All of my life I’ve known that basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in a YMCA in Springfield Massachusetts. Well…I didn’t know that it was at the Y but you get my drift. I had to look that up. Yeah and we know that Kansas gets a lot of pub because Naismith coached there from 1898-1907.
However, everybody and their baby’s momma, Uncle LeRoy and cousin Bam knows that the game of basketball flourished in the state of Indiana and has always been known for its hoop, especially at the high school level. That’s why they call it Basketball Country! You can’t go to school without being able to play this game.
On Monday the NCAA announced that the ENTIRE NCAA Tournament would be played in Indiana this year. It’ll be the largest bubble-type situation put together during this pandemic. The NBA did it on a smaller scale to finish the 2020 season and it was a huge success.
Now the city of Indianapolis and the surrounding areas including Lafayette and Bloomington will take on the challenge of pulling this enormous event off to complete the 2020-21 season.
All of the teams will be housed in the hotels connected to the Indiana Convention Center and all games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Pacers), Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler), Indiana Farmers Coliseum (where IUPUI plays), Mackey Arena (Purdue) and Assembly Hall (Indiana). The Final Four will be held April 3-5 at Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts play!!
“This is a historic moment for NCAA members and the state of Indiana,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. “We have worked tirelessly to reimagine a tournament structure that maintains our unique championship opportunity for college athletes. The reality of today’s announcement was possible thanks to the tremendous leadership of our membership, local authorities and staff.”
At this point player’s families and coaches wives will be in attendance. There still hasn’t been a decision made on whether fans or how many fans will be able to attend.
This will be some great exposure for the city of Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. Go Indy!!! Do your thing and light up the basketball world!!!
