Midnight Madness; A Beginning to the Hoop Season

College Basketball games are still several weeks away. However, at the stroke of midnight on October 15 many colleges begin practice with a tradition called Midnight Madness.

Some colleges introduce both the women and men’s teams to the student body and then conduct a practice along with a scrimmage. Dunking contests, three point shooting and many giveaways also highlight this tradition. ESPN 3 begins coverage at 7 ET. Usually Dick Vitale will be making the rounds to different gyms each year.

Many Midnight Madness programs begin with the entry by the coach. Tom Izzo at Michigan State entered as a vampire last year. Another coach entered the gym on a Harley. Sometimes former players enter the gym first to start the session. Whatever it takes to get the season off to a good start is fair game.

Students are usually free from admission. Others bring clothing or can goods for the local food or clothes pantry. Freebies like schedules, t-shirts, pennants and miniature basketballs are thrown out by the cheerleaders.

This years Midnight Madness will be even highlighted more, because of the NBA lockout. If the lockout continues, you can expect attendance to grow at many games. It will especially grow in major cities that support college hoops and professional basketball.

Many colleges really get into the basketball tradition. Besides teams and cheerleaders, many pep bands will begin playing even before the teams take to the court for practice.

It has been a long six months since the last NCAA basketball game. That game being the final the Final four final between Butler and the University of Connecticut. UConn won 53-41. It was Butler’s second straight appearance in the title game.

Some colleges use this tradition to attract future athletes and students to their campus. It is an excellent way to sell your program to future prospects.

Six months of waiting for hoops comes to an end for many schools, when the clock strikes twelve tonight.

sources; Associated Press; ESPN


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