Hoosier Hysteria
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Hoosier Hysteria is the state of excitment surrounding the state high school basketball tournament in Indiana. To some degree this excitement can be understood by watching the movie Hoosiers. In part, the excitment stemmed from the inclusion of all Indiana high schools in the same tournament, where a small town's David might knock off a large city's Goliath. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central (enrollment over 1,600) to win the state title. The plot of Hoosiers was very loosely based on the story of the 1954 Milan team.
However, after Milan, no school with an enrollment of less than 500 would win another boys' state title under the all-comers format. Finally, starting with the 1997-98 season, Indiana established a four-class system for its basketball championship. The state's move to this new system has, to some extent, diminished the phenomenon.
Nonetheless, Hoosiers still have a traditional love for high school basketball equalled only by Texans' love for high school football and Minnesotans' love for high school hockey. It is one of the state's cherished traditions.
Historically, Indiana had small towns, each with its own small school system. Because Indiana high schools had fewer students than most, basketball was a natural game, since it only required five starters and a few reserves. Even one or two great basketball players can make a high school team a powerhouse, and nearly every Indiana town dreams of such glory.
Incidentally, two states still use an all-comers format. Delaware uses an all-comers format mainly because the state only has approximately 30 high schools. The closest parallel to Indiana's old-style all-comers tournament is in its neighbor of Kentucky. Like Indiana, Kentucky traditionally used an all-comers format, and several small rural and small-town schools have won over the years. Unlike Indiana, however, Kentucky has continued the all-comers format for basketball, and schools comparable in size to Milan (and even smaller) have won Kentucky state titles since 1990.