It's noon on a Friday at ÐÔ°®ÌìÌÃ, but not everyone is headed off campus for a burger. Lunchtime on this day for some faculty, staff, and students means making a beeline to the William H. Bell Center to play basketball -- known among the close-knit group of players as Noonball.
Noonball, as the name implies, is a group of students, alumni, faculty and staff who join together to play an informal social game of basketball at noon in Webster's gymnasium in the Bell Center.
Noonball has been a campus activity since the 1970s, when faculty and staff joined together Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to play basketball. The tradition evolved to include students around 2000, when a student began showing up to play, "The student, named Scott Woodard, started playing with us. He was good and we nicknamed him 'The Kid.' After that the group opened up more to include students and that made it better," says David Tuttle, associate vice president for Student Life and Dean of Students.
Today, games take place every Friday, and consist of two teams of about five to seven players playing full court. The game serves as a form of community in which the rules are intended to ensure everyone who comes out has the opportunity to participate. Some of these rules include playing games to seven points, and the winning team yielding the floor to those who are waiting.
In 2004, a routine number of players led by Tuttle designated the Noonball Hall of Fame as a farewell to Pete Neville, former director of Student Activities. The Hall of Fame plaque is displayed in the Webster Sports Forum of the Bell Athletic Center, and now lists 11 inductees. Every inductee is honored with a hardwood plaque at an informal reception. Although the honor began as a joke, it now stands as a light way to commemorate the friendships that have formed through Noonball.
For faculty and staff the game has served as a convenient form to break a sweat and get a workout during the day without leaving campus. More importantly, Noonball has built a sense of camaraderie among individuals in the University that traditionally did not interact. For students like Rebecca Gordon, nicknamed "The Gunner" by fellow Noonball-ers, Noonball helped her connect with faculty and staff like Dean Tuttle outside of the office.
Tuttle noted that he once read an article about a similar group at another college. "Someone said, 'There are no titles or tenure on the court.' That is true. Former President (John) Brazil used to even come out and play," Tuttle says.
Every game is also open to friends of ÐÔ°®ÌìÌà who can make it to the court. "We really are open to having anyone come out who just wants to have fun playing." says computer science professor Mark Lewis, a regular Noonball-er since his arrival as a faculty member in 2001.
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