The Finish Line
BY ADMIN · MAY 26, 2019
Pictured above is an inside look at The Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS, the final destination hopes of all NJCAA Men’s Division One Basketball teams at the start of each season. Hutchinson has hosted the Men’s Division I National Tournament since 1949.
Hutchinson, with a population of around 42,000, is located in South Central Kansas about 55 miles NW of Wichita, the state’s largest city. Famous for its rich concentration of salt deposits, long history of mining the ore, and world renowned recognition as an Underground Storage Capital, Hutchinson is nicknamed, “The Salt City.”
Every year during the third week in March, 24 teams (16 automatic qualifiers and 8 at-large selections) convene in this rural Midwestern community to compete for the ultimate prize, a National Championship. Referred to as “The Tournament,” the single elimination format consists of 23 games over six days, in which the “survivor” is crowned National Champion. The format has changed numerous times in the 73 year history of the event, but the entire tournament is still played in one venue, with all teams coming from near and far to get their shot at, “one shining moment.”
Originally, unique to every other level of college basketball, all schools who were members of the NJCAA were allowed to compete in post season play, no matter what they accomplished during the regular season. That’s right, whether you finish 30-0 or go winless, you can “win it all” by getting hot when it counts. Not likely, but at least the opportunity was there. Now, because of the large number of teams some Regions have, they limit entry into their District Tournaments based on how they finish in conference or division standings.
The Sports Arena opened in time for the 1952 championship, and has gone through several remodeling phases since becoming the permanent home for The Tournament. The first official NJCAA Men’s National Championship was held in 1948 at State College Arena on the Campus of Southwest State College in Springfield, MO. The tournament was moved to Hutchinson (aka Hutch) in 1949 and played downtown in Convention Hall until the completion of the Sports Arena. The recent $29,000,000 improvements were financed by a 0.35 percent tax increase, which was approved overwhelmingly by 75% of Hutchinson voters in April of 2015. As a result of the upgrades, the NJCAA and the City of Hutchinson signed a 25 year contact extension, which should keep the event at it’s current home until 2041.
Below left is a photo from 2006 tournament showing the South side of the arena prior to the recent renovation project. The picture below right is the new main South Entrance, which was opened for the 2017 tournament. Other improvements to the venue include: additional restrooms, souvenir and concession stands, three full size multi-purpose practice courts, a full service state-of-the-art athletic training facility, strength and conditioning center, six new dressing rooms, two game officials dressing rooms, media work room, media interview room, ticket office and several other multi-purpose offices, along with upgrades to the electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems.
