Assembly Hall Archive
Fred Glass knows how the script goes.
From growing up in the Indianapolis area, to now as Indiana's athletics director, Glass would watch the same scene play out over and over, year after year: Opponents would enter Assembly Hall optimistic, maybe even confident, and then after looking up at the wall of 17,400-plus fans clad in cream and crimson "going absolutely crazy," they cringe. They unravel.
In a world of college basketball that has become increasingly known for its games being played in multi-purpose arenas, Indiana's Assembly Hall is becoming the anomaly. Since the 1971-1972 season, the building has been home to three national champions. The tradition, the history, even the angle of the building's seating in relation to the court, is exactly what makes Assembly Hall different from any other college basketball venue. And for Glass, being far from the norm is exactly what he wants.
"When the lights come on, Gus Johnson doesn’t need to say you’re in Assembly Hall," Glass told Inside the Hall in an interview in his office at Memorial Stadium earlier this week. "You know you’re in Assembly Hall."
But for a building that has been around for more than 40 years, it has flaws. The steps are at different lengths. Not all the seating is considered "premier." A segment of fans want the building torn down and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art arena. That's not happening, Glass said. But he is quick to admit Assembly Hall needs renovations, especially to make it more "fan-friendly." He is ready to lead that effort.
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