The Town of Mount Pleasant surprised college basketball and WNBA analyst and local resident Debbie Antonelli at a May 15 press event, announcing that the Town Hall Gym will be named in her honor. It will henceforth be known as the Debbie Antonelli Gymnasium.
Antonelli, who has called women’s and men’s college basketball for ESPN and CBS among others, was recognized for her outstanding achievements in athletics and deep commitment to inclusive sports and community advocacy. She just worked her ninth NCAA Tournament for CBS, said the announcement shocked and surprised her. “I had no idea,” Antonelli said. “No hint. No inclination. Nothing.”
Mayor Will Haynie, alongside members of town council, made the announcement, describing the gesture as a tribute not only to Antonelli’s decorated 38-year career in basketball media as a television and radio analyst, but also to her work with the Special Olympics and families of individuals with disabilities.
“Debbie’s name on this gymnasium will serve as a lasting reminder not only of her incredible success as a broadcaster and athlete, but of the compassion and drive she brings to causes that uplift others,” said Haynie during the press event. “It’s about honoring a legacy rooted in community, inclusivity and service.”
Antonelli said Haynie texted her the day before and told her he had something special for her at a town press event, which she thought might entail a big check presentation for the Special Olympics. She later learned Haynie had been planning the announcement for three months but didn’t put it on any council agenda because he didn’t want the secret to leak.
“I am incredibly blessed and humbled by the entire experience,” reflected Antonelli. Her three sons, Frankie, Joey and Patrick, along with her husband Frank, were able to attend the event, making it even more special.
Antonelli recounted how she would feel when she sees her name on the gym. “I’m going to feel incredibly honored. I’m going to feel an incredible gratitude and 100% blessed. But I also am going to use it as a source of inspiration and motivation. I’m not going to stop what I’m doing. I will continue to do the things that I’m doing that have served our community — especially the Special Olympics community through my basketball platform — and I’m going to try to do more.”
Antonelli’s annual fundraiser 24 Hours of Nothing But Net, a 24-hour free throw shooting marathon in which she makes 100 free throws every hour for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics, has already netted $1.3 million over seven years.
“And ironically, the very first year of my event was the first event inside the Town Hall Gym which now bears my name. So that was a brand-new facility, and the first thing that was in that facility was 24 Hours Nothing But Net. So, I spent the night in the gym,” recalled Antonelli, whose son Frankie is a Special Olympics athlete currently attending Clemson University.
Despite Antonelli’s hectic schedule, which has included calling games for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever for 20 seasons (the current team of which features superstar Cailtin Clark), she has stayed active in the community throughout nearly all the 25 years her family has lived in Mount Pleasant. She coaches basketball teams, including having coached all her children, leads a fundamentals clinic called the Mount Pleasant Basketball Academy and runs a girls-only sports camp called “Build. Serve. Empower!”
“So I’m trying to do what I can do as one person to service our community the best way that I can,” said Antonelli. “And I think the mayor and the town council, I’m grateful that they recognized my service to the community by putting my name on the building. It’s above and beyond anything I ever imagined.”
It’s been a year of accolades and highlights for the former North Carolina State University basketball standout. Antonelli, a member of both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, received the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in October 2024. In January 2025, NC State hung a banner bearing her name in the Reynolds Coliseum rafters.
“The banner people can see, and the name on the building people will see,” mused Antonelli. “And I hope it will inspire other people to try and do what they can do.”
By Colin McCandless
Leave a Reply