| DI HOOPS IN INDIANA | |
|---|---|
| School | Conference |
| Ball State | MAC |
| * Butler | Big East |
| Evansville | Missouri Valley |
| * Indiana | Big Ten |
| Indiana State | Missouri Valley |
| IPFW | Summit |
| IUPUI | Summit |
| * Notre Dame | ACC |
| * Purdue | Big Ten |
| * Valparaiso | Horizon |
| * -- 2015 NCAA tournament teams | |
Butler and Notre Dame face off in the third round at 9:40 p.m. ET Saturday. The schools are separated by about 150 miles along Hwy. 31 in Indiana and both universities have iconic athletic histories.
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is located in South Bend. (In French, Notre Dame du Lac means "Our Lady of the Lake" and refers to the university's patron saint, the Virgin Mary.) Butler University, located in Indianapolis, opened its doors on Nov. 1, 1855, as North Western Christian University.
So with the eyes of the 19th U.S. state fixed on the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish, here are five things to know about Indiana and its rich basketball tradition:
HINKLE FIELDHOUSE
Hinkle Fieldhouse once hosted the state high school basketball championship games, including the "Milan Miracle." Immortalized by the 1986 movie Hoosiers, Milan defeated Muncie in 1954 and the film's climactic game was shot in Hinkle Fieldhouse. But everyone knows that. ... Here's what you may not know: Hinkle Fieldhouse still utilizes the original floor, which has been in use longer than any Division I court. Hinkle Fieldhouse also is a National Historic Landmark. "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral" is named for Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle, the school's coach from 1926-42 and 1945-70. (He also introduced the "orange" basketball, a change from the previous brown color.)
ASSEMBLY HALL
Opened in 1971, Indiana University's new basketball arena coincided with the arrival of coach Bob Knight. But everyone knows that. ... Here's what you may not know: The New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers and Daniel Paul Higgins -- now knows as RMJM Hillier -- designed Assembly Hall. Other notable designs by Eggers & Higgins include the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington D.C., the Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland, and the Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina.
EDMUND P. JOYCE CENTER
Notre Dame's basketball arena opened in December 1968 as the Athletic & Convocation Center. It was renamed in 1987 to honor the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Notre Dame's executive vice president from 1952 to 1987. Among the memorable games at the Edmund P. Joyce Center: The Irish handed UCLA its only loss of the 1971 season, and three years later Notre Dame ended UCLA's NCAA record 88-game winning streak. But everyone knows that. ... Here's what you may not know: Father Joyce was the first student from South Carolina ever to attend Notre Dame and earned his bachelor's degree in accounting, magna cum laude, in 1937.
MACKEY ARENA
The facility opened in 1967 as Purdue Arena, with John Wooden's defending champion UCLA Bruins dealing the Boilermakers a 73-71 loss. (Mackey Arena is located between Northwestern Avenue and John R. Wooden Drive, yes -- that Wooden, who played for Purdue from 1929-32.) The facility was renamed in 1972 to honor long-time university athletic director Guy "Red" Mackey. But everyone knows that. ... Here's what you may not know: Mackey, who was Purdue's AD from 1942 to 1971, was a Boilermakers football letterman in 1926, '27 and '28 and an honorable mention All-American end in 1928.
ATHLETICS-RECREATION CENTER
The ARC opened in 1984 as an addition to Hilltop Gym on the Valparaiso campus. Among the first facilities built at the university, the oldest parts of Hilltop Gym date to 1939. The court bears the name Homer Drew Court, in honor of Dr. Homer Drew, Valpo’s all-time winningest coach (and father of current Crusaders coach Bryce Drew). But everyone knows that. ... Here's what you may not know: In May 1968, presidential candidate Robert Kennedy addressed a crowd of 5,000 at Hilltop Gym, four weeks before he was assassinated in Los Angeles.
