In addition to becoming the official home of the Heisman Trophy and its annual presentation, the museum also housed the first-ever Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Among its board of directors were Mario Andretti, Martina Navratilova, Joe Frazier, Bob Cousy, Billie Jean King, Paul Hornung, and fifty other Hall of Fame athletes.

[8] Individual objects included Michael Phelps' goggles, Dara Torres' swim cap, Sandy Koufax's 1963 Cy Young Award; the ball from Ty Cobb's 3,000th hit, Lou Gehrig's jersey, and the flag Jim Craig wrapped himself in after the U.S.

[6] The museum's plan was to celebrate all sports, and the Canyon of Heroes where New York City's famed ticker-tape parades originated was chosen as the location.

The decision was made to be a commercial organization, rather than a non-profit as many museums are, due to a desire to participate in New York's post-9/11 Liberty bond financing program (available only to for-profit businesses).

[12] Nearly 100 hall of fame athletes attended the May 7, 2008, opening, with speakers including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Billie Jean King (speaking on behalf of the Women's Sports Foundation), Tony Dorsett (speaking on behalf of the Heisman Trophy), and New York Giants Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Eli Manning.