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Midnight Madness (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Midnight Madness is an annual event on college campuses that celebrates the first day in mid-October that the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) permits formal basketball practices each college basketball
season
. In some cases, the name has literal meaning since an event is scheduled starting at midnight at the very first moment that is allowed. Some other campuses have sunrise practice session events on the opening day of the season, while others have theirs during prime time
. The event has become both a form of boosterism and recruiting. In some cases, the teams are both celebrating the potential of a new team and the success of the previous season's teams. Schools sometimes schedule banner raising events in conjunction with the event. In 2010, events began on Friday, October 15 with the actual practice occurring at midnight on Saturday, October 16.
At some schools, both the men's and women's teams celebrate the beginning of the regular season. In 2008, there was controversy over some schools' applications to host public practice sessions in association with the "Offseason Workout Rule" before regular practice sessions were to be permitted.
head coach Lefty Driesell
started the tradition at 12:03 a.m. on October 15, 1971 with a 1.5 mile run. The early practice session was attended by 3,000 fans at the track surrounding Byrd Stadium
on the University of Maryland
campus. Driesell continued the annual midnight practice session throughout his tenure at Maryland, and brought the tradition with him when he became head coach at Georgia State University
. In 2008, that school delayed the event until sunrise for the first time since Driesell established the tradition.
In 1982, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
team began to officially promote a celebration dubbed "Midnight Madness" as a school event with formal entertainment acts and an invited student audience. Another of the more famous events is "Late Night in the Phog
" at Kansas, which was started in 1985 by Larry Brown
and is now broadcast in live streaming video via the Internet
. The event has caught on on most campuses; various programs have given away T-shirts and allowed players do stunt dunk
s and half court
shots. Some schools schedule intrasquad scrimmages, three-point shooting contests and/or slam dunk contests. The event is often a co-ed event, in which both the men's and women's team participate in the celebration, especially at schools like the University of Connecticut
, where the men's and women's teams have a combined eight championships. Scout.com
estimated that in 2007, approximately 160 of the top blue chip
high school basketball recruits in the country were attending a Midnight Madness event during the weekend that opens the basketball season.
with MCs, music, dancing and other festivities to encourage support of the program. Celebrity guests and alumni participate in entertaining the students. Often, there is significant publicity surrounding the event, which may include televised broadcasts, published press releases and various new media
exposure.
Some of the more outlandish occurrences during such events included coach participation, such as Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
coach Tom Izzo
riding a Harley-Davidson
motorcycle
onto the court and Florida Gators men's basketball
coach Billy Donovan
rising out of a coffin. Although signing week, when top recruits sign letters of intent
that commit them to specific schools, does not occur until November, blue chip high school recruits are sometimes welcomed at these events even in their junior years. Usually a prescribed number of fans (such as the first 1000) receive a gifts such as t-shirt
s, poster
s, autographs, road
game vacation packages, and other free paraphernalia. At many such events, a student is chosen for a half court shot giveaway. Sometimes the events are televised live by sports networks such as the Big Ten Network, and other times highlights are shown on highlight shows such as ESPN
's SportsCenter
. ESPNU
has begun extensive yearly coverage of midnight madness events and in 2008 televised events at Davidson College
, the University of Kansas, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University
and Indiana University
. The events have been reported for years in print media such as newspapers, magazines and the internet. Although Midnight Madness has become a prime time event for many premier basketball programs, some schools have continued the tradition of having their first practice at 12:00 on the first day regular practice is allowed.
As of 2006, the University of Kentucky
held the record for attendance at this type of sports rally with an attendance of 23,312 at Rupp Arena
. Kentucky has sold out Rupp Arena multiple times for what they call "Big Blue Madness" and in the 2008–09 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball season fans had to camp out in lines for days in advance to obtain tickets.
One celebratory function of the evening is often to raise NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
or Final Four banners to the rafters in an official ceremony. In 2008, both 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
finalists, the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball and Memphis Tigers men's basketball teams, did so during their respective Midnight Madness event. The October 16, 2009 celebrations occurred on many campuses and a sampling were aired on the ESPN
family of networks. Five Big Ten Conference
schools celebrated Midnight Madness.
games the week before the opening date of formal practices, which had become the traditional Midnight Madness date, they would be better off holding Midnight Madness on the weekend before. In 2008, teams were allowed to practice two hours per week between September 15 and October 17 under what is known as the "Offseason Workout Rule," and at least four notable public "practice" session (by Illinois, Kentucky, Marshall and West Virginia) were held during these weekly practices before daily practices were permitted. At the University of Illinois, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
and women's basketball teams hosted scrimmages at Memorial Stadium
after an October 11 game between the Illinois Fighting Illini football
team and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football
team. Since the attendance for the football game was 62,870, this event was described as the "World's Largest Basketball Practice". Charlie Zegers reports that the practice session events occurred both at halftime and after the game.
Kentucky was one of the schools that held their public practice event a week early in part because they could lure more recruiting prospects during a week when most other programs were not hosting similar events. The National Association of Basketball Coaches
asked the Southeastern Conference
to force Kentucky to adhere to the traditionally scheduled practice to no avail. They then belatedly petitioned the NCAA to legislate conformity unsuccessfully. Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie
had contacted the Kentucky's compliance office, the SEC and the NCAA to ensure that no rules were being violated.
Illinois head coach Bruce Weber, had also received permission for the early practice festivities from the NCAA. He had proposed having a September 13 session in association with a home football game against University of Louisiana at Lafayette
. The date with the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
would have in all likelihood been a more favorable day in terms of the climate
, but this date preceded even the Offseason Workout Rule dates. It is anticipated that in the future, public basketball practices linked to the Offseason Workout Rule will be banned. Illinois claimed that their date change was not intended to give it a recruiting advantage in terms of scheduling conflicts.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) permits formal basketball practices each college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
. In some cases, the name has literal meaning since an event is scheduled starting at midnight at the very first moment that is allowed. Some other campuses have sunrise practice session events on the opening day of the season, while others have theirs during prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
. The event has become both a form of boosterism and recruiting. In some cases, the teams are both celebrating the potential of a new team and the success of the previous season's teams. Schools sometimes schedule banner raising events in conjunction with the event. In 2010, events began on Friday, October 15 with the actual practice occurring at midnight on Saturday, October 16.
At some schools, both the men's and women's teams celebrate the beginning of the regular season. In 2008, there was controversy over some schools' applications to host public practice sessions in association with the "Offseason Workout Rule" before regular practice sessions were to be permitted.
History
Maryland TerrapinsMaryland Terrapins men's basketball
The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
head coach Lefty Driesell
Lefty Driesell
Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Davidson College, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. During his 41-year coaching career, Driesell led teams from each school to the NCAA...
started the tradition at 12:03 a.m. on October 15, 1971 with a 1.5 mile run. The early practice session was attended by 3,000 fans at the track surrounding Byrd Stadium
Byrd Stadium
Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium , is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of the Maryland Terrapins football and lacrosse teams, which compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference...
on the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
campus. Driesell continued the annual midnight practice session throughout his tenure at Maryland, and brought the tradition with him when he became head coach at Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
. In 2008, that school delayed the event until sunrise for the first time since Driesell established the tradition.
In 1982, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
team began to officially promote a celebration dubbed "Midnight Madness" as a school event with formal entertainment acts and an invited student audience. Another of the more famous events is "Late Night in the Phog
Allen Fieldhouse
Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The arena, named in honor of Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, who coached the university's men's basketball team for 39 years, is one of college basketball's most historically significant and prestigious buildings...
" at Kansas, which was started in 1985 by Larry Brown
Larry Brown (basketball)
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
and is now broadcast in live streaming video via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The event has caught on on most campuses; various programs have given away T-shirts and allowed players do stunt dunk
Dunk
Dunk or Dunking may refer to:* Slam dunk, type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim...
s and half court
Half court
Half court is a term used in basketball for a shot taken from half court . It is most commonly used as a buzzer beater...
shots. Some schools schedule intrasquad scrimmages, three-point shooting contests and/or slam dunk contests. The event is often a co-ed event, in which both the men's and women's team participate in the celebration, especially at schools like the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
, where the men's and women's teams have a combined eight championships. Scout.com
Scout.com
Scout.com is an integrated sports publishing company that produces both an Internet and print product. Scout has more than 2.1 million visitors...
estimated that in 2007, approximately 160 of the top blue chip
Blue chip (sports)
The term "blue chip" is commonly used to describe athletes who are being targeted to be drafted or signed by teams at the next level. It is most commonly used to describe high school players being recruited by college teams, but can also refer to collegiate players being scouted by professional...
high school basketball recruits in the country were attending a Midnight Madness event during the weekend that opens the basketball season.
Details
In the 21st century, most basketball programs from large Division I schools have planned a pep rallyPep rally
Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...
with MCs, music, dancing and other festivities to encourage support of the program. Celebrity guests and alumni participate in entertaining the students. Often, there is significant publicity surrounding the event, which may include televised broadcasts, published press releases and various new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
exposure.
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The team currently plays at the Breslin Student Events Center...
coach Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo is an American college basketball coach. Since 1995, he has been the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, presiding over a prolonged period of success....
riding a Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
onto the court and Florida Gators men's basketball
Florida Gators men's basketball
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference...
coach Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan
William John "Billy" Donovan, Jr. is an American college basketball coach and a former college and professional basketball player. Donovan is the current head coach of the Florida Gators men's basketball team of the University of Florida...
rising out of a coffin. Although signing week, when top recruits sign letters of intent
Letter of intent
A letter of intent is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement...
that commit them to specific schools, does not occur until November, blue chip high school recruits are sometimes welcomed at these events even in their junior years. Usually a prescribed number of fans (such as the first 1000) receive a gifts such as t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, autographs, road
Road (sports)
Road game , more commonly known as an away game, is a reference to all cities and stadia/arenas/fields/venues where an athletic team plays games for which it is not the host. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions...
game vacation packages, and other free paraphernalia. At many such events, a student is chosen for a half court shot giveaway. Sometimes the events are televised live by sports networks such as the Big Ten Network, and other times highlights are shown on highlight shows such as ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
. ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
has begun extensive yearly coverage of midnight madness events and in 2008 televised events at Davidson College
Davidson Wildcats men's basketball
The Davidson Wildcats basketball team is the basketball team that represents Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, in the NCAA Division I. The school's team currently competes in the Southern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008. The...
, the University of Kansas, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
and Indiana University
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
. The events have been reported for years in print media such as newspapers, magazines and the internet. Although Midnight Madness has become a prime time event for many premier basketball programs, some schools have continued the tradition of having their first practice at 12:00 on the first day regular practice is allowed.
As of 2006, the University of Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
held the record for attendance at this type of sports rally with an attendance of 23,312 at Rupp Arena
Rupp Arena
Rupp Arena is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Lexington Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and serves as home court to the University of...
. Kentucky has sold out Rupp Arena multiple times for what they call "Big Blue Madness" and in the 2008–09 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball season fans had to camp out in lines for days in advance to obtain tickets.
One celebratory function of the evening is often to raise NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
or Final Four banners to the rafters in an official ceremony. In 2008, both 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...
finalists, the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball and Memphis Tigers men's basketball teams, did so during their respective Midnight Madness event. The October 16, 2009 celebrations occurred on many campuses and a sampling were aired on the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
family of networks. Five Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
schools celebrated Midnight Madness.
Exceptions
In 2008, some teams attempted to host Midnight Madness in association with special early restricted practices instead of the first day of regular practices. These universities felt that since their football teams had homeHome (sports)
In sports, home is a term referring to both the city and stadium, arena, or field where an athletic team plays games at their venue, whilst when the team plays elsewhere then they are considered the away team. The home term can refer to either the sponsoring institution or the place where it is...
games the week before the opening date of formal practices, which had become the traditional Midnight Madness date, they would be better off holding Midnight Madness on the weekend before. In 2008, teams were allowed to practice two hours per week between September 15 and October 17 under what is known as the "Offseason Workout Rule," and at least four notable public "practice" session (by Illinois, Kentucky, Marshall and West Virginia) were held during these weekly practices before daily practices were permitted. At the University of Illinois, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign....
and women's basketball teams hosted scrimmages at Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Champaign)
thumb|right|300px|Original plan for Memorial Stadium circa 1921. Caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, 1921Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, in the United States, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as...
after an October 11 game between the Illinois Fighting Illini football
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
team and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
team. Since the attendance for the football game was 62,870, this event was described as the "World's Largest Basketball Practice". Charlie Zegers reports that the practice session events occurred both at halftime and after the game.
Kentucky was one of the schools that held their public practice event a week early in part because they could lure more recruiting prospects during a week when most other programs were not hosting similar events. The National Association of Basketball Coaches
National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches , headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of college men's basketball coaches...
asked the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
to force Kentucky to adhere to the traditionally scheduled practice to no avail. They then belatedly petitioned the NCAA to legislate conformity unsuccessfully. Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie
Billy Gillispie
Billy Clyde Gillispie , also known by his initials BCG, is an American college basketball coach. Since 2011, he has been the current head coach of the men's basketball team at Texas Tech University...
had contacted the Kentucky's compliance office, the SEC and the NCAA to ensure that no rules were being violated.
Illinois head coach Bruce Weber, had also received permission for the early practice festivities from the NCAA. He had proposed having a September 13 session in association with a home football game against University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
. The date with the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football
The Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football program is a college football team that represents the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference.-Football classifications:*1937–1962: National Junior College Athletic Association...
would have in all likelihood been a more favorable day in terms of the climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, but this date preceded even the Offseason Workout Rule dates. It is anticipated that in the future, public basketball practices linked to the Offseason Workout Rule will be banned. Illinois claimed that their date change was not intended to give it a recruiting advantage in terms of scheduling conflicts.