Lindsey Besecker
Sports Editor
Photo Courtesy of Eric Foote
Midnight. Fairytales make it out to be a magical hour. It starts a day. It ends a night. Military time hits zero. For college basketball fans, midnight has another importance – it is one half of Midnight Madness.
According to Sports Illustrated, Midnight Madness originated with former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell, who made his players run laps inside the school’s arena at the stroke of midnight on Oct. 15, 1970 – the earliest time, under NCAA rules, that players could practice. Since then, a number of schools have taken on the tradition, including Pepperdine.
Old School Madness: The Essentials
When: Oct. 15
Where: Firestone Fieldhouse
Time: The Village opens
at 9 p.m.;
Fieldhouse doors open
at 10:45 p.m.
Who: Men’s and women’s
basketball teams
Where to park: John Tyler
Drive will be closed
beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Park on Banowsky Drive,
the theme tower parking
lot or main campus.
Shuttles will run until 12:45 a.m.
This year, Pepperdine officials have created Oct. 15’s “Old School Madness,” the equivalent of Midnight Madness.
“The old school theme is a theme that will never die,” said Justin Schneider, Student Activities coordinator. “Even with Midnight Madness, we want it to be the old-school feel. Back to what really worked and what got people moving.”
And taking it back old school brings back a few familiar faces for faculty and alumni. The most recognizable will be Willy the Wave, who was Pepperdine’s mascot until King Neptune took over in 1996 (he was retired last year). Although it has not been revealed how Willy the Wave will be incorporated, Schneider said the former mascot will be one element of the night.
“Willy the Wave best represents the old-school Pepperdine feel, just as polyester bell bottoms represent old-school fashion,” Schneider said.
“But neither one of those is really what you call currently en vogue.”
Pepperdine has held Midnight Madness events since 1996, when men’s head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar started the tradition. As in years past, festivities will open with a village, which will be held in Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot. Senior Tara Emerson, special events coordinator for the student programming board, said a number of food and entertainment vendors, including In ‘N’ Out, Diddy Riese, Howdy’s, Nintendo, Dance Dance Revolution and Rock the Vote, will be at the village starting at 9 p.m. Everything is free to students, including Old School Madness t-shirts and school-spirit paraphernalia.
“We don’t want them to worry about bringing their wallets,” Emerson said. “We just want them to have a good time.”
The doors to Firestone Fieldhouse will open at 10:45 p.m., and students and parents (Old School Madness takes place during Family Weekend) can pile into the gym for more intense performances and the introductions of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
“A lot of Pepperdine students take pride in their school because of this event,” Emerson said. “It’s the one time when people aren’t afraid of being crazy. Midnight Madness is, besides the Gonzaga game, the biggest athletic event on campus.”
Emerson wanted to keep most of the acts secret until the day of the event, but she did reveal that Pepperdine’s step team, cheerleaders and Dance in Flight will take center stage during the night.
Last year at “Madness: Reloaded,” the event took place before players were actually allowed to practice, so the concept of “Midnight Madness” did not pan out as students have come to expect it to, with the entire teams on the court. This year, the dates are back in line, so the entire men’s and women’s basketball teams will be present.
The traditional tuition shot, where a student and a parent shoot from mid-court for free tuition, will be a part of the program again this year. And the Student Programming Board has a few tricks up its sleeve before midnight strikes.
“I think it will be the element of surprise,” Emerson said. “It’ll be a big thing, and I mean that in more ways than one.”
Then, at midnight, the athletics department takes the event over from Student Programming Board.
Eric Foote, associate athletics director of external affairs, said the post-midnight event will be fairly basic. It will include a highlight video from last season, put together by seniors Robby Mooring and Ryan Benko, followed by introductions of the women’s and men’s basketball players and coaches.
“It’s a tradition that students, faculty and staff all buy into,” Foote said.
“Our coaches are excited. Both of them are very for the program. It’s the first time to really see who the players are on the team. That’s the highlight of it.”
Women’s basketball player Shanell Law will speak briefly, followed by women’s Head Coach Julie Rousseau, then men’s basketball player Glen McGowan and Head Coach Paul Westphal will give short speeches to the crowd. The women will have the traditional short scrimmage against a team of celebrities, who will not be revealed until the scrimmage. The men will then have a slam dunk contest, and the night will end with another video.
“It’s going to be one of the better ones,” Foote said. “It’s going to be a lot of unique lighting and sound effects.”
Last year speculation arose that the phrase “Midnight Madness” is copyrighted, but Schneider said it is not certain if that is the case. Still, to avoid any possible legal actions, Pepperdine decided to go with a similar theme in Old School Madness.
This is Schneider’s sixth Midnight Madness event at Pepperdine (he graduated from Seaver College in 2003). He said his freshman year, the event included an In ‘N’ Out vendor in the parking lot and scrimmages between the basketball teams. He has seen the different approaches to the event, and now he is in charge of putting it all together.
“It’ll be a great show, but as far as memories being created, when you’re a student and you see some of these things, it’s an experience that can’t be compared to anything else,” he said.
10-07-2004
