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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Notes from the road: One fan’s journey to Virginia

For sports fans, applying to college usually means making a decision between big-time athletics and big-time academics. Sure, there are select schools where you can find both, such as Duke (gross), Georgetown (you better be a basketball fan), and Stanford (good luck getting in), but for the most part finding a top-tier school with top-tier athletics is almost impossible. After a historic run by the men’s basketball team that nearly culminated in a National Championship, I think you can add a new school to that list: Middlebury College.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not comparing a trip to the Division III Final Four to Division I March Madness- I understand that they’re very different. But this team has shown that there is a beauty to division three athletics that even division one sports cannot eclipse.

Take the past two weekends, for example, when I joined a group of students on trips to Rochester, N.Y., and Salem, Va., to support the Middlebury men’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament. We temporarily forgot about our midterms and the mountains of homework we had to do in the pursuit of witnessing Middlebury College history. For two straight weeks we rode the emotional highs and lows of a team that we actually felt a part of; a team that we felt we could will to victory if we could only yell just a little bit louder or inspire the bench that much more with our chants of defense.

The Middlebury men’s college basketball team proved this season that you could find excellence in athletics and academics at the same school, even at one the size of Middlebury. The Panthers, who finished the season at 28-2 earned a berth to the Final Four in Salem, Virginia last weekend as the top remaining seed in the NCAA tournament.

Although they didn’t win the National Championship as many people thought and hoped they would, these Panthers accomplished more than just a Final Four appearance– they energized a campus around their success. They inspired students to make the 13-hour road trip to Salem last weekend and six hours to Rochester the weekend before. In the past four years they have turned this campus from a hockey-school into a hockey-school with a basketball team that is way too good to be ignored.

Over the past four seasons alone head coach Jeff Brown has won 96 games and made the NCAA tournament each year. The Panthers won their first tournament game ever last year, but couldn’t advance past the second round of the tournament. This year they came within a game of the National Championship.

“For me, success in a huge spectator sport like basketball represents the ultimate opportunity for us to put our school pride on display,” said Craig Thompson ’13.5, one member of a contingent of students who made the trips to Rochester and Salem. “It’s truly special to see Middlebury spirit personified by the dedication of Midd’s fans. I love that the Middlebury team showed that their abilities merit more than just casual rooting interest, and I hope the success of our team can be reciprocated by even more voracious fan support in years to come.”


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What this team has accomplished goes beyond the basketball court. Division III athletes define what it means to be student-athletes.

Although Andrew Locke ’11, at 6’10’’ and 230 pounds may be the same size as Kevin Durant and while second-team All-American Ryan Sharry ’12 could play at a number of Division I schools, at Middlebury their contribution to the school only starts on the basketball court. Take seniors Jamal Davis ’11 and Andrew Plumley ’11 for example, who were FYCs in Allen last year. I’m not sure any freshmen at Duke have Nolan Smith or Kyle Singler living on their halls.

This is a team that is great, on and off the court. For the past month the players of this team united the campus through their talent as basketball players, but more importantly through their talent as people as well. Their appreciation for their fans was secondary only to their fans appreciation for them.

“What I will remember most about the past two weeks is the sense of camaraderie I felt, both with the team and with my fellow fans,” Thompson said. “What I love about sports is the way it brings a community together. I’ll remember all of the great individual performances our players had, but I’ll never forget the unity our team’s success forged.”

In addition, the basketball team has set a model for success for the other teams on campus. “As a fan and women’s team member, the Final Four was a huge deal for our program,” said senior captain of the women’s basketball team Lauren Sanchez ’11.

“Throughout my career, the men’s team has always been very successful, but this year they changed basketball history here at Middlebury. It’s inspiring for our team and plenty of other teams here at Middlebury.”

We traveled to Salem hoping to make history, and while the pain of coming so close to winning a National Championship still lingers for players and fans, the lasting impression from this season will be overwhelmingly positive.

“My memories include almost running onto the floor after ridiculous dunks, being constantly amazed by the team’s talent and, and most of all, a ton of smiles,” said Sanchez.

This above all else is what we will remember from the past few weeks when we look back on the team’s incredible run to Salem. Because, while we all wanted to see a National Championship banner hanging from the rafters of Pepin Gymnasium, this team has reminded us why Division III athletics are so great and why we are so lucky to have a team like the men’s basketball team on this campus.


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