A visit to Indiana’s Cathedral of Basketball

Posted byscoopricklundPosted inCollege basketball
For a college basketball fan, there may be no finer place to be on a winter Saturday afternoon than historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the sunlight streaming through the windows as the Butler players run onto the floor to the tune of fans singing the school fight song.

I have a deep affinity for college basketball and football venues. It’s no secret to Vicki, our daughters (trust me, they have childhood memories of trips to college campuses to prove it), or anyone who knows me very well. For me, it’s as if the place the game is played is as interesting as the game itself.

So imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to visit the holy grail of all college basketball venues: Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University on the north outskirts of Indianapolis. We had flown to Indy the night before, and were on our way to Valparaiso on Memorial Day weekend to meet our two-week-old grandson, Aksel, celebrate daughter Greta’s 34th birthday, and her 2-year-old daughter Ida’s birthday the following week.

“How about we visit Butler University on our way to Valparaiso?” I asked Vicki, before our trip. These questions are usually met with a rolling-of-the-eyes look. But because she was already familiar with the Butler gym –the two of us in March had watched several NCAA Tournament games played at Indianapolis-area arenas, including Hinkle – she was game.

The original basketball court at Hinkle Fieldhouse faced the windows, but was changed after players complained the sunlight was in their eyes dribbling toward the baskets. Several NCAA Tournament games were played there this past March.

I called the athletics department at Butler and asked if we could get a peek at the fieldhouse. I explained I was a recently retired Seattle Times journalist, and that it was a dream of mine to visit this most hallowed hardwood in basketball-crazed Indiana. An athletics representative named Kelsey said “sure, I’ll give you a tour.”

Milan’s upset win over Muncie Central in 1954 inspired the 1986 movie “Hoosiers” starring Gene Hackman.

Kelsey and a security guard named Martin met us at the front entrance to the brick building, which is marked by a statue of the arena’s namesake, Tony Hinkle, a longtime coach and athletic director at Butler. We walked through the narrow concourse that surrounds the arena, gazing at the historic photos and trophies along the way. Then Martin unlocked the door that led us to the fieldhouse floor.

There she was, in all her glory, as I had imagined it. The arching steel roof trusses, and the windows at each of the end of the fieldhouse that prompted former Butler star guard Shelvin Mack to say there’s nothing like a Saturday afternoon game at Butler “with the sun coming in and everyone singing the Butler fight song.”

The Butler Bulldogs, who compete in the Big East Conference, narrowly lost to Duke in the 2010 national championship game.

Hinkle Fieldhouse, which opened in 1927, is a gem. I could smell history in the air.

For more than 40 years, Hinkle was the stage for Indiana’s high-school basketball state tournament. In 1954, in a game that would define basketball in Indiana, tiny Milan High school (enrollment 161) beat Muncie Central for the state championship, which proved to be the inspiration for the iconic 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” In that era, all schools big and small competed in the same tournament. To put this game in perspective, this would be the state-of-Washington equivalent of La Conner High School beating Seattle’s Garfield High for the state title.

As I walked onto the floor of the old barn, which reminded me of the University of Washington’s original Hec Edmundson Pavilion built in the same era, I also imagined what this place felt like during Butler’s banner 2009-2010 season. That was the year the Bulldogs sprang onto the national stage under coach Brad Stevens, who would leave Butler a couple years later to become the head coach of the Boston Celtics and was just promoted to the team’s GM position. Mack and teammate Gordon Hayward led the little school from Indianapolis all the way to the national championship game against Duke in nearby Lucas Oil Stadium. Hayward missed a half-court shot at the buzzer that would have given Butler its first title.

Thanks to its Final Four run, Butler’s days of toiling in obscurity are in the rear-view mirror. The small, private university with an enrollment of just over 5,000 is big time now. The Bulldogs compete in the basketball-strong Big East Conference against the likes Georgetown, Xavier, Connecticut, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, Creighton and Villanova, which Martin the security guard said is Butler’s biggest rival.

But after visiting this most sacred cathedral of basketball, I can say this about Hinkle Fieldhouse: It has no rival.

All Dawgs, including Huskies, are welcome at Butler, home of the Bulldogs. But no Ducks. Absolutely, no Ducks are permitted through these doors.
The windows at each end of the fieldhouse remind me of Hec Edmundson Pavilion at the University of Washington. The IHSAA state basketball championships were held here from 1928-1971. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden played in the first championship here for Martinsville High. He would go on to become an All-American at Purdue, where a street leading to the arena is named “Wooden Way.” Other Indiana high-school legends made their mark here, including twins Tom and Dick Van Arsdale (Manual High School), Rick Mount ILebanon), George McGinnis and Steve Downing (Washington) and Steve Alford (New Castle), who became an All-American at Indiana U. and went on to become a successful college coach.
Recent renovations at Hinkle Fieldhouse have reduced seating capacity from 15,000 to 9,100. In 1987 it was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Wouldn’t it be something if Butler’s coach was (Oregon State’s) Wayne Tinkle and the Bulldogs’ beat reporter for the local newspaper was (former Seattle Times sports editor) Cathy Henkel?

Leave a comment