Big Ten Road Trips - Now Complete

I got back last night from the IU game. I have now visited all other Big Ten schools without repeating any of them. It took a number of years, but here is the recap.

1996 - Northwestern W 66-47
1997 - Wisconsin L 65-66
1999 - Michigan L 65-75
2000 - Iowa L 59-71
2001 - Ohio St L 72-75
2001 - Purdue L 68-83
2002 - Penn St W 68-64
2003 - Illinois L 60-84
2008 - Michigan St L 59-65
2009 - Indiana W 67-63

A few notes: The Wisconsin game was the last Big Ten game ever played in the Fieldhouse. The Purdue game is where Michael Bauer broke his arm. The Michigan St game was during break so the Izzone was not in attendance.

I'd say Illinois had the best atmoshpere with Indiana being 2nd. This would be different if the Izzone was around for the Michigan St trip.

I enjoyed the Penn St campus the most. It had great night life with great drink/beer specials. Bloomington and Madison were also fun campuses.

I had the most fun on the Ohio St trip. We ended up hanging out with about 6 OSU fans at Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards. They were great to party with.

Also on this weekend trip, my friend changed his seat assignment during check-in because the row behind him was empty. If he would have kept the assignment he would have been sitting next to Trent Tucker on the flight to Indianapolis.

Overall, I enjoyed every trip. The best thing about making these trips is it makes me realize how special the Barn is as a basketball venue. If possible, I highly encourage as many of you as possible to take in a road game whenever you can. I think you enjoy it has much as I do.

Was PSU pre-BJC?

Interesting recap

Thanks Saturn. That's impressive that you've already done that. Your 3-7 "road record" isn't too bad. Probably gets us on the bubble!

Road trips are enjoyable, win or lose, and I get the feeling Gopher fans will be making a lot more of them with Tubby at the helm. This season I've matched the number of road trips (2) I had in my first 16 years (East Lansing & Madison) as a season-ticket holder. What Tubby's already doing with the program had a lot to do with my last-minute decisions.

I hope we can improve on that record....maybe 5 or 6 wins.

I'm just wondering what your impressions were on each arena? Particully Mackey, even thought it was pre-Gene Pool I believe.

mnboiler,

Briefly I run down some initial thoughts on each arena starting with Mackey.

Mackey - The Gene-Pool made this arena. It would be more intimidating if the students surrounded the court the way they do in Illinois and Michigan St. The fan base was probably the oldest of the venues I visited, which is just a statement of fact. Personally I prefer individuals from the WWII generation, but when I walked into the arena the band was playing Guy Lombardo, Glen Miller music which I could live without. Also, Boiler Pete could be a lot more interactive with the crowd, but I can say that for a lot of other Big Ten mascots compared to Goldy.

Welsh Ryan - It's lack of size is it's greatest strength. Everything is convenient and there's not a bad seat in the house. The benches weren't exactly the most comfortable, but for a stepped up high school gymnasium I wasn't expecting much. Besides, I don't think a classic college b-ball venue should be comfortable, otherwise you'll have too many people sitting on their rears.

Wisconsin (Old Fieldhouse) - closest thing to the Barn in the Big Ten, but wasn't well maintained. I remember some of the overhead pipes were leaking in the concourse. The atmosphere would have been much better except the fight songs didn't do much for crowd excitement compared to the Rouser.

Chrysler - Not too much to say here except it is a very stale arena. The students did not surround the court back then as they do today so they may have helped. My main memory from this trip was being able to walk inside the Big House after the game.

Carver Hawkeye - from the outside I wasn't sure if I was going into a basketball arena or a planetarium. The other odd thing I remember about this arena is the sections went from A to around P and then starting at AA. Don't they know the alphabet goes to Z?

Schottenstein Center - They had a wonderful athletic display in the concourse of Buckeye athletics in general. I remember seeing a display of former Viking great Jim Marshall whom I never knew was an OSU grad. Otherwise it's a typical "state-of-the-art" arena where all the noise rises up to the ceiling and dies there.

Bryce Jordan - I hate to give this arena a bad wrap because it's not the arena's fault nobody shows up. If it had a full house (or even close to one) it might not be a bad venue. It small enough where it could get extremely noisy, yet not too big where you lose some of the coziness.

Assembly Hall (Champaign) - from the outside the place is an ugly looking spaceship. On the inside it's a completely different story. I can't praise enough the student body section. One student came up to me and we started talking about the conference race. We had just lost to the Badgers whom the Illini where fighting with for the conference lead. The students chants were original yet classy.

Breslin Center - wish I could have been there for the Izzone, but since they weren't I was able to get tickets in the second row directly across the MSU bench. Regardless, I still enjoyed the excitement within the arena. Personally, I liked their band the best among all my trips.

Assembly Hall (Bloomington) - the fans passion for the Hoosiers makes this arena. The arena itself I don't think was designed properly. If you sit near the back of the lower level you have the balcony directly overhead which blocks your view of the scoreboard and other parts of the arena. I was fortunate enough to be able to walk onto the court the day before the game. Looking up at the balcony seating was like looking up at Pikes Peak...it's way up there. I never would have guessed this from seeing the arena on television. I have an old high school friend who works at IU. He told me there are plans on building a new arena. Currently they are constructing a practice facility for the team. The last comment I'll make is I loved walking through the concourse seeing all the pictures, trophies, plaques, etc. of their great history. It really puts the Gophers basketball history in perspective. WE'VE GOT A LONG WAYS TO GO!

I hope this helps. Let me know if you would like my to elaborate further.

Personally I think your observations are very interesting. I know what it is about me but I find the history and atmospheres of arena very interesting. Is any one else like that?

Just going to though a few thoughts out there
1. Purdue's fan base is quite old, why that is I don't know. Otherwise the Paint Crew, the new name for the Gene Pool, is working on quite a few fronts to get more/better seats. I think a large part of the reason we have crappy seats is that our AD is very careful to cater to high level donors and long time fans, often times at the expense of the students. But we are very hopeful. It also worth noting that was one of Keady's leanest years.
2. It's also worth noting that Assembly Hall(Illini verison) trip was during during that run of about 4 fantastic years. So take that for what it is worth.
3. I went to Welsh Ryan last year. Highschool sums it up pretty well.
4. I was at Assembly Hall(Hoosier verison) last spring for a Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds concert(great show by the way). Anyway the place isn't exactly well designed for basketball, although it is an very interesting designed building. If you get a bad seat you have a really bad seat. Kinda like some of seats at the Barn. I was under the impression that they were just going to renovate Assembly Hall but if your guy said build a new one I'll take his word. This pains me to say a Boilermaker but there is a lot of history in Assembly Hall.

That's a pretty cool mission. My goal is to see every MLB team play live, I'm almost there having watched most at the Dome and some while on the road.

But what's especially interesting is that you were able to experience the different Big Ten atmospheres and rub elbows with the other fan bases and get an insight on their unique cultures. For the record, I hit a three in Mackey Arena. It was empty and my perception was off, so it took a few air balls before I was able to make the adjustments needed.

Wisconsin 1997

I too was at the fieldhouse when Ty Calderwood scored the winning basket with no time left. That place was rocking. Reminded me of the Barn circa 1988-1990.

Cool observations. I've been to almost every B11 school for football, but in basketball only Il and Purdue (But I'll also be at the Kohl Center next Thursday).

I thought the Purdue atmosphere was great. I like how many of the upper seats in Mackey are bleachers, that way they can squeeze more fans in around the top. I also really liked the student section.

I am biased towards assembly hall (champaign). It is a really cavernous arena that seems so huge on the inside and out, but only about 16,600 people can fit. When inside Mackey, it seems so much smaller, but it almost seats the same amount.

I think Assembly Hall is timeless though-it is the third oldest in the Big Ten, but I still feel like mackey and some others just look ancient compared to it.

------------
Minnesota Williams Arena Feb. 1928 14,625

Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Dec. 1952 8,117

Illinois Assembly Hall March 1963 16,618

Purdue Mackey Arena Dec. 1967 14,123

Michigan Crisler Arena Dec. 1967 13,751

Indiana Assembly Hall Dec. 1971 17,456

Iowa Carver-Hawkeye Arena Jan. 1983 15,500

Michigan St. Breslin Center Nov. 1989 14,759

Penn St. Bryce Jordan Center Jan. 1996 15,261

Wisconsin Kohl Center Jan. 1998 17,142

Ohio St. Value City Arena Nov. 1998 19,500
________
NQ50

I've done the Big Ten tour x2 (and in some cases, x4) in football, so I applaud anyone who does it in basketball. I'd love to do it myself someday, as well as a tour of the WCHA. Sadly, I'm nowhere close on either - just Northwestern and Indiana for hoops, and Michigan Tech for hockey.

From my three trips to Penn State, I will completely agree with you on it being the best campus experience in the Big Ten. It's also the best football experience, putting it in a league of its own on the football tour. I'll be hitting it up again this October.

Notre Dame campus is pure sucksville.

Congrats SS. I envy you. I have only been to the easy ones (fb & bb): IA, NW, WI. Actually, I don't know if I can still count the IA game as it happened in 97. If it would have happened it would have been the best of the 3 games. I have been to all of the B10 tourneys, but they are relatively easy to drive to.

Congrats, Saturn!

That is a huge accomplishment, and you are no, officially, my hero!

I am very jealous that you not only got to go to Assembly Hall last weekend, but that you got to see a win. I've only seen the arena when I visited campus, and it looks like an very tough place to win at (and appears that way on TV as well) - so getting to see a W there is a great way to wrap up your tour.

I hope to hit them all someday, but right now, IU is the only one I've been really wanting to visit. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on each one as well. You should get a sash or crown or something for this accomplishment!

I am halfway through the Big Ten basketball tour (rounding up), as I have been to Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, and Penn State. My thoughts:

-Carver-Hawkeye is an eyesore from the outside...my first trip to Iowa City, I walked around the campus looking for the arena, several times passing by the ugly metal erector set. Little did I know that it was the arena. Between the erector set top and the giant dirty skylight that literally seemed to be a black hole in the roof that sucked all the atmosphere out of the building, it was the strangest basketball arena I've seen. I can't figure out for the life of me why they would build that. (FYI, they did it to keep a high-profile coach from leaving...which he did the next year anyways...word to the wise about anyone thinking of building a fancy new arena to keep Tubby around) Overall, it was really pretty underwhelming. Speaking of underwhelming...

-Crisler Arena was dark and dank, just as Carver-Hawkeye was. They had soft, theater-type chairs that seemed to keep everyone comfy enough so they didn't really care to cheer or make any noise, which helped the Gophers win. This could also have been because there were only like 5,000 people there. In talking to the folks there, I found that this was a pretty common occurrence. They told me that it was rare to sell out the building, even during the Fab Five years. I was shocked that a school that drew 111,000 for a football game couldn't draw more than a few thousand for basketball. But then it all came to light when I visited...

-The Bryce Jordan Center. The beloved home of Penn State basketball...oh wait, something really can't be beloved if nobody knows that the team exists. As good of a time as we had out there (great campus, as those above have said!), and as friendly as the folks were to talk to about their team as well as ours, there just didn't seem to be much passion for college basketball, whatsoever. It's another place that can go 109,000 for football, but they have 15,000 seats at the BJC, and almost all of them were available when I visited in 2005. But at least everyone who was there was passionate about their team...oh wait, maybe not. During the timeouts, their pep band would play, much like any other. However, when the timeout ended and the game began, a good contingent of the pep band would put down their instruments, and pick up text books to begin reading...READING! During the basketball game! There are two issues: 1) I don't care how much homework you have, you don't do it during a basketball game, and 2) THAT TELLS YOU HOW QUIET IT WAS IN THE BUILDING! But give them credit, they are studious. Just like...

-Northwestern, and Welsh-Ryan Arena. This was an arena, to me, that was built in 1952, and had never had anything done to it since. It felt very old fashioned, which was fine, but it was by no means anything that stuck out in the crowd. It did have that old-time high school gym feeling, especially when they shut the lights off in the upper-reaches of the arena to create ambiance. There was something really charming to it, even though it was not fancy. I could, however, see how difficult it could be for a team to play there. After being used to playing in larger arenas that have backgrounds behind the baskets full of decks of people, Welsh-Ryan has about 15 rows behind the basket, and then a bunch of nothing. It may very well make for a better shooting background, but it's still a vast change from what it's usually like, and that's got to be an adjustment. I can see why Northwestern, if they could get a decent product together (something that might be on the horizon with this crop, I think), they could be very tough to beat at home.

So, that's my take on the places I've been. I'll leave out my trips to Vanderbilt and Iowa State, as well as other college basketball arenas, to keep the "Big 10"-ness to the thread! Overall, visiting these arenas makes be believe that we, truly, have the greener grass on our own side in the form of Williams Arena!

cheifilliwek what is the deal with a new basketball arena for the illini? I know it has be talked about, along with renovating Assembly Hall? Any news?

Rank the arenas . .

So how would you gugys rank the arenas from 1 to 11?

Here's my ranking, worst to first:

10. Michigan
9. Iowa
8. Ohio State
7. Penn State
6. Northwestern
5. Wisconsin (Old Fieldhouse)
4. Purdue
3. Michigan State
2. Illinois
1. Indiana

My rankings are based on inside the arena only including the concourses.

I didn't rank the Barn, because it's in a class all by itself!

I too, will leave out the sacred Barn, and here's my ranking of places I've been to:

1. MSU (hands down the BEST)
2. IL (I heard this would be the best in the Big 10, but I thought Bres was brighter, had better fans, and a hotter coach)
3. NU (I prefer the intimate high school style to the colder, newer places)
4. WI
5. OSU (I would actually say the arena is the same as the Kohl center, but the crowd is better at WI
6. Iowa - not many redeeming qualities (Carver Hawkeye - not the campus, I love Iowa City)