ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ is hosting two rounds of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday), in Alumni Gym. With that in mind, let’s look back a quarter century to when hosting even one NCAA game, let alone two, wasn’t possible.

It was the mid-1990s, and the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ women’s basketball program was rocketing into national prominence under head coach Jim Murphy ’69. Around the same time, the college presidents of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) had made a big change, allowing their athletic teams to participate in NCAA tournaments for the first time. 

That opened the door for Murphy’s rapidly improving team to join the Big Dance. And in March 1997, their opportunity for NCAA post-season play came calling when they went 20-5 during the regular season. The team earned a No. 4 seed in the eight-team Northeast Region, which meant they’d get to host a first-round game in venerable, cozy (capacity 839), and intimidating Alumni Gym.

But it was not to be. “Hit the road, Bobcats,” the NCAA told ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, pointing to its rule that courts must be 94 feet in length. Rather than hosting, ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ was assigned an away game vs. a lower seed, Western Connecticut State, which the Bobcats lost, 86-65.

“Their regulations say that the courts must be 94 feet long,” Murphy sighed to Lewiston Sun Journal columnist Kalle Oakes. “And ours is not.” It was 6 feet shorter.

There’s a famous scene in the movie Hoosiers, about a Cinderella boys’ high school basketball team in 1952 Indiana. Arriving at the huge Indianapolis field house for the playoffs, the team seems cowed by the space.

So their coach, played by Gene Hackman, measures the height of the rim and the distance from the free-throw line to the basket. “I think you’ll find this is the exact same measurements as our gym in Hickory,” says Hackman, as a way to tell his boys that they just need to stick to their game.

But what the coach didn’t measure was the length of the court, which very well may have been different from Hickory to Indianapolis’ Butler Fieldhouse. In the early days of basketball, with games being played in all kinds of spaces, from cramped YMCA gyms to university field houses, the rules simply stated a court’s maximum dimension. 

(Richard Johnson ’78 , curator of the Sports Museum in the TD Garden, compares the short-court era to the old Boston Garden, built the same year as Alumni Gym, when no standards existed for rink size, eventually ending up 9 feet feet short of NHL standards.)

In 1928, when Alumni Gym was built, basketball courts could be up to 90 feet in length, and ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝â€™ came in at 88 feet. (Other college gyms were likely around that size, too, but few are still being used for varsity basketball.)

Over the years, 94 feet became the standard court length, especially for NCAA and the NBA competition, if not for high schools and other venues. Murphy, a standout high school athlete at Portland (Maine) High School and at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, recalls playing in a tiny Portland YMCA gym.

Those missing 6 feet never mattered to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, which due to its charter membership in NESCAC, starting in 1971, couldn’t send any athletic teams to NCAA tournaments for two decades. In the pre-NESCAC era, the men’s team earned a bid to the regional tournament in 1961, but as a lower seed wasn’t in a position to host. They traveled to Springfield, Mass., defeating Springfield College in the first round.

Following the 1997 basketball season, when ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ played an away game despite being a higher seed at a time when Murphy’s program was on a roll, ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ went to work to find 6 feet to add to the Alumni Gym court so it could host in 1998. “I learned a lot about court dimensions,” he said.

As Murphy recalls, the college was able to find 3 feet on either end of the space. “First, the stairs to the gym stage had to be set back into the stage,” he recalls. Today, the stairs are recessed into the stage and, since 2018, the stage has permanent grandstands.

On the other end, attention focused on a historic water fountain set out from the brick wall. “That had to be removed,” said Murphy. “Then, the lines on the court were repainted for both basketball and volleyball.”

When the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ women’s team went 22-4 the next year, they earned a first-round bye — then the historic opportunity to host the college’s first-ever NCAA basketball tournament game, on March 7, 1998.

Hosting Salem State College (now University), ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ sophomore Jolene Thurston sank two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to secure a 71–67 win. â€śThey did the wave!” said Thurston after the game, referring to the crowd of 622 that jammed into the old gym. “The crowd was crazy, screaming. It was great!”

A newly endowed scholarship fund at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ honors retired ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ coach Jim Murphy ’69, one of the winningest coaches and athletes in ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ history, in terms of both victories and spirit.

A successful fundraising effort led by three ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ alumni has created an endowed scholarship fund honoring James P. Murphy ’69, the celebrated coach of women’s basketball and soccer who retired in 2015, announced Sarah R. Pearson ’75, vice president for college advancement.

Trustees emeriti Steve Brown ’69 and Bruce Stangle ’70, P’96 and fellow alumnus Tom Lopez ’69 organized the outreach effort to former teammates, players, and classmates of Murphy’s that, to date, has raised more than $130,000.

“From start to finish, these ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ leaders made it happen,” Pearson said. “They created the game plan and executed it to perfection.” The new scholarship will provide annual need-based financial aid to a ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ student, with preference to a Maine student. The first Murphy Scholar will be named in 2016–17.

The fund honors one of the winningest coaches and athletes in ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ history, in terms of both victories and spirit.

Jim Murphy congratulates his team after a win vs. Bowdoin in 2005. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

In 21 seasons as basketball coach, Murphy’s teams won 343 games and lost 187, earning six NCAA tourney appearances. His soccer teams went 146–93–13 over 16 seasons, winning the 2005 NESCAC title and earning NCAA bids in 1996, 1997, and 2005.

Murphy’s contributions to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ athletics and athletes go beyond the numbers, says Stangle.

“Both the fund and the team effort behind its creation honor Jim’s selfless contributions to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ athletics, pursuit of team goals, and intensity of effort,” Stangle says. “It will be a perpetual memorial to Jim at a place he loves.”

Murphy, adds Stangle, “embodies the quintessential ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ characteristics of personal integrity and strength. He was the best student-athlete of his generation at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝. He knew how to take apart another team and also how to get the best out of his teammates. He was an immensely gifted athlete who made everyone around him better. He has a positive approach to everything he does in life, and people absolutely adore him.”

“The admiration and respect his players have for him still speak volumes.”

Brown, a football teammate of Murphy’s in the 1960s, says playing with him was “like having another coach on the field,” adding that “Jim was not only an outstanding performer, but also a great leader: selfless, humble, and focused. Honors and tributes have never interested him.”

As a coach of young women at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ in soccer and basketball, “no one at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ comes close to his record of success,” Brown notes. “The admiration and respect his players have for him still speak volumes.”

Katie Franklin ’07 says that Murphy (left, seated) “pushed me to become physically stronger and mentally tougher” while also instilling the “importance of patience, integrity, and modesty.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

Lopez, who was also a football teammate of Murphy’s, says that donors responded to the chance to pay tribute to a beloved ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ contemporary. “Scores of former classmates and teammates from the late ’60s and early ’70s have contributed because of their respect for Jim and their love of ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝,” says Lopez.

Katie Franklin ’07, captain of the 2006–07 women’s basketball team, returned to campus in November and joined with former players, parents, and friends to pay tribute to Murphy.

Franklin, a two-time First Team All-NESCAC honoree and an Academic All-America in softball, says she’s proud to support the Murphy Scholarship Fund because he provided her with “invaluable lessons about giving and receiving critical feedback, what it means to be humble in both wins and losses, and most importantly what it means to give it your all for the greater good of the team.”

“He will always be a role model in my life.”

Franklin, an associate with Analysis Group, an economic consulting firm chaired and co-founded by Stangle, adds that “Coach Murphy instilled in me a work ethic and commitment to the team that I have carried from Alumni Gymnasium into my professional career.”

Her coach also “pushed me to become physically stronger and mentally tougher, while simultaneously teaching me the importance of patience, integrity, and modesty,” she adds. “He will always be a role model in my life.”

Franklin, an associate with Analysis Group, says Murphy instilled a “work ethic and commitment to the team that I have carried from Alumni Gymnasium into my professional career.” (Photograph courtesy of Analysis Group)

Murphy, who returned to his alma mater in 1994 to lead the women’s varsity soccer and basketball programs, attended ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ at a time when he and his family “didn’t have two nickels,” he says.

ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ financial aid made it possible, says Murphy, who is moved by the honor of having a scholarship established in his name.

“To know that a Maine student who might not otherwise be able to attend ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ will now have the opportunity. It’s very meaningful,” he says.

Just as important, says Murphy, are the relationships behind the scholarship.

“It’s amazing. The friendships that started at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ and have been sustained by ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ all these years — people who know they can always rely on me and would do the same for me — it’s pretty special.”

For More Information

Contact Eric Foushee, senior director of leadership giving and director of athletic fundraising, at 207-755- 5985 or efoushee@bates.edu. Donors making online gifts to the fund should express their designation by writing “James P. Murphy ’69 Scholarship Fund” in the “Additional Comments” field on the giving page.

After 21 seasons, 343 victories and six NCAA Tournament appearances, Jim Murphy is retiring as head coach of the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College women’s basketball team, effective at the end of the 2014–15 academic year.

The ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Department of Athletics will immediately begin a national search for the team’s new head coach.

Jim Murphy congratulates his team after a win vs. Bowdoin on Feb. 1, 2005. The victory was the 200th in Murphy’s career, en route to 343 career victories. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

Murphy, who also coached women’s soccer at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ between 1994 and 2011, “has been one of the most successful coaches that we have ever had at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College,” said Director of Athletics Kevin McHugh.

“Throughout his tenure he has led his programs with the utmost integrity, an amazing work ethic and a passion for excellence. Beyond the multitude of achievements, Jim’s outstanding leadership is also reflected in the scores of young women who played for him and have gone on to distinguish themselves after their ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ careers.

“Jim always brought a sense of humor and has been a quiet, steadfast influence, instrumental in the development of our younger staff. He will be sorely missed but remembered fondly.”

Murphy has led the women’s basketball program through 21 of its 47 years in existence, and is the program’s longest-tenured coach by far. Murphy entered the 2014–15 season ranked 49th among active Division III coaches in career wins (333), and finishes his career with a 343–187 record — a winning percentage of .647.

Murphy talks with his team in the locker room during a 2012 game in Alumni Gymnaisum. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

Meg Coffin '08, a two-time All-American for Murphy, in both soccer and basketball, typified the mental and physical toughness displayed by Murphy's players. (Phylllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

"The things in life that are earned...are much more valuable than something that's given to you," Murphy once said.

Murphy exults after an NCAA Tournament win vs. Emmanuel College on March 5, 2005. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

A packed Alumni Gym watches the Bobcats defeat Emmanuel College in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College)

A 1969 graduate of ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, Murphy taught English for 24 years at Masconomet Regional High School in Topsfield, Massachusetts, where he coached the girls’ soccer team to a 269–40–16 record and the girls’ basketball team to a 132–31 mark. Murphy returned to his alma mater in 1994 to lead the women’s varsity soccer and basketball programs.

At ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, he spearheaded an almost immediate turnaround in the basketball team’s fortunes. Murphy led the Bobcats to a 17–7 mark in his second season, 1995–96, kicking off a run of 15 consecutive winning seasons. ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in 1996–97, finishing 20–5, then returned to the NCAAs for three more years in a row, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1997–98.

ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ reached new heights in 2004–05, earning the No. 1 national ranking for four weeks and finishing 25–3 with a second NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ returned to the tournament for a sixth time in 2006, finishing 19–9. Sixteen of Murphy’s 21 teams finished with a winning record, and six former players were named All-America.

Murphy led the women’s soccer team for 16 seasons beginning in 1994, amassing a 146–93–13 record, including the 2005 NESCAC Women’s Soccer Championship and NCAA Division III Championship tournament appearances in 1996, 1997 and 2005. Murphy also coached the team to two ECAC Championship finals, winning the title in 1998.

As an undergraduate, Murphy was one of the finest players in the history of ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ football, and perhaps the program’s greatest quarterback. He still owns the team’s records for touchdown passes in a career (50) and season (17), and is one of just three players to have his number (10) retired, in 1968. He also played two years of varsity basketball at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝.

Murphy’s reputation even in his student days was built on his hard work and pursuit of team goals. “He was kind of humble about it all,” the late Bob Hatch, former ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ football coach, told ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Magazine in 1997. “He never considered himself a big star, even though he clearly was.”

A native of Portland, Maine, Murphy brought his simple, hard-boiled ethos into his coaching philosophy, and his players were known for their mental toughness. In the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Magazine story, he said, “Everything has to be earned. If you’re a member of varsity or a starter, you should be proud, but come fall or spring, it’s something you have to earn.

“The things in life that are earned are to be cherished and treasured and are much more valuable than something that’s given to you. Competing for your school is the greatest opportunity someone can have, and you have to earn the right to be on the team, or to get playing time, or to start.”