Men's Basketball and Women's Cross Country (1:00 Class)

The teams that our group decided to study and research were BGSU Men’s Basketball and BGSU Women’s Cross Country. Men’s Basketball, at any college, is a very popular sport that brings in revenue. Angel’s reason for wanting to study Men’s Basketball was his own interest in basketball. He has been playing basketball for about 10 years and his knowledge of the game made him interested in the history of BGSU. BGSU is not a school that is well-known for their sports, so being able to go through the archives gave us the opportunity to discover things that not many people know. We uncovered some very interesting individuals that helped put BGSU in the national spotlight during their time here. Also, Tony grew up around Bowling Green, Ohio and always went to BGSU basketball games with his family so he was very interested in doing basketball. Another reason we chose basketball was because one of our group members Dylan had a direct connection with BGSU basketball; his father played here. We know this project, from his eyes, gave him the opportunity to find out how good his dad was, who he had the privilege to play with, and how good the team was when he played.

As for the BGSU Women’s Cross Country team, it is a sport that does not receive much exposure at all. This team was probably the team that gave us the most difficulty while researching because they did not receive the same amount of media exposure the basketball team did. It was difficult to find rosters online, so we had to go through about 30-35 yearbooks to compile full rosters for each team of women’s cross country. On the other hand, we did enjoy researching this team because it did teach us something about a sport that is generally overlooked. Also, one of our group members Tony was in cross country when he was in high school.

In terms of research, some of the information was easily accessible but on the contrary, other information was very difficult to find. We spent countless hours in the 5th floor of the library, going through boxes that hold some amazing items. We went through a box that held the original basketball scorebooks from 1918, and in perfect condition. We went through many key yearbooks to find rosters or records that we couldn’t find anywhere else. Also conducting interviews, for some members in our group, was not as simple as expected. Finding someone to interview was not very difficult because of the many resources we have here, but actually finding a time that worked for both parties was probably the most difficult part of the interview process. Overall, this assignment has exposed us to information that not many students have had the opportunity to view. It was also an introduction to researching historical content and something that possibly, in the future, we will be using again.

Members of this Group include: Tony Fritsch, Angel Gonzalez, Mandeep Grewal, Dylan Hefflinger, and Kelli Marvel.