Even as many schools have moved into modern gyms, the region still has places where basketball memories seem baked into the brick and bleachers — older auditoriums, former school gyms, and community floors that once served as the center of town on winter nights.
In Ripley County, Tyson Auditorium in Versailles (now Tyson Activity Center) remains one of the best-known examples. The auditorium was added in 1950 to the Versailles school complex and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s long been remembered locally as a “basketball palace,” and historical accounts note that the 1954 Milan Indians played some games there because Milan’s home floor couldn’t handle the crowds. It was great to see high school basketball return there earlier this month.
In Dearborn County, the Aurora Recreation Community Center is another reminder that old school buildings can keep serving new generations. The facility operates in what was once the old Aurora High School building and includes a full-size basketball court among its amenities.
That same attachment to historic gyms — the sense that a building can hold a community’s soundtrack — is exactly what’s driving a celebration in northwest Indiana this week.
Tri-Township Schools will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its “Tiger Den” gymnasium in LaCrosse with a varsity girls basketball tournament on Jan. 2-3, 2026. Built in 1949, the Tiger Den is known for its throwback atmosphere and an unusual quirk: its court is 10 feet shorter than regulation. The gym seats just about 800 fans, and Tri-Township Schools says this will be the first varsity basketball tournament held there since 1953.
The event opens Friday at 6 p.m. with La Porte vs. John Glenn, followed by Tri-Township vs. Wheeler at 7:30 p.m. The second night is scheduled to include a consolation game followed by the championship game.
So for those of us in Southeastern Indiana, the appeal is easy to understand: it’s not just a tournament. It’s a chance to hear what Indiana basketball sounded like when the gyms were smaller, the crowds were closer, and the noise had nowhere to go but up!