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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Value statement
Hope-Calvin basketball series brings out the best of intercollegiate athletics participation
Hope-Calvin basketball series brings out the best of intercollegiate athletics participation
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By Josh Centor
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
It was cold in Holland, Michigan, February 7. Really cold.
With temperatures hovering in the single digits, the wind whipping around the snow-covered Hope College campus felt like the breeze a skateboarder would feel if his ramp was set inside an ice cream carton.
The Arctic climate couldn’t put a freeze on the energy of the Hope community, however, as the Flying Dutchmen faithful spent the morning and afternoon preparing for the latest installment in one of the country’s most storied basketball rivalries.
Hope and Calvin College have been going at it on the hardwood for the better part of a century — and don’t tell fans of the programs that their basketball rivalry doesn’t stack up with likes of Duke-North Carolina men and Connecticut-Tennessee women. Sitting in the stands quickly dispells any preconceived notions of what Division III athletics look like.
The DeVos Fieldhouse won’t accommodate 30,000 fans, but the 3,500 who filled Hope’s sparkling on-campus arena sounded like 100,000. Few sat in their seats during the game, electing to stand and cheer instead.
Hope’s fans, dubbed “the Dew Crew,” thanks to sponsorship by Mountain Dew, sport orange T-shirts and sit together facing the team bench. Before tip-off, the students take part in a group stretch, loosening up for 40 minutes of active cheering for their classmates.
A short 30-mile drive separates Holland and Calvin’s campus in Grand Rapids, and many of the Calvin fans made the trip west on Interstate 196 to support their team.
Unfortunately, only one team can win each game, and this time around, Calvin handed Hope its first loss in DeVos, beating its rival, 77-71. Hope won on Calvin’s home floor, 65-62, in the first meeting of the season.
Both games were decided by a couple of buckets, something that has characterized most of the games played between the two programs in the 84-year history of the rivalry. In fact, Calvin’s latest victory evened the all-time series mark at 82 wins apiece. Hope is slightly ahead in the all-time box score, leading Calvin by 41 points.
While the game wasn’t broadcast on ESPN, that doesn’t mean college basketball fans should ignore the beauty of this Division III rivalry. Hope President James Bultman wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“It’s a very healthy rivalry,” said Bultman, who graduated from Hope and also coached baseball and basketball at the college. “Competition is competition wherever it occurs, and I think our players on the Division III level are as competitive as any at the Division level. The skill sets are obviously a bit different, but the desire to perform at the highest level is very real.”
Bultman is proud of Hope’s Division III affiliation. Throughout the day, he preached about the institution’s academics-first philosophy.
“To have athletics at this level kept in perspective is something we’re very determined to do,” Bultman said. “Life is not all athletics or even all academics, though we prize that, obviously. It’s a balance of athletics, physical activity, spiritual activity and intellectual activity. It’s the balance we like.”
As part of Hope’s celebration of 50 years of NCAA membership, NCAA President Myles Brand and Vice President for Division III Dan Dutcher spent the day on campus, meeting with supporters of the college, athletics administrators, faculty members and student-athletes.
At a luncheon welcoming Brand and Dutcher, Holland Mayor Albert McGeehan presented the pair with wooden clogs commemorating the special day. A Hope graduate, McGeehan says the game is about much more to the community than the outcome.
“It’s a huge day in our city and community. Everything comes to a standstill in Holland, Grand Rapids and this part of West Michigan,” McGeehan said. “If you’re not at the game, you want to follow every minute of play.”
Stakeholders at both Hope and Calvin emphasize the importance of community to the colleges. Many graduates, like Bultman and McGeehan, never leave the area after finishing school, choosing to make the region their permanent home. Glenn Van Wieren has spent 41 years on the Hope campus, the last 30 as head men’s basketball coach. He couldn’t dream of being anywhere else.
“My life has changed at Hope College,” Van Wieren said. “I found my wife here. My family attended Hope. I’ve lived in this community a good share of my life and my heart has filled here. I don’t have any hopes or dreams of being anywhere else. I love this place and I’m grateful that they still want me to coach here.”
Most student-athletes who compete in the NCAA aren’t going to find professional careers as athletes. With near certainty, Division III student-athletes will fulfill their four years of eligibility and use their undergraduate degree in another field.
Calvin two-sport standout Eric DeVries has spent the last four years battling Hope on the hardwood and has treasured his experience as a student-athlete. A mechanical engineering major, DeVries knew he wasn’t going to play professionally.
“I was looking for education first and that’s why I chose Calvin. I had the opportunity to play sports and get a good education that will last me the rest of my life,” DeVries said. “Every little kid thinks about (playing professionally), but I knew that I most likely wasn’t going to.”
NCAA President Brand reiterated that point while addressing the Hope community.
“Very few play professional sports. That’s not what this is about. It’s about the joy of participating and the joy of watching. It’s a great opportunity for us all,” he said.
With temperatures hovering in the single digits, the wind whipping around the snow-covered Hope College campus felt like the breeze a skateboarder would feel if his ramp was set inside an ice cream carton.
The Arctic climate couldn’t put a freeze on the energy of the Hope community, however, as the Flying Dutchmen faithful spent the morning and afternoon preparing for the latest installment in one of the country’s most storied basketball rivalries.
Hope and Calvin College have been going at it on the hardwood for the better part of a century — and don’t tell fans of the programs that their basketball rivalry doesn’t stack up with likes of Duke-North Carolina men and Connecticut-Tennessee women. Sitting in the stands quickly dispells any preconceived notions of what Division III athletics look like.
The DeVos Fieldhouse won’t accommodate 30,000 fans, but the 3,500 who filled Hope’s sparkling on-campus arena sounded like 100,000. Few sat in their seats during the game, electing to stand and cheer instead.
Hope’s fans, dubbed “the Dew Crew,” thanks to sponsorship by Mountain Dew, sport orange T-shirts and sit together facing the team bench. Before tip-off, the students take part in a group stretch, loosening up for 40 minutes of active cheering for their classmates.
A short 30-mile drive separates Holland and Calvin’s campus in Grand Rapids, and many of the Calvin fans made the trip west on Interstate 196 to support their team.
Unfortunately, only one team can win each game, and this time around, Calvin handed Hope its first loss in DeVos, beating its rival, 77-71. Hope won on Calvin’s home floor, 65-62, in the first meeting of the season.
Both games were decided by a couple of buckets, something that has characterized most of the games played between the two programs in the 84-year history of the rivalry. In fact, Calvin’s latest victory evened the all-time series mark at 82 wins apiece. Hope is slightly ahead in the all-time box score, leading Calvin by 41 points.
While the game wasn’t broadcast on ESPN, that doesn’t mean college basketball fans should ignore the beauty of this Division III rivalry. Hope President James Bultman wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“It’s a very healthy rivalry,” said Bultman, who graduated from Hope and also coached baseball and basketball at the college. “Competition is competition wherever it occurs, and I think our players on the Division III level are as competitive as any at the Division level. The skill sets are obviously a bit different, but the desire to perform at the highest level is very real.”
Bultman is proud of Hope’s Division III affiliation. Throughout the day, he preached about the institution’s academics-first philosophy.
“To have athletics at this level kept in perspective is something we’re very determined to do,” Bultman said. “Life is not all athletics or even all academics, though we prize that, obviously. It’s a balance of athletics, physical activity, spiritual activity and intellectual activity. It’s the balance we like.”
As part of Hope’s celebration of 50 years of NCAA membership, NCAA President Myles Brand and Vice President for Division III Dan Dutcher spent the day on campus, meeting with supporters of the college, athletics administrators, faculty members and student-athletes.
At a luncheon welcoming Brand and Dutcher, Holland Mayor Albert McGeehan presented the pair with wooden clogs commemorating the special day. A Hope graduate, McGeehan says the game is about much more to the community than the outcome.
“It’s a huge day in our city and community. Everything comes to a standstill in Holland, Grand Rapids and this part of West Michigan,” McGeehan said. “If you’re not at the game, you want to follow every minute of play.”
Stakeholders at both Hope and Calvin emphasize the importance of community to the colleges. Many graduates, like Bultman and McGeehan, never leave the area after finishing school, choosing to make the region their permanent home. Glenn Van Wieren has spent 41 years on the Hope campus, the last 30 as head men’s basketball coach. He couldn’t dream of being anywhere else.
“My life has changed at Hope College,” Van Wieren said. “I found my wife here. My family attended Hope. I’ve lived in this community a good share of my life and my heart has filled here. I don’t have any hopes or dreams of being anywhere else. I love this place and I’m grateful that they still want me to coach here.”
Most student-athletes who compete in the NCAA aren’t going to find professional careers as athletes. With near certainty, Division III student-athletes will fulfill their four years of eligibility and use their undergraduate degree in another field.
Calvin two-sport standout Eric DeVries has spent the last four years battling Hope on the hardwood and has treasured his experience as a student-athlete. A mechanical engineering major, DeVries knew he wasn’t going to play professionally.
“I was looking for education first and that’s why I chose Calvin. I had the opportunity to play sports and get a good education that will last me the rest of my life,” DeVries said. “Every little kid thinks about (playing professionally), but I knew that I most likely wasn’t going to.”
NCAA President Brand reiterated that point while addressing the Hope community.
“Very few play professional sports. That’s not what this is about. It’s about the joy of participating and the joy of watching. It’s a great opportunity for us all,” he said.
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