{"id":3013,"date":"2013-04-12T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T04:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archives.nd.edu\/about\/news\/?p=3013"},"modified":"2013-04-12T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2013-04-12T04:00:01","slug":"bookstore-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/bookstore-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookstore Basketball"},"content":{"rendered":" <\/a>
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Bookstore B-Ball Tournament Finals<\/em>
\nThe Basketball Bible (The King James Brogan Version) lists 3 virtues: faith, hope, and the greatest of these, the charity stripe.\u00a0 If you like Hoosier Hysteria, you’ll love An Tostal’s Bookstore B-Ball tourney.\u00a0 It’s a single elimination tourney with the finals being played on Frivolous Friday.\u00a0 A lot of the all-star players (including Chuck Taylor) are already conversing about what type of shoes to wear.<\/em> — 1972 An Tostal Program<\/p>\n

The Notre Dame Bookstore Basketball Tournament<\/a> began in the spring of 1972 as part of An Tostal<\/a>.\u00a0 Organized by students Vince\u00a0 Meconi and Fritz Hoefer, the first tournament only drew 53 teams, but it became an instant classic.\u00a0 Inspired by standard pick-up game rules, the structure of Bookstore Basketball has changed slightly over the years, but the spirit of competition remains true to its core after all these year.<\/p>\n

\"Bookstore<\/a>
Bookstore Basketball game scene with fans on the roof of the old South Quad Bookstore, c1970s.\u00a0 During the 1977 finals, the number of spectators on the roof of the Bookstore caused the roof to cave in.\u00a0 The finals were then moved to courts behind the Joyce Center to accommodate the crowds with bleachers.\u00a0 After Rolfs Aquatic Center was built, the finals were move to Stepan Courts in 1984.\u00a0 The finals are currently played on the courts by the new Bookstore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bookstore Basketball is a single-elimination, student-run, outdoor tournament, drawing hundreds of five-person teams.\u00a0 The games are played to 21 points and early rounds are self-refereed.\u00a0 In 1983, 512 teams competed and the Guinness Book of World Records deemed it the largest five-on-five outdoor basketball tournament in the world, a title Bookstore Basketball still touts today as the number of teams continues to grow past 700.<\/p>\n

The tournament’s name, coined by alumnus Jimmy Brogan<\/a>, is derived from the courts behind the old South Quad Bookstore, now occupied by the Coleman Morse Center, not from any involvement from the Hammes Bookstore.\u00a0 The courts were also a parking lot, so they came with particular hazards – from manhole covers to standing water.\u00a0 With the popularity of Bookstore Basketball, it was only natural that courts accompany the new Hammes Bookstore when it opened in 1998.\u00a0 To accommodate all of the teams, games play day or night, in all weather – sunshine, pouring rain, or under a blanket of snow.<\/p>\n

\"Observer
Observer<\/em> article regarding registration for the first annual Bookstore Basketball Tournament, April 10, 1972<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Athletic abilities vary widely among the teams, from varsity athletes to players who have barely picked up a ball.\u00a0 For many teams, Bookstore is all about the creativity and potential notoriety of team names and costumes.\u00a0 Crazy team names have always been an important part of Bookstore Basketball.\u00a0 Usual themes among the names are puns, innuendos, trash-talk, self-deprecation, celebrities, and current events.\u00a0 The following is a selection of names over the years:<\/p>\n