Having seen the two Power 5 schools in Kentucky, it was time to turn my attention to one of the mid-majors. Northern Kentucky University is located in Highland Heights, which is a Cincinnati suburb and just 15 minutes east of CVG, the airport that serves the area. Its athletics teams are known as the Norse, and they made the switch from Division II to Division I starting in 2012. It has been quite a successful move for men's basketball as the Norse made the tourney twice, losing to Kentucky in 2017 and runner-up Texas Tech this year.
The Norse play out of BB&T Arena, which is a surprisingly large venue for a school of this size. With a capacity of 9,200 for basketball and around 8,000 for concerts, the facility sees a lot of acts every year. The Who will be playing here in February for example.
Parking is $5 but as I am a colossal idiot, I did not have any cash on me, so I had to drive around a bit to find a free spot. There are no lots on campus that are permit free, but there is a residential area and I was able to leave the car on Knollwood Drive. From there, it is nearly 10 minutes, but you do get the advantage of approaching the building from the back (above).
Intelligent fans who carry at least $5 in cash park in the lot and take a pedestrian bridge across to the main entrance. VIP fans park in a smaller lot and use the East Gate.
Those with bags will have them searched, but those without can walk right in. There is a small atrium with the box office to the right; adult tickets costing $14 regardless of location. Once purchased, take the staircase up to the main concourse.
You should soon happen upon the school's Athletics Hall of Fame, which is quite impressive. It is named for David Lee Holt, a former president of the NKU Gold Club who passed away in 2005.
During their time in Division II, the women's basketball team won a couple of national championships and those trophies are on display along with the net from one of them.
There is also a large, colourful statue of the mascot Victor E. Viking. I don't know why NKU chose this as their theme as I can't find any evidence that Vikings settled in the area, but that doesn't stop this from being a very cool mascot.
That is not the only place the Viking motif can be found; the floor has a Viking ship. I wanted to get a better angle, but the upper deck was closed off, which I guess is usual when attendance is less than 3,000. You can see the scoreboard in the shot below; it has four videoboards underneath the usual scoreboard, which includes stats for players on the floor. Quite nice for a mid-major.
Late in the game, I did find one open stairwell and darted up for a quick shot, but did not want to wear out my welcome and get booted out before the game was over.
The seating bowl surrounds the whole court, but there is some space between the seats and the floor, as you would expect in a venue like this. Keep that in mind if you are sitting in the first row.
Behind one net is a set of benches that are generally empty and I found sitting down low here to be the best spot for combining space and proximity to the bar.
Yes, just behind the benches is a large open area that includes a bar serving Braxton Brewing craft beers. Based in nearby Covington, Braxton has a good variety and there were at least 7 taps; if they all are as good as the IPA I tried, it would be worth coming back for 7 games. The bar is just behind Old Glory in the shot below. There are several standing tables here, though they don't have a good view of the court.
Just above the bar are banners for fellow Horizon League members; when the Norse first jumped to D-I they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference, but moved to the Horizon in 2015.
Since then they have enjoyed quite a bit of success that is celebrated with several banners around the rafters.
There are also banners from their time in Division II and the NAIA.
Overall, this was my favourite venue of the three in Kentucky. I appreciated the smaller size, the excellent beer and hot dog, and the Hall of Fame. I generally prefer mid-major venues as they appeal to my parsimonious nature and that was no different in the three venues I visited this weekend. Of course, if you are in Kentucky for college hoops, you will probably want to go to Rupp first, but don't forget to go north for the Norse.
The Game
The Illinois State Redbirds of the Missouri Valley Conference were the visitors, coming in at 4-5 while NKU was 7-3. There were 10 lead changes in the first 13 minutes in what was a fast-paced game, and NKU was leading 32-31 late when they went on an 11-3 run. A late dunk by the Redbirds made the halftime score 43-36.
Illinois State had closed it to 48-43 when the Norse sank three straight treys, followed by a couple of free throws and a layup over just three minutes to make it 61-43. State never got back within single digits as NKU silenced the Redbirds 79-63.
Tyler Sharpe was the leading scorer, potting 30 for the home team, going 5-8 from beyond the arc, 5-9 from inside, and 5-6 from the charity stripe. A quick game with just 25 fouls that gave me a chance to relax on the way back to the airport.
Notes
The Patriots were at the Bengals that afternoon (a matchup I saw on my 2013 trip) and after clearing security at the airport, I got to see their famous plane.
This was my 90th NCAA hoops venue, but only 74 of those are Division I regular home courts. There are 353 Division I basketball teams and more joining every year. So even doing 50 a year would take another 6 years. I would love to make this a quest, but I don't think I can do it with the three B's in my life: Bride, Baby, and Broke.
Next Up
A short trip to New England this weekend with the Rhode Island Rams keeping my Kentucky streak alive for one more game by hosting Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. Then it is a night-day DH at the XL Center with the Hartford Wolf Pack and UConn. A recap will be posted early next week, don't miss it!
Best,
Sean
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