The document discusses Indiana's passion for basketball, tracing the origins and spread of the sport throughout the state from its invention in the late 19th century. It examines how basketball became deeply ingrained in Indiana's rural communities and the pride communities took in their local teams, which led to the construction of elaborate high school gymnasiums that still stand as symbols of the state's hoops hysteria. The types and architectural styles of Indiana's historic gymnasiums are also overviewed.

1. Hoosier Hysteria:
Basketball, Gymnasiums
and Community in the
State of Indiana
Adam Julian
English Teaching Resource Center
Chisinau, Moldova
6/03/2012
Dr. James Naismith, inventor of Basketball.

2. The State of Indiana
• Located in the Mid-West of the U.S.A.
• Economy primarily based on
agriculture (corn and soybean) with
some coal mining in the southern part
of the state.
• Population of over 6.5 million.
• 1.8 million reside in Indianapolis.
• The rest of the population live in rural
communities throughout the state.

3. The History of Basketball
• Invented by Dr. James Naismith in
Springfield Massachusetts in
December of 1891 at Springfield
College.
Naismith Wanted to:
• Create a game that could be played
indoors during winter.
• Create a game that could be played
with minimal physical contact so as
to avoid injury. An early example of a “peach basket.”
• Create a game that didn’t require
much space to play.

4. Basketball in Indiana
• The first game of basketball
outside of Massachusetts was
played in Crawfordsville, IN on
March 16th 1894.
• Basketball immediately became
popular in Indiana and every
community began to field their
own team.
• The hometown team became a
source of pride for each
community as they competed
against their neighbors.

5. Why did basketball become so popular in Indiana?
• Agricultural Economy and Growing Season
• Population Distribution
• Community Pride
• Lack of Other Entertainment Options?
• Zydeco Culture?

6. The Gymnasium-Building Boom
• The embodiment of Indiana’s love of
basketball is best represented by its
gymnasiums.
• As each town’s team became a
symbol of pride for the community
so too did the gymnasiums in which
they played. Knightstown, IN. Constructed 1921
• Every community began to build
gymnasiums that were bigger and
better than their neighbors’ and
rivals’.

7. Types of Indiana Gymnasiums
• Indiana is home to 15 of the 16
largest high school basketball
gymnasiums in the world.
The largest is the
New Castle Field
House in New
Castle, IN which
has a seating New Castle, IN. Constructed in 1959
capacity of 9,300
even though the
population of the
town is only
18,000.

8. Gymnasium Architectural Styles
Gymnasiums in Indiana are dominated by 4 distinct styles:
• Crackerbox or Bandbox Style
• Sunken-gym Style
• Fieldhouse Style
• Multi-use Style
Orleans, IN. A good example of a small gym done in the Sunken-gym style.
Built in 1957, capacity 2500.

9. Multi-use Style
• Designed to be used as a
location for all sports,
not just basketball.
• These types of
gymnasiums save
schools money because
of the various needs
they fulfill.
• The most common type
of gymnasium built
today.
• Popular from the mid-
80’s to present.

10. Plan Your Own Gymnasium
• If you had to design a gymnasium for your school what
type of gymnasium would you build and why?
• What design elements would you choose to represent
your school?
• What colors would you choose and what about those
colors represent your school or community?
• What would you choose as your school’s mascot or
logo and why?

11. Scattegories!
• A game designed to increase active vocabulary.
• Split your students into teams of 3-5 students.
• Give them a set amount of time to complete the answers. More
time for less advanced students. Less time for more advanced
students.
• Select a letter. Certain letters such as Z, J, V and Q will be more
difficult.
• The students must then find an answer to every question that
begins with the letter you select.
• No proper nouns are allowed as answers. i.e. Chisinau can not be an
answer for “Things you find in Moldova that you don’t find in
America.”
• Have each them read their answers aloud. If any two teams have
the same answer no points are awarded for that answer.
• After a set number of rounds (or letters) the team with the most
points wins.