1954 Milan High School basketball team
Encyclopedia
The 1954 Milan High School Indians were the Indiana
state high school basketball
champions in 1954. With an enrollment of only 161, the Indians were the smallest school ever to win a single-class state basketball title in Indiana. The team and town are the inspiration for the 1986 film Hoosiers
. The team finished their regular season 19–2 and sported a 28–2 overall record.
, Evansville
, Gary
, Terre Haute
, Muncie
, and Indianapolis
.
Coach Marvin Wood was hired two years previously, at the age of 24, after a collegiate playing career at Butler University
and a coaching stint in French Lick
. His hiring was controversial, coming on the heels of Superintendent Willard Green's firing of coach Herman 'Snort' Grinstead, who ordered new uniforms without authorization. Wood's coaching style was the opposite of Grinstead's in many ways. He closed practice to outsiders, an act that removed one of the major forms of leisure time entertainment for the town's basketball-crazed population and angered many. He was impressed by the unusual scope of size and talent available in such a small school among the many boys trying out for the team, talent forged by a strong junior-high program. He taught them more patience than the run-and-gun Grinstead, culminating in a four corner ball control offense he called the "cat-and-mouse."
Expectations were higher in the 1952–1953 season. These were realized as the Indians won its first regional game in school history but the Indians went on to shock the state by winning the regional title and sweeping the semi-state to advance to the final four, finally bowing out in a 56–37 semifinal blowout to the Bears of South Bend Central High School
. The nucleus of that team returned for the 1953-54 season with expectations of tournament success unprecedented for such a small school.
tournament and the sectional. To prepare for the rigors of tournament play, Milan scheduled several games against larger, more prestigious schools, including a tournament at Frankfort
, where they would suffer their first loss of the season, a 49-47 nail-biter against the hosts. Milan cruised through the rest of the schedule before suffering a late-season upset to Aurora
, who were also coming into a successful period in their basketball history.
36 W
Milan 64, Vevay
41 W
Milan 48, Osgood
44 W
Milan 61, Seymour
43 W
Milan 24, Brookville
20 W
Milan 67, Hanover
36 W
Milan 50, Lawrenceburg
41 W
Milan 39, Versailles
35 W
Milan 47, Frankfort
49 L
Milan 52, Columbus
49 W
Milan 74, Rising Sun
60 W
Milan 52, Versailles 46 W
Milan 41, Napoleon
34 W
Milan 44, Holton
30 W
Milan 38, Hanover
33 W
Milan 61, Napoleon 29 W
Milan 42, Sunman
36 W
Milan 48, Versailles 42 W
Milan 38, North Vernon
37 W
Milan 45, Aurora
54 L
Milan 38, Osgood 30 W
1954 Indiana High School Athletic Association
Anticipating a run deep into the later rounds, Milan expected to easily take the sectional before facing a tough test in the regional and a possible rematch against Aurora.
Milan 83, Cross Plains
36
Milan 57, Versailles 43
Milan 44, Osgood 32
Regional at Rushville
Milan 58, Rushville 34
Milan 46, Aurora 38
Semi-State at Butler Fieldhouse (now Hinkle Fieldhouse
Milan 44, Montezuma
34
Milan 65, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks
52
Milan 32, Muncie
Central 30
The Indiana High School Athletic Association
broke a longstanding tradition and awarded the Trester Award for mental attitude, sportsmanship, and character to a member of the winning team, Bobby Plump
.
As schools consolidated throughout Indiana, the days of small-town success gradually ended. Less than half of the 751 schools entered in the 1954 tournament exist today. With increased urbanization
and suburbanization
throughout the state, Indiana schools became much larger and the urban schools which had the most success in the tournament increased their domination of the tournament. No school with an enrollment less than five times that of Milan's ever won the tournament again under the one-class system. The smallest school to win the state tournament after Milan was Plymouth
in 1982, led by future NBA star and coach Scott Skiles
. Milan's enrollment is now over twice as large as it was in 1954.
Thirty-two years later, the film Hoosiers
, a fictionalized account based on Milan's 1952–54 seasons, opened to positive reviews, renewing interest in the team and its legacy. The film combined game play from both the 1952-3 and 1953-4 seasons, merging the 1953 quarter-final opponent, the South Bend Bears, with the scoring pattern from the 1954 championship win against Muncie Central.
Finally, a deeply divided IHSAA ended the one-class system in 1997, splitting the remaining 300-plus high schools into four classes based on enrollment size. Many, including Plump, expressed outrage as the days of a David having a chance to slay Goliath in March ended in Indiana.
Today only two states remain single-class for high school basketball championships. While Delaware
has only 56 high schools,http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/students_family/diaa/intro/default.shtml Kentucky
, with 279 high schools, remains committed to the single class format. Unlike in Indiana, which now has many large high schools, Kentucky has only five coeducational high schools with 2,000 or more pupils, plus two all-boys Catholic high schools that each enroll over 1,300 and four all-girls Catholic high schools with enrollments between 500 and 1,000. (Indiana has no single-sex high schools of any size.) Several smaller high schools, including a few as small as Milan, have either won Kentucky's state basketball title or made deep state tournament runs in recent years.
The 2010
run of Butler
—a mid-major
university team that to this day plays its home games in the same building that hosted Milan's historic victory—to the Final Four
and to the National Title Game where it ultimately lost to Duke
61-59 after beating perennial power Michigan State 52-50 in the national semifinal led to countless comparisons with both the 1954 Milan team and its cinematic alter ego of Hickory High. In a seemingly appropriate parallel, the Milan team, all but one of whom were alive at the time of the 2010 NCAA tournament, attended the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium
in Indianapolis as guests of Indiana governor Mitch Daniels
.
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
state high school basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
champions in 1954. With an enrollment of only 161, the Indians were the smallest school ever to win a single-class state basketball title in Indiana. The team and town are the inspiration for the 1986 film Hoosiers
Hoosiers
Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
. The team finished their regular season 19–2 and sported a 28–2 overall record.
Background
Unlike most states, Indiana held a single-class tournament where all schools competed for the same championship in one of America's largest and most popular high school tournaments until the controversial separation into enrollment classes in 1997. Indiana still possessed a large rural population well into the 1950s and rural school consolidation was still in its infancy. As a result, most Indiana high schools of the era had what today are considered extremely small enrollments. Many of these small schools had realistic expectations of advancing several rounds into the tournament in that era, but they would almost inevitably fall in the regionals to urban schools from places such as South BendSouth Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, Evansville
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, Gary
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, Muncie
Muncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
, and Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
.
Coach Marvin Wood was hired two years previously, at the age of 24, after a collegiate playing career at Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
and a coaching stint in French Lick
French Lick, Indiana
French Lick is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,807 at the 2010 census. In early 2006 the French Lick Resort Casino, the state's tenth casino in the modern legalized era, opened drawing national attention to the small town.- History :French...
. His hiring was controversial, coming on the heels of Superintendent Willard Green's firing of coach Herman 'Snort' Grinstead, who ordered new uniforms without authorization. Wood's coaching style was the opposite of Grinstead's in many ways. He closed practice to outsiders, an act that removed one of the major forms of leisure time entertainment for the town's basketball-crazed population and angered many. He was impressed by the unusual scope of size and talent available in such a small school among the many boys trying out for the team, talent forged by a strong junior-high program. He taught them more patience than the run-and-gun Grinstead, culminating in a four corner ball control offense he called the "cat-and-mouse."
Expectations were higher in the 1952–1953 season. These were realized as the Indians won its first regional game in school history but the Indians went on to shock the state by winning the regional title and sweeping the semi-state to advance to the final four, finally bowing out in a 56–37 semifinal blowout to the Bears of South Bend Central High School
South Bend Community School Corporation
The South Bend Community School Corporation operates the public schools in South Bend, Indiana, and is one of the largest school corporations in Indiana, with a total of 33 schools.-High schools:*John Adams High School*Clay High School...
. The nucleus of that team returned for the 1953-54 season with expectations of tournament success unprecedented for such a small school.
The 1953–54 Season
With four starters returning from the semifinalists, Milan was considered a lock to win both the Ripley CountyRipley County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,523 people, 9,842 households, and 7,273 families residing in the county. The population density was 59 people per square mile . There were 10,482 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
tournament and the sectional. To prepare for the rigors of tournament play, Milan scheduled several games against larger, more prestigious schools, including a tournament at Frankfort
Frankfort, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,662 people, 6,279 households, and 4,175 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,240.5 people per square mile . There were 6,682 housing units at an average density of 1,299.6 per square mile...
, where they would suffer their first loss of the season, a 49-47 nail-biter against the hosts. Milan cruised through the rest of the schedule before suffering a late-season upset to Aurora
Aurora, Indiana
Aurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,965 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Aurora is located at ....
, who were also coming into a successful period in their basketball history.
Schedule
Milan 52, Rising SunRising Sun, Indiana
Rising Sun is a city in Randolph Township, Ohio County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,304 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Ohio County.-History:...
36 W
Milan 64, Vevay
Vevay, Indiana
Vevay is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,683 at the 2010 census.-History:...
41 W
Milan 48, Osgood
Osgood, Indiana
Osgood is a town in Center Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,624 at the 2010 census. In 1999, the community received a $23 million bequest from the Gilmore and Golda Reynolds Foundation, which was established by two lifelong Osgood residents to assist the town...
44 W
Milan 61, Seymour
Seymour, Indiana
Seymour was the site of the World's First Train Robbery, committed by the local Reno Gang, on October 6, 1866 just east of town. The gang was put into prison for the robbery, and later hanged at Hangman's Crossing outside of town....
43 W
Milan 24, Brookville
Brookville, Indiana
Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,625 at the 2000 census. The town is the county seat of Franklin County.-Geography:...
20 W
Milan 67, Hanover
Hanover, Indiana
Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School...
36 W
Milan 50, Lawrenceburg
Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Lawrenceburg is a city in Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Dearborn County...
41 W
Milan 39, Versailles
Versailles, Indiana
Versailles is a town in Johnson Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,113 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Ripley County.-Geography:Versailles is located at...
35 W
Milan 47, Frankfort
Frankfort, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,662 people, 6,279 households, and 4,175 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,240.5 people per square mile . There were 6,682 housing units at an average density of 1,299.6 per square mile...
49 L
Milan 52, Columbus
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
49 W
Milan 74, Rising Sun
Rising Sun, Indiana
Rising Sun is a city in Randolph Township, Ohio County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,304 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Ohio County.-History:...
60 W
Milan 52, Versailles 46 W
Milan 41, Napoleon
Napoleon, Indiana
Napoleon is a town in Jackson Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 234 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Napoleon is located at ....
34 W
Milan 44, Holton
Holton, Indiana
Holton is a town in Otter Creek Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Holton is located at ....
30 W
Milan 38, Hanover
Hanover, Indiana
Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School...
33 W
Milan 61, Napoleon 29 W
Milan 42, Sunman
Sunman, Indiana
Sunman is a town in Adams Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,049 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sunman is located at ....
36 W
Milan 48, Versailles 42 W
Milan 38, North Vernon
North Vernon, Indiana
North Vernon is a city in Jennings County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,728 at the 2010 census.-Geography:North Vernon is located at ....
37 W
Milan 45, Aurora
Aurora, Indiana
Aurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,965 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Aurora is located at ....
54 L
Milan 38, Osgood 30 W
1954 Indiana High School Athletic AssociationIndiana High School Athletic AssociationThe Indiana High School Athletic Association is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the State of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana based on the school's enrollment. The divisions, known as...
Boys Basketball Tournament
Anticipating a run deep into the later rounds, Milan expected to easily take the sectional before facing a tough test in the regional and a possible rematch against Aurora.Sectional at Versailles
- Heavily favored to take the Sectional, Milan did not disappoint as they crushed tiny Cross Plains before dispatching traditional rivals Versailles and Osgood to take their fifth sectional title.
Milan 83, Cross Plains
Cross Plains, Indiana
Cross Plains is an unincorporated town in Brown Township, Ripley County, Indiana....
36
Milan 57, Versailles 43
Milan 44, Osgood 32
Regional at RushvilleRushville, IndianaRushville is a city in Rushville Township, Rush County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,341 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Rush County. It was the campaign headquarters for Wendell Willkie's 1940 presidential campaign against Franklin D. Roosevelt. Willkie is buried...
- In the regional, Milan easily dispatched their hosts before avenging a late-season loss to Aurora, advancing to the round of 16 for the second time in school history.
Milan 58, Rushville 34
Milan 46, Aurora 38
Semi-State at Butler Fieldhouse (now Hinkle FieldhouseHinkle FieldhouseHinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena located on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. When it was built in 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States, and it retained that distinction until 1950. It is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in...
), IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
Milan 44, MontezumaMontezuma, Indiana
Montezuma is a town in Reserve and Wabash townships, Parke County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,022 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Montezuma is located at ....
34
- Milan found itself in the unexpected position of playing Goliath to Montezuma's David, as the Aztecs, with an enrollment less than half of Milan's (79), shocked the state by advancing past the regional for the first time. Milan capitalized on the experience gained from their 1953 visit to Butler Fieldhouse and outlasted the Aztecs with a fourth quarter cat-and-mouse tactic to preserve the victory.
Milan 65, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks High School
Crispus Attucks High School of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana is named for Crispus Attucks , a black laborer killed at the Boston Massacre whom many regarded as a revolutionary leader...
52
- Attucks, led by sophomoreSophomoreSophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
guard and future Hall of FamerBasketball Hall of FameThe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
Oscar RobertsonOscar RobertsonOscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...
, had a 17–16 lead after one quarter before Milan jumped out to a seven point halftime lead and preserved it by playing the cat-and-mouse throughout the second half. Attucks would go on to win the 1955 and 1956 titles.
State Finals at Butler Fieldhouse
Milan 60, Terre Haute Gerstmeyer Tech 48- Coach Wood prepared the Indians intensely for Gerstmeyer, who, like Milan, were in the state's Final Four the previous year and, like Milan, came into the tournament with only two losses. Milan's defense held Arley Andrews to nine points as they coasted to victory.
Milan 32, Muncie
Muncie
-Other:*Chuck Muncie, American football player*Muncie , transmission manufacturer for General Motors**Muncie SM465 transmission, manufactured by the above company-See also:*Muncy *Munsee language, Algonquian language, Lenape...
Central 30
- Tied 26-26 in a defensive battle with heavily favored perennial power Muncie Central after three quarters, Plump, who had uncharacteristically shot only 2-for-10 from the field at that point, froze the ball unchallenged for over four minutes during the fourth quarter. Tied at 30, Plump hit a 14-footer from the right side as time expired to seal the win in a low-scoring defensive battle, denying the Bearcats a fifth state title.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association
Indiana High School Athletic Association
The Indiana High School Athletic Association is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the State of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana based on the school's enrollment. The divisions, known as...
broke a longstanding tradition and awarded the Trester Award for mental attitude, sportsmanship, and character to a member of the winning team, Bobby Plump
Bobby Plump
Bobby Plump was a member of the Milan High School basketball team that won the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Tournament in 1954. Plump was named one of the Most Noteworthy Hoosiers of the 20th century by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine...
.
Aftermath
40,000 people descended on Milan (population: 1,150) the next day as the team returned home from Indianapolis, lining Highway 101 for 13 miles to congratulate the Indians.As schools consolidated throughout Indiana, the days of small-town success gradually ended. Less than half of the 751 schools entered in the 1954 tournament exist today. With increased urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
and suburbanization
Suburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
throughout the state, Indiana schools became much larger and the urban schools which had the most success in the tournament increased their domination of the tournament. No school with an enrollment less than five times that of Milan's ever won the tournament again under the one-class system. The smallest school to win the state tournament after Milan was Plymouth
Plymouth, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile...
in 1982, led by future NBA star and coach Scott Skiles
Scott Skiles
Scott Allen Skiles is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and former American professional basketball player. He also is the former head coach of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns. Skiles holds the NBA record for assists in one game, with 30...
. Milan's enrollment is now over twice as large as it was in 1954.
Thirty-two years later, the film Hoosiers
Hoosiers
Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
, a fictionalized account based on Milan's 1952–54 seasons, opened to positive reviews, renewing interest in the team and its legacy. The film combined game play from both the 1952-3 and 1953-4 seasons, merging the 1953 quarter-final opponent, the South Bend Bears, with the scoring pattern from the 1954 championship win against Muncie Central.
Finally, a deeply divided IHSAA ended the one-class system in 1997, splitting the remaining 300-plus high schools into four classes based on enrollment size. Many, including Plump, expressed outrage as the days of a David having a chance to slay Goliath in March ended in Indiana.
Today only two states remain single-class for high school basketball championships. While Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
has only 56 high schools,http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/students_family/diaa/intro/default.shtml Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, with 279 high schools, remains committed to the single class format. Unlike in Indiana, which now has many large high schools, Kentucky has only five coeducational high schools with 2,000 or more pupils, plus two all-boys Catholic high schools that each enroll over 1,300 and four all-girls Catholic high schools with enrollments between 500 and 1,000. (Indiana has no single-sex high schools of any size.) Several smaller high schools, including a few as small as Milan, have either won Kentucky's state basketball title or made deep state tournament runs in recent years.
The 2010
2009–10 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team
The 2009–10 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Brad Stevens, serving his 3rd year...
run of Butler
Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League, of which it has been a member since 1979...
—a mid-major
Mid-major
Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences...
university team that to this day plays its home games in the same building that hosted Milan's historic victory—to the Final Four
2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
and to the National Title Game where it ultimately lost to Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
61-59 after beating perennial power Michigan State 52-50 in the national semifinal led to countless comparisons with both the 1954 Milan team and its cinematic alter ego of Hickory High. In a seemingly appropriate parallel, the Milan team, all but one of whom were alive at the time of the 2010 NCAA tournament, attended the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The stadium celebrated its grand opening on August 24, 2008, and its ribbon-cutting ceremony August 16, 2008. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The stadium was built to...
in Indianapolis as guests of Indiana governor Mitch Daniels
Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the...
.
Team roster
- Ray Craft
- Bill Jordan
- Gene WhiteGene WhiteGene White was one of the original members of the 1954 Milan, Indiana championship basketball team that inspired the film Hoosiers.At 5'11" White played center for the Milan Indians. White's family owned a local feed store, and his mother sold some of the family's chickens to fund a trip to...
- Bobby PlumpBobby PlumpBobby Plump was a member of the Milan High School basketball team that won the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Tournament in 1954. Plump was named one of the Most Noteworthy Hoosiers of the 20th century by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine...
- Ken Wendelman
- Bob Wichman
- Ron Truitt
- Glenn Butte
- Bob Engel
- Rollin Cutter
- Roger Schroder
- Fred Busching (Manager)