Cinderella ball : a look inside small-college basketball in West Virginia

For most of the twentieth century, West Virginia was a college basketball hotbed. Its major programs were a success, but perhaps even more successful was the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, composed of fifteen schools that rarely earned headlines but set many records and became an identifiable part of small town culture and a source of state pride. This ethos exists today in small town Kentucky and Indiana but struggles to survive in West Virginia. Part of the reason is the state's population decline since the 1950s. That, author Bob Kuska argues, along with the rise of cable and satellite TV and the major college basketball empire, stole the thunder--and the crowds--from these small town communities. And yet, these teams play on in obscurity and still find success. Against the backdrop of West Virginia's great small college history, Kuska chronicles the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of one modern school, Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia. What happened to that team during a rags-to-riches yearlong stretch would've been remarkable at any level, let alone at a school with very low athletic department budgets and low visibility that makes recruiting talented players almost impossible. As he alternates between coaches and players, past and present, Kuska contrasts the fan enthusiasm of the conference's early years with the apathy that plagues the teams of the twenty-first century. If sports fans can get past the media and the madness that has made college basketball increasingly similar to professional basketball in its self-indulgence and sensationalism, they are left with leagues like the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference--scrappy, intelligent, and spirited--and still finding ways to succeed and thrive. For most of the twentieth century, West Virginia was a college basketball hotbed. Its major programs were a success, but perhaps even more successful was the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, composed of fifteen schools that rarely earned headlines but set many records and became an identifiable part of small town culture and a source of state pride. This ethos exists today in small town Kentucky and Indiana but struggles to survive in West Virginia. Part of the reason is the state's population decline since the 1950s. That, author Bob Kuska argues, along with the rise of cable and satelliteВ TV and the major college basketball empire, stole the thunder--and the crowds--from these small town communities.And yet, these teams play on in obscurity and still find success. Against the backdrop of West Virginia's great small college history, Kuska chronicles the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of one modern school, Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia. What happened to that team during a rags-to-riches yearlong stretch would've been remarkable at any level, let alone at a school with very low athletic department budgets and low visibility that makes recruiting talented players almost impossible.As he alternates between coaches and players, past and present, Kuska contrasts the fan enthusiasm of the conference's early years with the apathy that plagues the teams of the twenty-first century. If sports fans can get past the media and the madness that has made college basketball increasingly similar to professional basketball in its self-indulgence and sensationalism, they are left with leagues like the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference--scrappy, intelligent, and spirited--and still finding ways to succeed and thrive. "For most of the twentieth century, West Virginia was a college basketball hotbed. For the last two decades, however, interest has waned, since changing demographics, rampant consumerism, and a rising sports TV empire have stolen the thunder of the small-town game. And yet, the teams of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on in obscurity, the last amateurs to endure grueling schedules of practice and play to earn a degree and win what little local glory remains in small-college basketball." "Against this dimming backdrop, Cinderella Ball tells the story of one small-college team's recent and improbable success. Following the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of little Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia, over four increasingly amazing seasons, Cinderella Ball recreates the thrill of a scrappy, underfunded, unappreciated team of real-life "Hoosiers"--Playing for love of the game and winning against the longest of odds. Alternating between coaches and players past and present, Bob Kuska shows us the game from the bleachers and from the court. As informative as it is dramatic, his close-up account of one team's unlikely rags-to-riches stretch also offers a unique perspective on the state of small-college basketball in America in the twenty-first century."--Jacket Contents......Page 6 Illustrations......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1......Page 22 2......Page 71 3......Page 103 4......Page 140 5......Page 197 6......Page 242 7......Page 289 Afterword......Page 317 Notes......Page 323 Photo Section ......Page 162 Bob Kuska. A Bison Original--p. [4] Of Cover. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [285]-289).