegiate athletics and in the state. On February 6, 1954, the first racially integrated college basketball game in Kentucky was played in Old Seabury Gym. Shanks, a freshman and the only African American on the Berea team, played in the game as the Mountaineer's center. Just two days earlier, he had made his team debut at Wilmington College, north of Cincinnati. Shanks attended Berea for two years, playing for two seasons with the Mountaineers. The second year, he was a member of the Berea College team that won the 1955 KIAC Tournament.

In volume one of "B For Berea, The Amazing Story of Berea College Basketball in the Words of the Men Who Played It," author Tom Chase presents a fascinating portrait of Shanks, his experiences as an African American college athlete in Kentucky during that period, and his relationship with fellow team members and Coach C. W. Wyatt.

Chase has also written a special insert honoring Shanks that will be included with the basketball game program.

For more information, contact Jackie Ballinger, Berea College Alumni Association at (859) 985-3104 or Tom Chase at (859) 986-4258.