If there’s one thing that IU prides itself on, it’s tradition.
From the world-famous basketball student section (the largest in the country), to the sculptures of famous IU presidents and other greats, to all the tradition involved with the Sample Gates on Kirkwood Avenue, it’s almost impossible to ignore.
Heck, President Obama attended the women’s race at Little 500 back in 2008 during his run for the presidency.
So, it’s easy to see how that focus on tradition would naturally spread to the athletic program.
The school’s hosted super-athletes like Mark Spitz — the original Michael Phelps — as alumni, in addition to sporting legends like Isiah Thomas, Steve Alford, George Taliaferro and Cynthia Potter.
The center of this sports tradition, though, is Assembly Hall — the crown jewel.
In a state that eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, that court is nationally regarded as hallowed ground in the basketball world.
It’s consistently ranked as one of the top three home court advantages in college basketball, and anytime IU’s players step onto that hardwood, they’ve got a solid shot at a W no matter the ?competition.
Just look at 2011, when a talented, young Hoosiers squad took down Anthony “The Unibrow” Davis and his No. 1 ranked, eventual NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats with a buzzer-beater that won an ESPY for the best play of the year.
The following month, they managed to defeat No. 2 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan in Assembly Hall in back-to-back weeks.
So it’s only natural for a little apprehensiveness to arise when the University announces a $35 million plan to renovate the stadium like it did in July, which would remove a room containing more than 60 years of memorabilia and replace it with an elevator shaft.
IU, very conscious of its rich tradition, found a unique solution that would digitize the box scores, game pamphlets and coaches’ resumes the athletic department has accrued through the years with the help of the school’s library department.
Put simply, the things there are invaluable.
The memorabilia was highlighted in a story by the Indianapolis Star and features such gems as a team photo with Coach McCracken and Bobby “Slick” Leonard, a play-by-play sheet from IU’s Rose Bowl appearance in 1968 and Eric Gordon’s freshman student-athlete questionnaire.
The photos will be stored in a temperature and humidity controlled room off-campus, safe from decay and everyday wear and tear.
The fact that IU has gone to such lengths to protect its traditions while at the same time improving its own facilities for the future says a lot about the integrity of the University, not just in athletics.
The school could easily just remove the memorabilia without a second thought in anticipation of the exciting new renovations, but instead, it values its past and embraces it.
That history means as much, if not more, to the State of Indiana and its people as it does to IU, and that’s a breath of fresh air given how bureaucratic and cold higher education can be.
Now, if only we could get Coach Knight to come back to Bloomington.
aknorth@indiana.edu
