The Len Bias Legacy - Timeline
October 3, 2014
Len Bias Receives
His Terps Due
University of Maryland athletes are eligible to be inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame 10 years after they finish competing as a Terp. It took Len Bias nearly 30 years join other top Terps athletes in the Hall. He was inducted on October 3, 2014. It was the second, and perhaps most symbolic, of his five hall of fame inductions.
Excerpts from the second edition of the book,
Born Ready: The Mixed Legacy of Len Bias
(the book will be released in early November)
At the induction ceremony on October 3, 2014, Johnny Holliday, the familiar voice of Maryland football and basketball, introduced Bias in a three-minute recorded video tribute to the hundreds who attended. “Len Bias was perhaps the most dominant player to ever wear a Maryland basketball jersey,” he said, his voice narrating the video. “And surely one of the most memorable. His athleticism and gracefulness were unforgettable. And it is our honor to look back at his remarkable career tonight as he is inducted into the University of Maryland athletics hall of fame.“ About a minute later, moments after the crowd stopped applauding, Lonise Bias walked up on stage and stood behind a podium, with sudden quiet enveloping the audience. Someone yelled, “Best ever.” No one in attendance would likely disagree.
In her acceptance speech, Lonise Bias reflected with humility and grace about her son Len and his time at Maryland. “It is indeed an honor for us to be here this evening and to be a part of this historic occasion,” she said. “Some of the best times of our life were spent out here over at Cole Field House watching Len play ball. I can remember when I lay on the floor and cried and begged to die when my second son (Jay) died. I didn’t know how my two remaining children were going to make it, how my husband and I were going to make it. And here we are today with five grandchildren.
“So one of the things I’d like to impress upon the audience tonight is this. To redeem the time, because we are in a time of suddenly. Everything is happening so quickly. I’m here to tell you to just let your loved ones know how you feel about them. Show love and encouragement because this is not the time to have no time. We stand here today after 28 years saying that there is life after death. After you have the good life, after you have your nightmare, after you have life after death, then the best is yet to come. And we are here today experiencing history with the best coming from the Bias family today here at the University of Maryland as Len Bias is inducted into the University of Maryland Hall of Fame.”
The audience responded with a brief standing ovation. It likely would have lasted longer, but Lonise Bias calmly interrupted them to say more. She thanked the audience for their prayers. She thanked her husband, James, who stood by her side throughout the speech–and symbolically, through the tough times–for his unending support. “He is the silent water, and still waters run deep,” she said. “And he has covered me and protected our family for years.” Finally, despite pleas from her daughter Michele not to do so, Lonise Bias closed her comments with, “This has been a stone groove (meaning something cool, a party).”
Much of the content presented in the Timelines was produced in 2022 by Enzo Alvarenga, a University of Maryland Journalism student at the time. Enzo died in an accident while riding a bicycle when he was working as a volunteer on the project. The honor his memory, the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism has established the Enzo Bibes Alvarenga Endowed Scholarship in Journalism. For more information and to support the scholarship, click the button below.
Some content is excerpted from the book
Listen to more about Len's legacy in the
narrative podcast series, Len Bias: A Mixed Legacy
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