I’ve never wanted to be a Tar Heel, a Gator, or even a Wolverine. None of the schools on my short list maintained big time sports programs. The issue simply wasn’t a factor. However, after two and a half years at Wesleyan, there is one piece of the culture from these collegiate sports powerhouses that I’ve discovered I yearn for. No singular piece of collegiate culture would energize the Wesleyan sports community more than Midnight Madness.
Midnight Madness is a tradition prominent in division one basketball. At schools like Georgetown and Kentucky, teams hold an open practice the minute the clock hits midnight on the first eligible day of practice. It was started by legendary Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell in 1970 as a way of getting a jump on the competition. More recently though, schools have embraced it as a fun way to begin the season and get fans involved. With DJ’s and contests, these events kind of turn into large school wide parties. Think spring fling at night during the winter where the performers have talent. Fans at the University of Connecticut, for example, annually fill up their stadium, Gampel Pavilion, to watch their men’s basketball team open the season with an inter-squad scrimmage as well as a dunk contest and a three-point contest.
I think the idea of Midnight Madness could really catch on at Wesleyan and be an exciting activity for student fans. Currently, the only Wesleyan team I know of that has midnight practice to open the season is the baseball team, which starts the season with a scrimmage in the field house. Unfortunately, the casualties suffered by fans being hit by barely visible line-drive fouls in the field house would likely sour the event. Instead, I think a men’s lacrosse Midnight Madness scrimmage would be an exciting way to kick off the spring sports season. The team is currently ranked fourth in the nation, and an inter-squad scrimmage would likely be very competitive, as this year’s team may be the deepest ever. The athletic department could also mold this event to into a Wesleyan tradition. Instead of having a student take a half court shot for free tuition like at the University of Maryland, maybe someone shoots on goalie Charlie Congleton for free music lessons. And instead of a freshman dunk contest, maybe the team does a freshman interpretive dance contest. I don’t know, the details could obviously be worked out, but given the right mind set by fans this could be great. And why not? As the now-retired coach Driesel said on Midnight Madness [to espn.com] on its 30th anniversary in 2000, “I think it’s great that a lot of teams started doing it. It gets people talking…College kids stay up all night anyway.”
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