BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The countdown to March Madness is on, and Indiana University’s Simon-Skjodt Assembly Hall is being prepared to host games.
We asked IU Athletic Director Scott Dolson what the opportunity means to the school.
“It means a lot, it means a whole lot,” Dolson said. “Really, when you think about it, it’s been since 1981 that we hosted an NCAA tournament game and just all that really goes into that. It means a lot also to just be a part of the big effort, in the whole state of Indiana, Indianapolis, West Lafayette to collaborate and come together to host the tournament. It’s just really meaningful for a lot of reasons.”
13News Sports Director Dave Calabro asked Dolson about the process of preparation amid other IU men’s and women’s games going on.
“You know, not a lot different,” said Dolson. “We’ve been really fortunate because the Big Ten has really great protocols that we’ve been following all along throughout the Big Ten season, but certainly, the NCAA is increasing them, in fact. So we will utilize what we’ve done from the Big Ten standpoint and then implement some additional protocols that should be pretty seamless.”
Besides hosting tournament games in 1981, that season was historic for IU for other reasons.
“It really was,” Dolson said. “In fact, I remember watching that game on TV, the game that took us to the Final Four. We beat Boston College in a really big win for the Hoosiers and able to win the championship in 81. Some really great memories and we’re going to get together that team on a Zoom call to really celebrate. We can’t be in person, but the 40th anniversary of the 1981 team and the lasting synergy that goes along with that, in terms of hosting the tournament this year.”
