Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship, for the Other Paper
On April 25, former Burlington High School coach and Saint Michael’s College basketball star Dick Falkenbush will be inducted into the 2026 Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.
The reception, at South Burlington’s Delta Marriott, will honor athletes whose achievements and contributions have benefited youth sports and recreation in Vermont.
Falkenbush, 80, is one of the all-time point leaders at St. Michael’s, who founded a widely popular youth basketball league that’s still active today. Part of the hall of fame’s 13th ceremony, Falkenbush will be honored alongside an elite class that includes Olympians, college coaches as well as an award-winning sportswriter.
“It means a lot. I’m looking at the different people, whether it’s coaches, you’ve got Olympians, you’ve got a different variety of sports,” he said. “So it’s not just basketball, and you’re humbled by it.”
Falkenbush’s basketball career began in his hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Following an impressive high school career, he went on to have a prolific run at St. Michael’s. Scoring 1,431 points in just three seasons, as well as racking up a 51-point game against Hartwick in 1967, solidifying himself as a basketball legend.
After graduating, Falkenbush was drafted in the ninth round of the 1967 NBA draft, going to the former St. Louis Hawks, who now play in Atlanta.
Two years later, Falkenbush married his wife, Sue, who was a student at the former Trinity College, now part of the University of Vermont. He later began teaching and coaching in Vermont, a role he would hold for the next 40 years, first at Winooski High and later in Burlington. Falkenbush coached 21 seasons in the Queen City, leading BHS to 276 wins and a 1996 state title.
During the latter half of his professional career, Falkenbush helped found the Vermont Cats Basketball Club, and the Mini Metro Basketball League, the latter which was open to boys and girls in fifth through eighth grade.
“There wasn’t much going on at that level,” he said. “We allowed the communities in the state of Vermont to pick their own coaches, develop their own teams, have tryouts, whatever they wanted to do.”
The Mini Metro league started with about 70 teams, eventually spreading across the entire state to 130. Falkenbush explained that local coaches, particularly those in rural areas of Vermont, found the Mini Metro especially beneficial, providing a space for kids to compete outside of AAU and better equipping them to compete with Chittenden County teams, which are historically dominant.
“What this does is it allows the development of young basketball talents, and we saw the development,” he said.
Falkenbush had an active role in his students’ lives, both on and off the court. Every Christmas, he would host a gathering at his home, creating a makeshift fireplace with candles on a table. To this day, students of his still recall these memories and his coaching legacy.
Falkenbush, along with this year’s recipients, will be honored with a dinner and award ceremony. Tickets to the event are available, with a portion of the proceeds going to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. The reception will begin at 5:30 pm.