Making the Magic
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This game would have never happened without the Bookstore Committee.
By Joe DiSipio
The crowds chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
Though the cheer may have been for a member of the reigning Bookstore Basketball champion Finnigan’s, the praises could have been just as easily directed toward the tournament’s Executive Committee.
According to a 1996 Scholastic story, Bookstore Basketball began in 1972 as a “livelier” An-Tostal alternative to “the normally boring Keg Toss and Jell-O Wrestling.”
Now, over 500 teams compete every year. The event has been profiled on ESPN, attracts large enough crowds to require ushers, and even features a Pom Squad performance.
The most impressive fact about the world’s largest 5-on-5 outdoor basketball tournament is that it is entirely student run.
More then 60 students spanning all years and all majors volunteer to plan, stage, and score the tournament.
“We’re usually here for about half the tournament at least, to score the games, to run things smoothly,” says committee member Will Niermayer.
The tournament spans almost four weeks with games being played almost every day, except during Easter and the annual spring Blue-Gold football game.
Members of the committee log long hours watching sometimes-brutal match-ups in sometimes even worse weather.
No matter the outcome, or the temperature, all the hard work is worth it to the Bookstore Committee.
“There’s football players here, basketball players here, people who have never played basketball before,” says Niermayer. “Everyone comes out to support such a good cause.”
Not only is Bookstore Basketball a signature Notre Dame event, it is also a lucrative fundraiser. All tournament fees are used as donations to Jumpball Basketball Programme, based in the Bahamas and Haiti.
Bookstore Basketball has grown exponentially since its start in 1972. The championship game attracts hundreds of fans; including men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey.
All around the world, Bookstore Basketball is recognized as synonymous with Notre Dame tradition.
Today it is important to give the people who make the Bookstore magic happen some of that recognition.