When one thinks of nationally televised college basketball games, one thinks of Duke. Kansas. Syracuse, North Carolina. Even Gonzaga. Hey, while we're talking about it...in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, my alma mater, Wichita State University, got 34 votes—the highest vote tally for a team not ranked in the top 25.
But...Grinnell College? Grinnell?? Long known as an academic powerhouse among liberal arts colleges, Grinnell has a reputation as a top school for: academics, hippie liberal viewpoints, an endowment of more than $1 billion, and something called a loggia*.
Little did I know of the world's ever-increasing affinity for Grinnell basketball and for the spirited leadership of head coach David Arsenault. Imagine my amazement at finding out that the Pioneers' style of play has taken basketball fandom by storm. (Hell, up to this point, all I knew was that Grinnell didn't have cheerleaders...objectification of women and all that sorta hoo-ha.)
Tonight, the team from Hubby's alma mater takes on Beloit College (Wisc.) at 8 p.m. in the brand-new Darby Gymnasium—and Grinnellians all across the country will be watching as the ESPN family of networks broadcasts its first regular-season NCAA Division III basketball game in three decades. In a Midwest Conference press release, Coach Arsenault said he's "excited to know that our style of play will be seen by the millions of basketball fans who have never seen us play before."
OK. So the game's on ESPN2. It's probably being broadcast because the network's hard up for programming with the NHL strike, or maybe it's the off-season for women's billiards. And it's Division III. I'm not sure anyone other than these two schools' alums would become glued to the set as they channel-surfed. After all, tonight's the 30th Anniversary Happy Days Reunion Special on ABC, night of CSI on CBS, and MustSee TV lineup's on NBC.
But who am I to question the coach's enthusiasm? I've been reading up on the team. Did you know that their last game's final score had them winning 127-110? The team scores an average of more than 110 points a game. A Des Moines Register columnist pointed out today that ESPN's attraction to Grinnell was not for the team's hardly-sexy 5-13 record, but for the coach's well-publicized system: take 100 shots per game, shoot the ball once every 24 seconds, make sure half your shots are three-pointers, take 30 more shots than your opponent, new lineups every 35 seconds, presspresspress.
We're headed to a local bar to watch the game with a group of Grinnell grads. We're not alone. A story on the college's homepage says alums are hosting gamewatching get-togethers in at least 10 other cities, including Des Moines; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Denver; Boston; New York City; Seattle; and Austin, Texas. Coast to coast. That's pretty impressive. So tune in, or at least set your tiVo.
Cheers to the Scarlet & Black.
* Editor's note: A loggia is, in my most technical description, a big ol' walkway thingey that connects the dorms.
But...Grinnell College? Grinnell?? Long known as an academic powerhouse among liberal arts colleges, Grinnell has a reputation as a top school for: academics, hippie liberal viewpoints, an endowment of more than $1 billion, and something called a loggia*.
Little did I know of the world's ever-increasing affinity for Grinnell basketball and for the spirited leadership of head coach David Arsenault. Imagine my amazement at finding out that the Pioneers' style of play has taken basketball fandom by storm. (Hell, up to this point, all I knew was that Grinnell didn't have cheerleaders...objectification of women and all that sorta hoo-ha.)
Tonight, the team from Hubby's alma mater takes on Beloit College (Wisc.) at 8 p.m. in the brand-new Darby Gymnasium—and Grinnellians all across the country will be watching as the ESPN family of networks broadcasts its first regular-season NCAA Division III basketball game in three decades. In a Midwest Conference press release, Coach Arsenault said he's "excited to know that our style of play will be seen by the millions of basketball fans who have never seen us play before."
OK. So the game's on ESPN2. It's probably being broadcast because the network's hard up for programming with the NHL strike, or maybe it's the off-season for women's billiards. And it's Division III. I'm not sure anyone other than these two schools' alums would become glued to the set as they channel-surfed. After all, tonight's the 30th Anniversary Happy Days Reunion Special on ABC, night of CSI on CBS, and MustSee TV lineup's on NBC.
But who am I to question the coach's enthusiasm? I've been reading up on the team. Did you know that their last game's final score had them winning 127-110? The team scores an average of more than 110 points a game. A Des Moines Register columnist pointed out today that ESPN's attraction to Grinnell was not for the team's hardly-sexy 5-13 record, but for the coach's well-publicized system: take 100 shots per game, shoot the ball once every 24 seconds, make sure half your shots are three-pointers, take 30 more shots than your opponent, new lineups every 35 seconds, presspresspress.
We're headed to a local bar to watch the game with a group of Grinnell grads. We're not alone. A story on the college's homepage says alums are hosting gamewatching get-togethers in at least 10 other cities, including Des Moines; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Denver; Boston; New York City; Seattle; and Austin, Texas. Coast to coast. That's pretty impressive. So tune in, or at least set your tiVo.
Cheers to the Scarlet & Black.
* Editor's note: A loggia is, in my most technical description, a big ol' walkway thingey that connects the dorms.
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