Indiana State plans Larry Bird campus statue

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Indiana State University is moving ahead with plans for a 15-foot-tall bronze statue honoring basketball great Larry Bird.

Such a statue has been talked about for several years, but officials now expect to dedicate it in the fall of 2013 at the Hulman Center arena on the Terre Haute campus.

Sculptor Bill Wolfe tells the Tribune-Star that he wants to make sure Bird’s statue is taller than those of Magic Johnson, whose Michigan State team beat Bird’s Indiana State team in the 1979 NCAA championship game.

Indiana State foundation development director Jack Fox says a donor who wants to remain anonymous is funding much of the project.

The foundation is also looking to raise $50,000 for a Larry Legends Scholarship by selling small copies of the statue.