Where's the October Madness?
Tonight is the beginning of the 2010-2011 college basketball season, an event most Division 1 schools celebrate with the event ubiquitously known as Midnight Madness (whether or not it's actually held at midnight). Our own version over the past few years has been called American Madness, held the second week of November days before the first regular-season home game. I lamented last year how American Madness isn't quite up to snuff, but this year it's really making me question how much our Athletic department really cares about the fans.
To begin, a date has not even been set yet for this year's American Madness (last year it was announced on September 8th), as just about every other D1 school in the country is holding an event today*. Not a word about it has slipped out of AU Athletics, even as the Mountain Hawks up at Lehigh hold a pep rally for their fans tonight.
It's not just our fellow Patriot League teams celebrating the start of college basketball (and for those without football, this is doubly important), most of our compatriots in DC are hitting the court tonight as well. Check out DCist's report, in which they embarrassingly point out that American Madness is not even scheduled yet. We're just starting to become truly relevant to the DC college hoops scene, and it's to our credit that DCist even bothers to include us (note that Howard is conspicuously missing) even after an off season, and if we wish to keep up the momentum we have to start acting like we belong.
Our image to outside audiences is not all that concerns me, however. American Madness, if done properly, is a great way to help build the budding basketball culture on campus, get the student body excited right now, and involve student groups that otherwise wouldn't be thinking about basketball at this point in time (dance and musical groups, for example). It should be an event (described as a "tradition" in the 2009 press release above) that the entire campus looks forward to, after a fall with no real marquee sports. This isn't to say we don't have quality ones, but the reality is that field hockey and volleyball just won't generate the same interest no matter how well they do. Last year, I was content with saying "we should feel lucky to have such an event at all, as...Midnight Madness at AU was discontinued after the 2000 season." This year, sure as a Stephen Lumpkins slam dunk, I am expecting the new status quo. We absolutely have the ability to make it something great and memorable, with the student body and athletics collaborating to make it the highlight of everyone's October. In years past, the Kennedy Political Union brought Kareem Abdul Jabbar to speak at Midnight Madness, while the Student Union Board brought musical performances and even after the three-point contests and dance routines were finished, the party lasted in the Tavern until midnight (source: doing a search for "Midnight Madness" in the AU Library's online archive of The Eagle). I hope I dredged up some good memories for some of our alumni readers there.
I sincerely hope that in the coming days I can report back that American Madness is coming, and 2010 is going to be its best year yet. At the very least, I hope to be able to bring some explanation from Athletics to light. If I'm not able to do that, I am going to be one disappointed Eagle. The only silver lining I can see is that during practice tonight, the team will be more focused on shaking off the summer rust than on entertaining anyone (of course, I can only imagine they'd enjoy some American Madness tonight as well). Make sure to share your thoughts on the topic in this week's poll, which asks whether AU should hold American Madness in October.
*I recognize that it is currently fall break for AU students. However, this still doesn't excuse athletics from not yet announcing a date for American Madness at all. The students will be back next weekend, and every weekend thereafter until the beginning of the season. Where's the Madness?
Other News in Eagles Nation
- Our pre-season opponent, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets, were recently ranked #3 nationally in the Sporting News D3 Pre-Season Poll. Sure, beating a ranked D3 team would be akin to an adult heading to the nearest playground to beat up the biggest kid there, but last year's narrow loss is still smarting and I am intensely looking forward to what I'm referring to as "Sweet, Sweet Revenge Day."
- Not all media outlets have been wondering what's going on in Bender Arena - some are anticipating great things. SB Nation is asking who is going to be DC's next big college hoops star, and while they give most of their attention to the Terrapins and Hoyas, they have some great things to say about Vlad as well. So make sure to take a look and Vote for Vlad!
- Finally, I want to apologize for my terrible attempt at humor two weeks ago. Clearly what I thought was parody just generated some confusion, so from now on I'll leave the laughs to Bill. Thanks for the feedback, everyone!
Until next time, enjoy the rest of October, Eagles Nation! It's only three weeks until our first exhibition game! We'll be back shortly with some previews of our Patriot League foes.
Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh
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