Jump to content

Hoosier hysteria

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.29.93.53 (talk) at 08:01, 29 November 2009 (→Final Four). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Hoosier Hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding the Indiana high school basketball tournament. In part, the excitement stemmed from the inclusion of all Indiana high schools in the same tournament, where a small town's David might knock off a large city's Goliath. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central (enrollment over 1,600) to win the State title. The plot of the now famous movie, Hoosiers, was based on the story of the 1954 Milan team and seems to typify the hysteria related to basketball in the state of Indiana.

Indiana's passion for basketball was observed and written about by basketball's inventor, James Naismith. In 1925, Naismith visited an Indiana basketball state finals game along with 15,000 screaming fans and later wrote, that while it was invented in Massachusetts, "basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport." Hoosiers have a traditional love for basketball similar to the love for football in Texas, Baseball in New York and Minnesotans' love for hockey. It truly is one of the State's most cherished traditions.

High School Hysteria

One-Class Tradition

Historically, each of the several hundred small towns of Indiana had its own small school system. Before consolidation of many of these rural school districts in the last half of the twentieth century, Indiana high schools had fewer students than those of most other states; basketball was a natural game for these schools since it only required five starters and a few reserves. Even one or two great basketball players could make a high school team a powerhouse, and nearly every Indiana town dreamt of such glory.

The Franklin Wonder Five was the first team to win the state championship in three consecutive years, from 1920-1922. This accomplishment would not be matched for over six decades. The team was led by Fuzzy Vandivier.

After Milan's Miracle in the 1950s, no school with an enrollment of less than 500 won another boys' State title under the all-comers format. As school consolidation became more common and as more rural residents migrated to cities making large high schools grow even larger, smaller high schools had only a mismatch to look forward to come tournament time, as success concentrated in Indiana's large urban and suburban schools. Starting with the 1997-1998 season, Indiana established a controversial four-class system for its basketball championship, although many other sports remain single-class. The state's move to this new system has, to some extent, diminished the phenomenon and public opinion is widely split on the merits of "class basketball."

Aside from the "Milan Miracle," the story of Crispus Attucks High School ranks as one of the greatest in Indiana high school basketball tradition. In 1955, the year after Attucks had lost in the semistate final (state quarterfinals) to Milan's championship team, Attucks gained fame by winning the Indiana state championship, becoming the first all-black school in the nation to win a state title. Crispus Attucks repeated as champions in 1956, becoming the first Indiana high school team to complete a season undefeated. The Attucks teams of 1954 through 1956 were led by Oscar Robertson. Both stories, Milan and Crispus Attucks, are memorialized for their accomplishments and tradition at the Indiana State Museum as well as at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Indiana.

A highlight of the single-class tournament was the 1990 State Championship game, in which the paid attendance was over 40,000 fans. This phenomenal turnout of fans who witnessed Damon Bailey's Bedford-North Lawrence Stars win the State Championship stands as the largest crowd ever to witness a high school basketball game.

After the 1997 season (when Bloomington North won the final single-class State Championship), the IHSAA controversially did away with the single-class system, ending the run of single-class champions in Indiana. There are many in Indiana who lament this loss, and who know that Hoosier Hysteria has been dramatically and significantly lessened thereby.

High school gymnasiums

Perhaps one of the more telling signs of the passion and commitment to basketball at the high school level is the number and size of large basketball gymnasiums in the state. With considerable cost and effort, Indiana boasts nine of the ten largest high school gyms in the country[1], and a purported eighteen of the top twenty. Seventeen venues in Indiana today boast a capacity of over 6,000, the largest being the New Castle Fieldhouse, seating 9,325.[2]

See also: Largest high school gyms in the United States

College Hysteria

Hoosier Hysteria may have its roots firmly planted in the high school game, but the college tradition brings its own depth to Indiana's passion. In NCAA Division I basketball, Indiana's colleges and universities have a storied past. Big Ten rivals Indiana University and Purdue University are the most notable, with national and conference championships to boast. Yet, even the more football-oriented University of Notre Dame and smaller schools such as Ball State University, Butler University, the University of Evansville, Indiana State University, and Valparaiso University add to the mix. Vincennes University boasts an outstanding national tradition in the junior college ranks. In recent years, even the largely-commuter campus of IUPUI and the Division II Indiana Wesleyan University, University of Indianapolis and University of Southern Indiana have added their own successes to the legend of Indiana basketball. Wabash College won the Men's Division III NCAA Championship in 1982; DePauw and Manchester were Div III National Finalists. It is safe to say that the terms "Final Four" and "March Madness" have grown out of the tradition of Hoosier Hysteria.

Ball State Cardinals

Main article: Ball State Cardinals men's basketball

The Ball State Cardinals have won several conference championships and earned a number of NCAA Tournament berths over the years, including:

Butler Bulldogs

Main article: Butler Bulldogs men's basketball

Evansville Purple Aces

  • The Evansville Aces have won five national championships in the NCAA College Division (now known as Division II): 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965 (29-0 record), and 1971. This ranks second all-time.
  • After joining the NCAA's Division I in 1977, Evansville was a charter member of the Midwest Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League. The Aces won or shared the MCC regular season title in 1982, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1993. They also won the conference tournament title in 1982, 1992, and 1993.
  • The Aces are now a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, and won the 1999 regular season title.
  • Legendary Aces coach Arad McCutchan was the first NCAA College Division coach selected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame[4].

Indiana Hoosiers

Main article: Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball

Indiana's collegiate basketball squad, the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team has several championships to their credit:

  • Five NCAA National Championships (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987), placing them in a tie for third most all-time
  • Twenty Big Ten Championships (including four-in-a-row, from 1973 to 1976), currently the second most all-time
  • Also, Indiana completed the most recent undefeated season in Division I men's college basketball, going 32-0 in the 1975-76 season under Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight.

The Hoosiers' five NCAA Championships are the third-most in history, tied with UNC trailing UCLA (11) and Kentucky (7). Their eight trips to the Final Four ranks seventh on the all-time list. The Hoosiers have made 32 appearances in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament (fifth-most in NCAA history). In those 32 appearances, Indiana has posted 52 victories, the sixth-most in NCAA history.

Indiana State Sycamores

Main article: Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
  • Led by the legendary French Lick standout Larry Bird, Indiana State was the runner-up in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. They lost to Magic Johnson's Michigan State Spartans. They finished the season at 33-1.
  • Indiana State, led by All-American Jerry Newsom, was the runner-up in the 1968 NCAA College Division championship game.
  • Indiana State won the 1950 NAIA championship game.
    • Seven players from the 1950 team played for Head Coach John Longfellow as the United States' Gold Medal Basketball team at the inaugaral 1951 Pan-American Games.
  • Indiana State was the runner-up in the 1946 and 1948 NAIA championship games. The 1948 team was coached by the legendary John Wooden; it is the only Championship game loss in Coach Wooden's career.
    • In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the conference title and received an invitation to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation citing the NAIA's policy banning African American players. A member on the Indiana State Sycamores' team was Clarence Walker, an African-American athlete from East Chicago, Indiana. In 1948 the NAIA changed this policy and Wooden guided his team to the NAIA final, losing to Louisville. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in ANY post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament.
    • Indiana State finished third in 1953 and fourth in the 1949 NAIA tourney
  • In 1936, Indiana State was the runner-up in the U.S. Olympics Trials for basketball.
  • Two MVC Regular Season Championships and two MVC Tournament Championships
  • Eight Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) Regular Season Championships

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Main article: Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
  • The 1936 Men's Irish Basketball team was awarded the Helms Foundation National Championship.
  • The Irish women won the National Championship in 2001.

Purdue Boilermakers

Main articles: Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball and Purdue Boilermakers women's basketball

With their only National Championship coming in the days before the NCAA Tournament, the Purdue Boilermakers have a strong basketball history:

  • National Championship in 1932 (sponsored by the Helms Athletic Foundation, seven years before the NCAA sponsored a basketball championship)
  • One NIT Championship (1974); the first for the Big Ten Conference and two Runner-up finishes (1979, 1982) and a third place finish (1981)
  • Twenty-One (21) Big Ten Championships (including a "Three-Pete" - a play on their mascot - from 1994 to 1996 and from 1934 to 1936.)
  • The women Boilermakers have one National Championship (1999), one National Runner-up (2001), seven Big Ten Championships, and have won six of the thirteen women's Big Ten Tournaments.

USI Screaming Eagles

Valparaiso Crusaders

Main article: Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball


Vincennes Trailblazers

Main article: Vincennes Trailblazers men's basketball

The Vincennes University men's basketball program is the 4th winningest junior college program in the country, with 1,470 victories. The Trailblazers trail Southeastern Iowa Community College (1,519), Moberly, Mo., (1,505) and Hutchinson, Kan., with 1,490. The Trailblazers' 3 National Titles place them 3rd in titles behind Moberly Area Community College and San Jacinto College - Central, which each have four titles. The Vincennes program began in 1903, however, no teams were formed from 1910-1912 and 1931-1950.

  • 3 NJCAA National Championships; 1965, 1970, 1972
    • National Finalist in 1986
    • National Semi-Finalist in 1974, 1983, 1992, 1993
    • National Tournament Top 10 finishes: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2000
  • 30 appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament
    • 28 appearances in the NJCAA finals.
  • 34 NJCAA Region 12 championships.
  • 9 NJCAA District 12 championships.
  • 7 Inter-region playoffs

Professional Hysteria

Indiana Pacers

Main article: Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team is based in the state's capital and largest city, Indianapolis, Indiana, located in the center of the state. The Indiana Fever of the WNBA, also owned by Melvin & Herb Simon, are the Pacers' sister team and play at Conseco Fieldhouse as well. The Indiana Pacers

Indiana Fever

Main article: Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever is a professional women's basketball team that plays in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Fever are based in Indiana's capital and largest city, Indianapolis. The Fever play at Conseco Fieldhouse, located in downtown Indianapolis. The team is the sister team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers.

National Hysteria

Big Ten Tournament

At the conclusion of the regular Big Ten season, a tournament is held to determine the conference winner, who receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Indianapolis has played host for the men's tournament on three occasions to date. Indianapolis has hosted all but one of the women's tournaments since its inception in 1995. Beginning in 2008, the Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament will be held exclusively at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse.

Final Four

Indianapolis, Indiana, headquarters of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and often referred to as the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World" has hosted a number of collegiate basketball events. Aside from the multitude of regional games held during the NCAA tournament, Indianapolis has hosted five men's NCAA Final Fours (1980, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006) and one women's (2005). Indianapolis is scheduled to host the men's 2010 and 2015 Final Fours as well as the women's in 2011. Previous events were held in the Market Square Arena or the RCA Dome, but given the new stadium being built for the Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium will host future events. When the NCAA Headquarters relocated to Indianapolis, it was stated that Indianapolis would then host the men's Final Four once every five years. The leading factor in the NCAA's decision to move to Indianapolis was the overwhelming amount of local athletic infrastructure, all of it world-class.

World Championships

Main article: 2002 FIBA World Championship

In 2002, Indianapolis hosted the FIBA World Championship, an event that takes place on even years opposite the Olympic Games. Since inaugural event in 1950, Indianapolis is the only city in the United States to have hosted the event.

Homegrown Hysteria

Here follows a list of notable Indiana natives who have achieved success in basketball:


Non-natives who gained basketball fame in Indiana's tradition include:

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hoosier_hysteria&oldid=328546251"