I wrote this essay back in 1999, when the debacle was finally officially wrought on all of us:

Four "championships", no champion

Well, it happened. The unthinkable has been dropped on us like an atomic bomb, and has destroyed everything we from the state of Indiana hold sacred.

What am I talking about? Well, we in Indiana have always been proud that our High School basketball tournament drew teams from all over the state, on an even playing field, with no subdivisions based on size or any other artificial grouping. We had one state champion, and that team could truly be called the best in the state. Kentucky has the same system, and it was always a big event for our state champion to play theirs. That was a game! There are so many memories from our storied tournament, I can't even begin to describe them all, but I will quote a reference to where you can buy the definitive guide to the history of High School Basketball in Indiana.

Remember the movie "Hoosiers"? It was a wonderful story about the 1954 champions, the small but mighty Milan Indians, who defeated the heavily-favored team from Muncie Central for the State Championship. It captured the true spirit of basketball in my home state, and proved that, though it is not the only thing we Hoosiers have to be proud of, basketball is surely related to Indiana in the hearts and minds of people from all over the country.

Until now, that is. In 1997, our IHSAA (the governing body for High School sports) decided for some unknown reason that it would be a good thing to do away with the "unfair" classless system, and go to a multi-class tournament to "give more kids a chance". People were up in arms; no one could believe the audacity of these bureaucrats who wanted to destroy our beloved institution.

But they did. 1997 was the last tournament featuring a single class, and it was won by Bloomington North. They are the last basketball champion in Indiana, because on May 3, 1999, the IHSAA once again voted to retain (this time forever, it seems) the multi-class system. This essay will be continued, and in it, I will expound on the reasons they put forth, I will destroy them, and I will leave it for those who care about tradition, who care about our kids, and who vehemently eschew bureaucratic doublespeak fostered on the public by liberal trash, to make their own decisions. You will feel what we in Indiana feel, that the substance has been ripped from our hearts and trampled as the new world order sinks its festering teeth firmly into the soul of the heartland.

For now, please read the letter I sent to each IHSAA Board Member who voted to keep the class(less) system (who are mostly principals and athletic directors), their superintendents, the newspapers, the Hall of Fame Museum in New Castle, and anyone else who would listen. The letter was published in The Indianapolis Star on Thursday, May 6, 1999, and drew quite a lot of not-so-cordial response from these principals, superintendents, and athletic directors. (Surprise there, huh? When liberals have no argument, they call you names anonymously.) One of them was kind enough to leave his name on the message he left on my voice mail, where he called my letter "ridiculous". Here is the response I sent him.

Read another response I got, this time an e-mail, where the only ID I had on the sender was his header.

One of the worst things I have to deal with is that I live in a town that gained one of these so-called "championships". I have to drive past the sign every day, and I think of the poor, misguided people who actually believe that a victory gained against a weakened field of opponents is a true victory.

UPDATES: (2000) Well,our governor has done a wonderful thing. In the winning design for the Indiana State Quarter, the Indy car was joined by an outline of a young basketball plaer. The basketball motif was completely removed from the final design, and I think that's a wonderful reflection of the way that basketball in its truest form has been ripped from the fabric of Indiana.

(2001) I've just heard a report that attendance is WAY down at all Indiana HS Basketball games, and especially so at the tournatments and State Championships. With FOUR "Championship" games, they can't even come close to filling what ONE GAME used to fill. I remember 1990, when Damon Bailey packed the Hoosier Dome! But no more. I truly hope attendance goes to zero, and the IHSAA loses so much money on the tournament that they go bankrupt.

(2006) As the new year dawns, I still have not attended even one High School basketball game since the 1997 Championship, and I never will. I urge you to do the same. Boycott Indiana High School Basketball!!!

Do you have an opinion on this? Please e-mail me.

Go here to see a very interesting fact we uncovered.

© 1999-2008 Dan McGlaun