Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mid-Major fans and fans across the country.
College basketball is littered with traditions. Passionate fanbases. Quirky rituals. Longstanding rivalries. The sport has it all.
But we want to know which tradition among mid-majors is the best?
The options are LIU’s Fins Up, the Big 5, the Ramp Ball challenge at The Pit, Silent Night at Taylor University and GCU’s Havocs.
Fins Up
Long Island University rebranded in 2019 to become the Sharks. Four years later, LIU went 3-26 and won just one NEC game. Games were sparsely attended. But it was during that 2023 season that the viral phenomenon was born.
David Pochapin and Cameron Koffman found a way to engage the audience: yelling “Fins up” and clapping their hands over their heads. Fans became invested and were from then known as “The Reef,” and the gym as “the Shark Tank.”
On the court results followed, and the Sharks won the NEC this past season, which meant “Fins up” went dancing.
The Big 5
Here’s the tradition part. The Big 5 has been ingrained in Philadelphia basketball for more than 70 years. The group was formed by Penn, Temple, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Villanova in 1954. The schools played each other and crowned a champion each year. Drexel was added in the 2023-24 season, and the format changed as the Big 5 Classic culminates with a first-place game to crown a champ. While some might argue this is more of a general college basketball tradition, we couldn’t ignore the allure.
Ramp Ball
Can you roll a basketball up a ramp and get it stay at the top? Sounds easy, right? Well, not really. The Pit, the home court of the New Mexico Lobos, has one of the longest ramps you’ll ever see. And the Lobos host a challenge, and as of earlier this year, only five players have aced it: Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State), Drew Gordon (New Mexico), Josh Adams (Wyoming), Chris Howell (New Mexico), and Uriah Tenette (New Mexico). Good luck.
Silent Night
Taylor University, an NAIA school in Indiana, hosts a Silent Night game annually on the Friday before finals week since 1997. The students, decked out in costumes, remain quiet until the Trojans score their 10th point. The fans then go crazy and storm the court. Fans sing “Silent Night” after the game. Taylor is a remarkable 27-1 in Silent Night games.
In a similar light, several schools across the country have annual “toilet paper games” where fans throw toilet paper onto the court after the home team scores its first basket. Central Michigan, John Brown and William Penn are some of the schools with this tradition.
The Havocs
Grand Canyon has one of the best student section in all of college basketball. Known as “the Havocs,” the student section hosts the self-proclaimed “Biggest Party in College Basketball.” From personal experience, GCU home games are special because of the atmosphere the Havocs create.
“Duke isn’t the craziest place I’ve ever played,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I’m going to give a shout out to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Beats Michigan State. Beats Kentucky. Beats Miami. At Pitt, at Syracuse, at Carolina. It doesn’t matter.”