Homecourt advantage has been talked about since colleges started playing basketball. Nowadays, it is even more in the news. But what is it and how do you get it?

In the past it might mean that the home team would hire the officials and let’s just say that when an official calls you coach but calls the home team’s coach by his first name and starts asking about his wife and family, you know you are in for some home cooking. These days, officials are hired by the conference so as to ensure a fair whistle. Another way a team would gain homecourt advantage would be to put a team in a room the size of a closet instead of a well ventilated locker room (the Boston Celtics were famous for this) or the balls used for practice would be a little flat (ala Lefty Driesell of Maryland). One modern day attempt is to have a different set of lights for practice than those used in the game. I have walked into gyms where the game lights couldn’t be turned on because a custodian had to do it and he was conveniently missing. Once, my practice at an opponent’s gym was interrupted by a fire alarm. Lo and behold by the time we got back in the building our practice time was up. When this happened for the third year in a row I knew something was up. Many of these practices have been eliminated through conference intervention, but coaches are still looking for that edge.

Today, the advantage is a little more subtle. Signs in the arenas in Denver and Southern Utah let the visiting team know that they are a mile high in the air. Southern Utah even has a sign posted about altitude sickness. Fortunately, my first year these signs failed to work as I explained to my team that it only matters if you were outdoors. That and some hot shooting enabled us to win on the road. In Minnesota, where the floor is raised, they have posted signs warning the players about falling off the floor. I have seen and played a number of games in the building, but have never seen a player fall off the end of the court. Still, there are fewer drives by the opponents.

In the Big 12 homecourt advantage has been even bigger. Through the first couple of months of the season, Iowa State was the only team to suffer a loss at home. Why have the home teams been so good this year, you ask? Having coached against most of the teams in the Big 12 (mostly on the road), I can attest to some home cooking. However, now that I have broadcast in just about every arena in the conference I am more objective and appreciative of the fans and arenas throughout the league.

Each school approaches home games with a “super bowl” sense of enthusiasm and tradition. Missouri has the “Antlers.” Texas A&M has the “yell leaders.” At Kansas they “wave the wheat,” and Kansas State boasts the “Wabash Cannonball.” Go to a game in Stillwater and everything is orange, at Nebraska and Oklahoma it is red, and at Texas is a combination of the two colors (burnt orange).

A couple of factors go into creating a great homecourt advantage. A rabid fan base is a must. This could include both students and non-students. I can remember coaching a game at Iowa State and yelling something to the official about Fred “the mayor” Hoiberg getting all the calls. From the reaction of the people behind me you would have thought I just took the Lord’s name in vain. I really appreciated the fact that a police officer was there to walk me out that night. Another factor is a nifty name for the building, and banners that create an air of invincibility. Obviously, it helps if you have better players, but that is not always necessary. Just ask a few victims of the Cyclones’ Hilton Magic how their trip to Ames turned out.

Three schools that have taken the idea of homecourt advantage up a notch are Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri.

Kansas is riding the nation’s longest homecourt winning streak at 54. When you play the Jayhawks in Phog Allen Fieldhouse you not only play the current team, but you play all the ghosts from the past. When you walk into the building, the first things you notice are all the championship banners and retired jerseys. They are nice enough to warn you with a sign that reads “Beware of the Phog.” The place just oozes tradition and success. If that isn’t enough, they have one of the best pre-game introduction ceremonies in the country. When the lights dim and the video board starts rolling with highlights of each player, it is tough for a visiting coach and team not to get caught up in the atmosphere. That is when they got you. Baylor coach Scott Drew took his team into the hallway this year to try and avoid it. Nice try, but they still lost.

In Columbia, where Mizzou has won 32 games in a row and coach Mike Anderson has yet to lose a non-conference home game in his four-year tenure, the atmosphere is set on frantic. The moment an opposing player comes out to warm up (doesn’t matter how early) the Antlers are there to heckle and harass him. Next the configuration of the stands and the placement of the students make it feel like they are right on top of you.

Throw in the philosophy of the “fastest 40 minutes in basketball” and you can see why the Tigers are so devastating at home. When they get a steal and a three or a steal and a dunk the place goes crazy. You can barely hear yourself think.

In Manhattan, Bramlage Coliseum has been coined the “octagon of doom.” In just three years, coach Frank Martin’s emotional and physical styles have brought wins over Kansas (breaking the dreaded Jayhawk jinx) and number-one ranked Texas. The students are there early and don’t hold back. The old saying of a team being an extension of its coach holds true for the Wildcat fans as well. This year they have added Jacob Pullen “fear the beard” signs and turned it up another notch.

Even though they lost at home to Kansas on Saturday, it’s not fun for an opponent to go into Kansas State, Kansas or Missouri, where the Wildcats, Jayhawks and Tigers have developed incredible homecourt advantages. Too bad they can’t play their NCAA Tournament games at home.